| While Trump put down an 11th-hour rebellion by conservatives over spending to pass his “one big, beautiful bill” in the House, he may have to reckon with an even more demanding constituency to get it through the Senate. Customers for the ballooning amount of US debt are injecting a dose of harsh economic reality into his fiscal policy, with the yield on 30-year Treasury bonds again surpassing the 5% mark. Trump initiated a phone call with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and discussed tariffs in general terms, just as Tokyo’s top negotiator left for the US for another round of trade talks. The discussion was the first between the two leaders since early April when the US ramped up its levies against countries around the world and signals the Asian nation still has the attention of the US president. US and European leaders are placing their hopes in the Vatican to engage Russia and Ukraine in peace negotiations, though sources say the Kremlin has no plans for President Vladimir Putin to travel to Rome or anywhere else for talks currently. Ukraine is meanwhile reengineering its energy grid to be less vulnerable to Russian attacks that officials in Kyiv estimate have caused $93 billion of damage since the war began. In Venezuela’s capital, Caracas, there’s hardly any sign that parliamentary and regional elections will take place on Sunday, which suits President Nicolás Maduro in his drive to further cement his grip on the nation. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a post on X that a Venezuela oil-export license will expire on Tuesday, defying earlier expectations it would be extended and impacting Chevron’s operations in the sanctioned economy.  Pro-government supporters march during an International Workers’ Day event in Caracas on May 1. Photographer: Ivan McGregor/Anadolu/Getty Images The India-Pakistan conflict risked spiraling into nuclear war at one point until the US and other nations raced to calm things down, eventually producing a ceasefire. As this essay explains, the fighting provided further evidence that the space between conventional and nuclear war is narrowing in the world, as a confluence of factors ramps up pressure on geopolitical fault lines, from Israel to Korea, Taiwan and Kashmir. While the Trump administration maintains that it’s interested in Africa, especially its minerals, Washington’s actions have harmed its ambition of weakening China’s status as partner of choice for the continent. Keir Starmer is at odds with his chief of staff over whether to scrap a two-child cap on benefits, sources say, a costly policy move that the British prime minister is under pressure to make after bruising local election results. Spain’s government is pushing ahead with a controversial proposal to hit non-European Union residents with a 100% tax when buying homes, as it seeks to tackle a brewing housing crisis. French President Emmanuel Macron is seeking to deepen economic ties with China as the EU adjusts to the twin shocks of the American trade war and the continuing Russian invasion of Ukraine. | 
