Situation Reports

Voters in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Malta and Latvia took part in European Parliament elections on May 25, AP reported.

U.S. President Donald Trump opened his four-day state visit to Japan on May 25 by urging Japanese business leaders to increase their investment in the United States while taking a dig at Japan for having a "substantial edge" on trade, Reuters reported.

Former Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman has said his party might not join Israel's new government over disagreements with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu regarding a planned military draft bill, Israel Hayom reported May 23.

The U.S. Commerce Department has proposed a new rule to enable U.S.-based companies to bring up cases of anti-dumping and countervailing duties (AD/CVD) against other countries that are labeled as currency manipulators by the U.S. Treasury Department, according to a May 23 note.

The U.S. Department of Defense is accusing Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps of attacking oil tankers May 12 in the Persian Gulf just off the Emirati coast, according to Rear Adm. Michael Gilday, director of operations at the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Reuters reported May 24.

The U.S. government has notified the U.S. Congress of its intention to use national security waivers in the Arms Export Control Act of 1976 to increase military sales to Saudi Arabia without requiring congressional approval, AP reported May 24.

The top leaders of India's main opposition party, the Indian National Congress (INC), will hold a meeting on May 25 following its poor performance in the country's general elections, The Economic Times reported May 24.

North Korea's foreign ministry has underscored that it blames the United States for the breakdown of talks between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi, Vietnam, in February, state-run KCNA reported May 24.

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro reportedly might soon replace Defense Minister Gen. Vladimir Padrino Lopez with Gen. Alexis Rodriguez, a military official loyal to Diosdado Cabello, a leading figure in Venezuela's United Socialist Party, El Cooperante reported May 23.

Security forces in Indian-administered Kashmir have killed Zakir Musa, the leader of a local al Qaeda branch, triggering protests in the state's summer capital of Srinagar and other cities, Reuters reported May 23.