海角大神

For many, the question of whether to accept refugees into the United States comes down to politics. For many Jews 鈥� as well as Muslims and 海角大神s 鈥� it is 鈥渁 matter of moral commitment.鈥�

In an era of political tribalism, does a bipartisan centrist represent the past or the future? That鈥檚 the question at the heart of a Senate race in Tennessee pitting partisanship against statesmanship.

Making public policy work isn鈥檛 just a matter of enforcing it. Policies also need to be communicated clearly. With US border policy, that鈥檚 more complicated than it seems.聽This is part four in a聽series.

Industry and environmental interests are often opposed. But in Indiana, a river cleanup requiring both sides to negotiate with each other offers an example for conservation partnerships everywhere.

Looking up at the heavens from below, it can be easy to think of the universe as a fixed constellation of stars. But, as a new study illustrates this week, the cosmos is ever changing 鈥� as is our understanding.

Can peace have a ripple effect?

Abiy Ahmed, the new prime minister of Ethiopia with a PhD in conflict resolution, certainly believes so.

In the six months since he took office as Africa鈥檚 youngest leader, Dr. Abiy has not only transformed the often-violent ethnic tensions of his own country with an approach he calls 鈥渓ove can win hearts,鈥� he has also become a whirlwind diplomat in East Africa with an olive-branch touch.

He has settled a dispute with Egypt over sharing the Nile waters. He ended Ethiopia鈥檚 two-decade-old conflict with Eritrea, which in turn helped Eritrea to restore ties with Somalia and sign an accord with Djibouti over a border dispute. The region is now ripe for economic integration.

鈥淭here is a wind of hope blowing in the Horn of Africa,鈥� said United Nations Secretary-General Ant贸nio Guterres in September.

Now Abiy can claim a large part of the credit for a breakthrough in South Sudan, home to one of Africa鈥檚 worst civil wars.

On Oct. 31, after months of Abiy-orchestrated talks among South Sudanese groups, the country鈥檚 main opposition figure and former vice president, Riek Machar, landed in the capital of Juba for a celebration of reconciliation with his rival, President Salva Kiir. Their reunion, more than two years after Mr. Machar had to flee the country in a violent political dispute, was the public manifestation of a power-sharing deal the two signed in Ethiopia on Sept. 13.

For his part in the dramatic ceremony, President Kiir apologized to South Sudanese citizens for the five years of war, saying the responsibility fell on him. And Machar said 鈥渢he past is gone鈥� and promised a new chapter for peace and unity. Both men have given credit to the Ethiopian leader for his peacemaking role.

The peace deal could still fall apart. Two precious pacts since 2013 failed. But what makes this one different was the rigor of negotiations led by Ethiopia and other neighbors of South Sudan. Estranged stakeholders from refugees to armed ethnic groups were included, not just the two top rivals.

The peace process befits the words on a T-shirt that Abiy often wears. It shows a picture of Nelson Mandela with the slogan 鈥淣o one is free until the last one is free.鈥�

South Sudan has far to go to regroup itself as a unified country. It was only formed in 2011, spun off after a civil war in Sudan. Yet the ripples of peacemaking, coming out of Ethiopia, have started the country down that path.