1. S. Korea to freeze THAAD deployment

South Korea’s presidential Blue House said on June 7 that the country would suspend an additional deployment* of the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missile defense system until a green audit ends in the future.

A senior Blue House official told reporters that additional deployment would be decided upon only after completing the environmental evaluation.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said that China will closely watch discussions on the issue in South Korea, and China’s position on the deployment of the THAAD system remains consistent and unwavering*.

2. Attackers raid Iran parliament

Suicide bombers and gunmen attacked Iran’s parliament and the Mausoleum* of Ayatollah Khomeini in Tehran on June 7, killing at least 12 people in a twin assault at the heart of the Islamic Republic, Iranian officials and media said.

Islamic State claimed responsibility and released a video purporting* to show gunmen inside the parliament building and one man, who appeared wounded, on the floor.

The rare attacks were the first claimed by the hardline Sunni Muslim militant group inside the Shiite Muslim country. Iran is one of the powers leading the fight against Islamic State militants in neighboring Iraq and, beyond that, Syria.

3. Mexico: 4 killed in prison uprising

At least four people including three police officers were killed on June 6 in an hours-long prison shootout involving inmates and security forces in a northern Mexican border state, authorities said.

Loud, sustained bursts of gunfire could be heard from just outside the gates of the lockup in Ciudad Victoria, the capital of Tamaulipas state. Heavily armed security forces stood guard.

4. British PM seeks deal to cling to power

British Prime Minister Theresa May was seeking a deal with a small Northern Irish party on Sunday to stay in power after losing her party’s parliamentary majority in a catastrophic* electoral gamble just days before Brexit talks are set to start.

May’s key aides Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill have resigned, taking the blame for her disastrous election campaign.

But with May’s personal authority in tatters*, there were reports that moves were afoot within her Conservative Party to dislodge her, while opposition Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn was insisting she could be ousted and he could replace her.

5. Gadhafi’s son Saif freed

Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, son of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, has been released, according to the militia* group who had held him since 2011.

Gadhafi was released from the northwestern Libyan city of Zintan under a “General Amnesty Law” passed by Libya’s House of Representatives, the Abu Bakr al-Sideeq militia said in a statement on Saturday.

A close associate of Saif said Gadhafi was released on Friday but would not reveal Gadhafi’s current location, citing security concerns.

6. US joins battle as Philippines takes losses

U.S. special forces have joined the battle to crush Islamist militants holed up* in a southern Philippines town, officials said on Saturday, as government forces have joined the battle to crush Islamist militants there.

The Philippines military said the United States was providing technical assistance to end the siege of Marawi City by fighters allied to Islamic State, which is now in its third week, but it had no boots on the ground.

(SD-Agencies)