Venezuela asks citizens not to travel to US and return home for safety
South Koreans will head to the polls on Tuesday in a snap presidential election following the removal from office of previous leader Yoon Suk-yeol, who was ousted over his brief but disastrous declaration of martial law in December.
Around 44 million South Koreans are expected to vote, including the some 258,254 Koreans living abroad, according to media reports.
There are six candidates on the ballot, but the liberal frontrunner and former human rights lawyer, Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party of Korea, is widely tipped to win, mainly due to public discontent with Yoon's actions.
Additionally, a series of Gallup Korea polls last week showed Lee commanding between 46-49% support, well ahead of rival Kim Moon-soo of the conservative People Power Party, who is trailing with 35-37% support.
He previously led efforts to impeach Yoon and has pledged to hold those responsible for the martial law decree to account.
Kim, a former labour minister under Yoon, has struggled to gain traction, partly due to his reluctance to criticise the disgraced former president.
The winner will be sworn in on Wednesday, with no transition period and will serve for a single term of five years.
The next president will immediately face challenges including strained domestic unity, renewed global trade tensions with the US and the continued threat from North Korea's expanding nuclear programme.
While past elections have focused heavily on North Korea, this year's campaign has been dominated by political slander and concern over the fallout from Yoon's leadership.
Candidates have exchanged insults and personal attacks have frequently overshadowed policy proposals.
On a televised debate last week, Lee called Kim "Yoon Suk-yeol's avatar," and Kim said that Lee was a "harbinger of monster politics and dictatorship."
In addition to political divisions, the new leader must also respond quickly to US President Donald Trump's "America First" trade policy.
Trump's global tariff pause expires on 9 July, potentially exposing South Korean exports to 25% duties.
Lee has criticised the outgoing administration's rush to strike a trade deal, while Kim has promised to engage with Trump directly to secure South Korea's economic interests.
Both candidates share a cautious view of North Korea, with Lee signalling openness to talks but admitting that a "summit with Kim Jong-un won't happen any time soon."
Kim, meanwhile, vows to strengthen the military and maintain a firm stance.
The country remains deeply polarised. Yoon's supporters continue to claim election fraud and accuse Lee's camp of subverting the state.
Yoon has accused Lee's party of being "anti-state" that exploits their parliamentary majority to obstruct his plans.
Lee has promised reconciliation if elected, but critics fear political retribution may follow, especially as Yoon faces trial for rebellion, a charge that carries the death penalty.
Polls open at 6am on Tuesday morning.
The Venezuelan government has told its citizens to avoid travelling to the US, while urging those living there to leave immediately.
In a travel alert issued via a Telegram video on Sunday, the Venezuelan foreign ministry urged its compatriots to "protect their lives and those of their families and return to their homeland".
It described the US as a "dangerous country where human rights do not exist for immigrants".
"There is no American dream there, only nightmares. Our duty is to denounce this reality and demand respect for our compatriots," the ministry said.
Foreign Minister Yván Gil claimed that it was dangerous to be a Latino, Afro-descendant or Venezuelan migrant in the US. "The police shoot first and ask questions later," he said.
As evidence of the US' persecution of migrants, Caracas cited the case of hundreds of migrants who were deported to a maximum security prison in El Salvador earlier this year.
Venezuela says the deportees are living "under inhumane conditions" and are being "subjected to psychological torture".
Caracas' travel warning comes after the US government issued its own alert last Tuesday, urging its citizens not to travel to Venezuela for any reason and to leave the country immediately because of the high risk of arbitrary detention.
In a statement, the US State Department said there were "serious risks" of unjust detentions, violent crime and civil unrest in the Latin American country.
According to the official note, Venezuela is the country with the highest number of unjustly detained US citizens.
The US does not have an embassy or consulate in Venezuela, so it cannot offer consular assistance to its citizens there.
Last year, Venezuela's authoritarian leader Nicolás Maduro cracked down on mass protests following a disputed election victory, with international experts accusing his administration of widespread human rights abuses.
Israel has intensified its military operation in the north and south of the Gaza Strip. In the southern city of Khan Younis, Israeli troops advanced towards the European Hospital and demolished the medical centre's rear wall, several media reported.
Meanwhile the Palestinian Health Ministry said the Israeli military bombed north Gaza's only remaining dialysis centre, the Noura al-Kaabi Kidney Dialysis Centre, which is part of the Indonesian Hospital in Beit Lahiya.
The ministry has previously said that over 40% of patients with kidney failure have died since the start of the more than 19-month war due to a lack of access to proper treatment and the destruction of centres.
Israeli army chief Eyal Zamir said the expansion of the ground operations will continue until the remaining hostages held by Hamas are released and the defeat of the group.
On Sunday, Hamas released a press statement stating that they are ready to being indirect negotiations over the Gaza ceasefire immediately.
The militant group said the objective of the talks would be to end the "humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza, ensure the delivery of aid to the Palestinian people, and achieve a permanent ceasefire accompanied by the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from the strip.
Israel has not yet responded to Hamas' statement.
On Monday, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer reiterated the urgent need for a ceasefire, the immediate delivery of humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza and the release of the hostages.
"Look, the situation is intolerable in Gaza and getting worse by the day, which is why we are working with allies," Starmer said during a trip to Scotland.
"To be clear, in saying it's intolerable to be absolutely clear that there needs to be a ceasefire. To be absolutely clear that humanitarian aid needs to get in at speed and at volumes, that it is not getting in at the moment. It's causing absolute devastation. And, of course, to continue our work to secure the release of hostages who've been held for a very, very long time."
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France 24
2 hours ago
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France 24
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Euronews
7 hours ago
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