海角大神

• China flexes on Taiwan: The Chinese military announced large-scale drills around Taiwan as it again warned the self-ruled island against seeking formal independence.聽Taiwan said it had tracked 19 Chinese navy vessels in the waters surrounding the island in a 24-hour period beginning 6 a.m. Monday. Tuesday鈥檚 drills come just two weeks after a large-scale exercise in mid-March. 鈥� The Associated Press
• Election law challenge dismissed: U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi instructed the Justice Department to dismiss a lawsuit challenging a 2021 election law in Georgia. Republican state lawmakers passed the overhaul after President Donald Trump鈥檚 2020 election loss there, and after Mr. Trump made claims of voter fraud. The lawsuit alleged that the law was meant to deny Black voters equal access to the ballot. It shortened the period for requesting a mailed ballot and led to fewer ballot drop boxes in some metro Atlanta counties. 鈥� AP
• Tesla faces widespread protests: Crowds protested Elon Musk鈥檚 cuts to U.S. government agencies outside Tesla dealerships throughout the United States and parts of Europe. 鈥� AP
  • Related Monitor story: Last month we explored how Mr. Musk鈥檚 business interests intertwine with the government he is remaking.
• France fines Apple:聽France fined Apple $162 million over a privacy feature. Apple鈥檚 App Tracking Transparency requires iPhone and iPad apps to ask users鈥� permission before tracking them to target users with personalized ads. The feature was designed to increase privacy. Critics say it could make it harder for smaller apps to survive. The French Competition Authority ruled that the 鈥渨ay in which it was implemented was neither necessary nor proportionate.鈥� 鈥� AP
• Population growth lags in Italy: Italy鈥檚 demographic crisis deepened in 2024 as the number of births hit a new record low, emigration accelerated, and the population continued to shrink, national statistics bureau Istat said March 31. Like her predecessors, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni has pledged to make the falling birth rate, a decadelong trend, a priority. 鈥� Reuters
• Women鈥檚 Final Four is set:聽Three No. 1 seeds will be in the Final Four of the women鈥檚 NCAA Tournament. South Carolina will face fellow top seed Texas on Friday in their bid to become the first repeat NCAA basketball champion since UConn鈥檚 run of four straight from 2013-16. The tourney鈥檚 overall 1 seed, UCLA, will face No. 2 seed UConn. 鈥� AP

In Washington, the planned sale of Panama Canal ports to an American-led group is largely cast as a sign of expanding U.S. influence in Central America. But in China, it is seen as a prime battleground in the U.S.-China rivalry. The deal involves 43 ports, which would cut Chinese-owned port operations globally by nearly half, transferring strategic assets to an international consortium led by the American asset manager BlackRock Inc. How far is China willing to go to protect its geopolitical leverage?

The Trump administration says it wants to bring back a 鈥渨arrior ethos鈥� to the Pentagon. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, who saw combat in Iraq as an infantry officer in 2005-2006, argues in his book that Americans 鈥渟hould not fight by rules written by dignified men in mahogany rooms eighty years ago鈥� 鈥� referring to the sort of treaties meant to prevent war crimes. Yet rules of engagement for armed conflict can protect troops from having to make complicated ethical decisions amid battles 鈥� choices that can set them up for struggles down the line.

During President Donald Trump鈥檚 legal cases, experts debated whether it would be fair to deny voters the opportunity to cast ballots for him in 2024. In France, such a scenario is being realized. Far-right leader Marine Le Pen, a favorite to win the presidency in 2027, was barred from running for public office over the next five years, after being found guilty of embezzling European Union funds. She was also sentenced to four years in prison and forced to pay a 鈧�100,000 fine.

In the U.S., 4 out of every 10 fourth graders and a third of eighth graders are reading below the basic level of the National Assessment of Educational Progress, dubbed the 鈥渘ation鈥檚 report card.鈥� In West Virginia, volunteers are on a mission to reengage them. 鈥淗ere we go,鈥� says Casey Willson, holding up a picture book called 鈥淣igel and the Moon.鈥� 鈥淣ow, this is about what you want to do when you grow up.鈥� Mr. Casey, as the students call him, is among those modeling the idea that building strong readers requires community, and a culture shift.

Bible stories can strike some people as 鈥渟imple or naive,鈥� but they鈥檙e not, says Elaine Pagels, a professor and historian of religion at Princeton University. After decades studying the Bible, reading chapters in their original languages such as Hebrew and Coptic, Dr. Pagels has many questions. 鈥淲hy do these stories still fascinate me? Why do I still love teaching this?鈥� Her new book, 鈥淢iracles and Wonder: The Historical Mystery of Jesus鈥� seeks to answer those questions.

In fall 2022, our contributor Adri Salido聽photographed domestic workers in Lebanon who were trying to get out of the 鈥渒afala,鈥� or sponsor, system. They lived in cramped apartments on the outskirts of Beirut, with as many as 15 women sharing quarters 鈥� and developing close friendships. Mariam Sesay, a young woman from Sierra Leone, rode out Hezbollah鈥檚 recent war with Israel along with other 鈥渒afala鈥� workers, looking for opportunities to help other migrants. 鈥淵es, I鈥檓 a victim of the 鈥榢afala鈥� system, but I don鈥檛 want to see myself as a victim,鈥� she says.

President Donald Trump is clearly worried about the security of the Arctic. Most obviously, he has made numerous controversial statements about the need for the United States to have control over Greenland. Similar comments about Canada bespeak his underlying concern: Neither Greenland nor Canada is being vigilant enough about the threats facing them.

Those threats are widely acknowledged. As a warming world makes the Arctic more navigable, Russia and China are seeking to take advantage. The Trump administration underlined its seriousness by sending Vice President JD Vance to an American air base in Greenland last week.

In a different context, such demands for accountability are already driving change. In February, Mr. Vance made a similar trip to Europe, delivering rebukes. Europe has since taken dramatic steps to reimagine its security structure and free itself from dependence on the U.S.

Might the same happen in Greenland and Canada? Early signs suggest so. But must holding such places more accountable for security come at the cost of goodwill and shared purpose? A deeper look at the current situation offers a different picture.聽

In laying out the keys to making the top of the world safe, the Ted Stevens Center for Arctic Security Studies emphasizes one quality: cooperation. 鈥淭he underlying premise of security cooperation is that the United States is stronger by using security cooperation to obtain its strategic objectives.鈥�

In particular, its 2023 report highlights the relationship between the U.S. and Canada. From the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) to other cooperative mechanisms like the Permanent Joint Board on Defense, 鈥淭he US-Canada relationship is considered unique in foreign policy and security circles in terms of both its depth and breadth,鈥� the report adds.

With Mr. Trump鈥檚 rhetoric and his tariffs on Canadian goods, that relationship has frayed politically. But the American and Canadian armed forces continue to rely on each other. Canada鈥檚 top general, Jennie Carignan, said in February that 鈥淢ilitarily, we鈥檙e not there at all.鈥�

The mayor of North Bay, Ontario, site of a key NORAD facility, told reporters in March he sees no drop in the need for cooperation. 鈥淚 believe that it鈥檚 something that there is a continued investment for, that we will see support from our Canadian government, we will see support from the American government.鈥�

In his Greenland trip, Mr. Vance said Americans respect the self-determination of Greenlanders, and 鈥淲e do not think military force is ever going to be necessary.鈥� Finding the right balance between accountability and cooperation is essential to keeping the Arctic safe.聽