Marwan Barghouti鈥檚 popularity is unsurpassed. His message of democracy, unity, and resistance to occupation increasingly resonates today with Palestinians who are under attack, distrust their leadership, and would vote for him if given the chance.
Our name is about honesty. The Monitor is owned by The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and we鈥檝e always been transparent about that.
The church publishes the Monitor because it sees good journalism as vital to progress in the world. Since 1908, we鈥檝e aimed 鈥渢o injure no man, but to bless all mankind,鈥 as our founder, Mary Baker Eddy, put it.
Here, you鈥檒l find award-winning journalism not driven by commercial influences 鈥 a news organization that takes seriously its mission to uplift the world by seeking solutions and finding reasons for credible hope.
Explore values journalism About usLight pollution is聽the聽modern stargazer鈥檚聽nemesis, pulsing wherever people congregate. That stands to make one of humanity鈥檚 greatest opportunities for shared wonderment 鈥 such a unifying force 鈥 a relatively exclusive one.
Erika Page reports today from Madrid on a metalworker turned sidewalk astronomer who offers passersby free peeks through his telescope. Yes, city light is a limiting factor. He can offer just the major celestial bodies: the closer planets, the moon.
Alfredo Paniagua is open-hearted about the open sky. He answers questions. But mostly he hangs back, letting the universe do its work. As Erika writes: 鈥淗e gives visitors their own time with the infinite.鈥
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And why we wrote them
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Marwan Barghouti鈥檚 popularity is unsurpassed. His message of democracy, unity, and resistance to occupation increasingly resonates today with Palestinians who are under attack, distrust their leadership, and would vote for him if given the chance.
鈥 Airstrike on Iran鈥檚 Embassy in Syria:聽Warplanes bomb the consular section of Iran鈥檚 Embassy in Syria in an apparent escalation of Israel鈥檚 war against Iran鈥檚 regional proxies, flattening a building in a strike that Tehran said killed a top Islamic Revolutionary Guard commander and several diplomats.聽
鈥 Israeli protesters call for election: Tens of thousands demonstrate in Jerusalem against Benjamin Netanyahu鈥檚 government and against exemptions granted to ultra-Orthodox Jewish men from military service.
鈥 AT&T data breach: The provider says that a data set found on the dark web includes some Social Security numbers and passcodes for about 7.6 million current account holders and 65.4 million former account holders. An investigation is underway.聽
鈥 California hikes a minimum wage: Most fast-food workers are set to be paid at least $20 an hour with a new law mandating the increase in that sector as of April 1.聽
鈥 Pressure on South Korea鈥檚 president: Yoon Suk Yeol has vowed not to back down in the face of protests by doctors seeking to derail, through strikes, his plan to drastically increase medical school admissions.
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Comments from Pakistan鈥檚 foreign minister hint at a softening stance on trade with India, putting a spotlight on the countries鈥 fraught relationship and the consequences of closing the border to commerce.
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Data suggests marriage can be a strong foundation for happiness and prosperity. Recent declines in marriage rates mirror similar declines in birthrates, a topic that the Monitor explored in a three-part series.聽
The first聽in the series looks at why U.S. parents are having fewer children.聽The second聽shows how immigrants are powering a population boom in rural Iowa.聽The third聽looks at the tumbling global birthrate and hard societal choices ahead.
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Here鈥檚 Erika鈥檚 story from Madrid, where one man is helping people contemplate the heavens 鈥 and their own small corner of the universe 鈥 by way of glimpses through his telescope.
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Genres can become gatekeeping when they are used to determine who has a right to sing certain songs. Houston native Beyonc茅鈥檚 new album has her riding a horse through those gates as she offers her takes on everybody from the Beatles to Dolly Parton.
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When a democracy faces a leader or a candidate who sows fear and division to gain power, what is the best response? A good answer can be found in a remarkable election on Sunday in Turkey, where voters chose the antithesis of fear.
The country鈥檚 main opposition parties easily won elections in 35 municipalities, notably Istanbul and the capital, Ankara. It was a big defeat for Recep Tayyip Erdo臒an, the populist president who has held power for 21 years with the rhetoric and actions of an authoritarian. While voters certainly held the president accountable for a bad economy, they also endorsed the opposition鈥檚 style of governance 鈥 one that embraces Mr. Erdo臒an鈥檚 supporters out of humility and respect rather than shuns them.
That inclusive, nonpolarizing approach is summed up by the campaign slogans of the main opposition leader, Ekrem 陌mamo臒lu, the mayor of Istanbul: 鈥淓verything will be fine鈥 and 鈥淟ove will win.鈥
Or as his wife posted on social media after her husband鈥檚 reelection by a wide margin: 鈥淟ove and kindness won.鈥
Mr. 陌mamo臒lu鈥檚 party, the center-left Republican People鈥檚 Party, adopted a strategy in 2019 called 鈥渞adical love.鈥 It is a way of listening to the bread-and-butter concerns of Erdo臒an supporters while not reacting to the language of hate coming from the ruling Justice and Development Party.
鈥淭his is more than a mayoral election,鈥 Mr. 陌mamo臒lu said during the campaign. 鈥淚t is consigning a mentality to history.鈥 After his win in Istanbul, he said, 鈥淲ith this election, we have brought democracy out from within us.鈥
As for the president, he seemed unusually contrite after his party鈥檚 major election losses in urban areas. Mr. Erdo臒an expressed 鈥渞espect鈥 for the election results 鈥 a big change from his reaction to losses in 2019 鈥 and pledged to exercise 鈥渟elf-criticism.鈥 Perhaps the opposition鈥檚 use of love tactics is not so radical.
Each weekday, the Monitor includes one clearly labeled religious article offering spiritual insight on contemporary issues, including the news. The publication 鈥 in its various forms 鈥 is produced for anyone who cares about the progress of the human endeavor around the world and seeks news reported with compassion, intelligence, and an essentially constructive lens. For many, that caring has religious roots. For many, it does not. The Monitor has always embraced both audiences. The Monitor is owned by a church 鈥 The First Church of Christ, Scientist, in Boston 鈥 whose founder was concerned with both the state of the world and the quality of available news.
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Holding to our true nature as God鈥檚 children, reflecting His harmony, empowers us to rebel against illness and experience healing.
Thanks for beginning another week with the Monitor Daily. On tomorrow鈥檚 schedule: a report by Lenora Chu from Estonia, a tech-forward country that might offer some lessons, which it learned over time, on how regulation and transparency can help build trust in data storage and other digital services.聽 聽