| Trump will nominate Michael Waltz, his national security adviser, to be the next US ambassador to the United Nations, sidelining a top aide who inadvertently added a journalist to a group chat where officials discussed sensitive attack plans. It’s a downgrade for Waltz while a boost for Marco Rubio, who will serve as interim national security adviser while keeping his job as secretary of state. The right-wing populist Reform UK party led by Brexit cheerleader and Trump ally Nigel Farage won a by-election in northwest England, suggesting that it can convert poll support to parliamentary seats. The result — in a district that Labour won with a 14,700-vote majority in July — portends a difficult set of local elections for Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s party, with counts taking place today in more than 1,600 council seats as well as six mayoral votes.  Farage with Reform UK candidate Sarah Pochin today. Photographer: Oli Scarff/Getty Images South Korea’s former Acting President Han Duck-soo has entered the fray for the June 3 presidential election. The country has been rocked by political chaos in recent months following Yoon Suk Yeol’s bungled attempt to enforce martial law and his subsequent ouster, while the opposition Democratic Party’s frontrunner candidate Lee Jae-myung faces his own legal complications.
With its shipping lanes, deep-sea ports and undersea cables, the South Pacific has long been a focal point of strategic competition as the US and its allies try to prevent China from gaining a foothold. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, seeking reelection tomorrow, has made significant progress in solidifying security ties in the region, but such gains are at risk as Trump alienates local leaders with massive tariffs, foreign aid cuts and his retreat on tackling climate change.  Japan’s stock of US government debt — the largest of any nation — could be a card in its trade talks with Washington, Finance Minister Katsunobu Kato said, in remarks that referred to the country’s roughly $1.13 trillion in Treasury securities. Germany’s domestic intelligence agency formally classified the Alternative for Germany, which is leading in some polls, as a right-wing extremist movement, meaning authorities will have enhanced powers to monitor the party as a potential threat to democracy. Trump said he would slap secondary sanctions on nations or companies buying Iranian oil, ratcheting up pressure on Tehran after nuclear talks due to take place this weekend were postponed and US officials said they’d never agreed to join the latest round in the first place. Vice President JD Vance said the US was working to ensure tensions between India and Pakistan don’t escalate into a broader conflict in the wake of an attack last week that killed dozens of people in Indian-controlled Kashmir. | 
