Pete Hegseth removes all women and some Black service members from navy promotion list

• Primary election races are currently unfolding across six states, including New Jersey, California, and Iowa, as candidates advance toward midterm battles. • In separate political developments, Senator Marco Rubio is engaging with lawmakers to answer critical questions regarding government policy.

• The Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect issued Atrocity Alert No. 485, highlighting populations at risk of mass atrocity crimes in Lebanon and Mali. • In Lebanon, reports indicate that Israel expanded its control and increased population displacement on June 1, occurring just one day before the fourth round of direct talks between the two nations.

• Germany and Austria are competing for a coveted seat on the UN Security Council for the 2027–2028 term. • Germany is leveraging its status as the EU's largest economy and its history of peacekeeping and humanitarian efforts to secure alliances.

• During the June 2, 2026, noon briefing, the UN Secretary-General addressed the General Assembly, highlighting the President-elect's theme as an inspiring call to action for the multilateral system. • The UN chief issued a strong condemnation of the Russian Federation's armed forces for conducting large-scale missile and drone attacks against Ukraine.

• Russia launched a series of deadly strikes on Kyiv following a week of repeated warnings and threats from Moscow. • The delayed timing of the attacks appeared designed to inflict a psychological toll on the residents of the Ukrainian capital.

• Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi called for renewed unity among Global South nations during a visit to Seoul, South Korea. • Mudavadi criticized the current state of international relations, arguing that diplomacy is being treated as a transaction and national sovereignty as a negotiable property.

• A truce in Lebanon announced by Donald Trump is collapsing as Israeli forces advance south of the Litani River and Hezbollah launches rocket attacks against Israeli tanks in Hadatha. • The European Union is finalizing a major migration reform following the 2024 Asylum Pact, which will establish "return centres" outside EU borders to accelerate the deportation of rejected asylum seekers.

• The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has approved over USD 67 million in new funding to strengthen climate resilience in eight vulnerable nations. • Recipient countries include Bangladesh, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Niue, Senegal, Solomon Islands, Sudan, and Togo.

Fears that push for ballroom spending could jeopardize $70bn funding for immigration enforcementSenate Republicans on Wednesday formally dropped their attempt to spend $1bn on security improvements for Donald Trump’s White House ballroom, as it became clear the president’s demand for the money could jeopardize long-term funding for immigration enforcement.The Senate judiciary committee had last month included the spending on security for the new ballroom in a broader measure that would authorize $70bn in spending for agencies involved in Trump’s mass deportation campaign through the duration of his term. On Wednesday the committee released a revised text that no longer mentioned the money. Continue reading...

Commonwealth Bank economists expect 5% drag on home prices from tax changes, compared with Treasury forecast of 2%. Follow today’s news liveGet our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcastGood morning and welcome to our live politics blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it will be Krishani Dhanji with the main action.Australia’s youngest convicted murderer has been sent back to jail after a judge found him to have had complete disregard for his release conditions. The man, known only as SLD, stabbed to death his three-year-old neighbour Courtney Morley-Clarke on the Central Coast in 2001. More coming up. Continue reading...

German director says he recognises actor should have been better protected during filming of Wrong MoveGerman director Wim Wenders has withdrawn from circulation his 1975 film Wrong Move, because of a scene featuring a child actor topless who was 13 years old at the time of filming.“Streaming, TV and distribution partners have been instructed to no longer make the film publicly accessible,” the director said in a statement released on Wednesday. Continue reading...

While many US city councils have passed moratoriums, Monterey Park is first where residents have voted on a banSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailResidents in Monterey Park, California, became the first in the US to vote on a permanent ban on datacenters on Tuesday, and early results indicate a resounding victory for the prohibition.While many cities and counties have already passed temporary or indefinite moratoriums via their local governments, Monterey Park would be the first to do so through a ballot initiative. Continue reading...