海角大神

• China-U.S. trade: Beijing on Sunday welcomed the U.S. administration鈥檚 rolling back of tariffs on cellphones, computers, and other electronics imports from China 鈥� relief that will help U.S. tech firms like Apple. But by casting the move as a 鈥渟mall step,鈥� and calling for Washington to take a 鈥渂ig step鈥� to 鈥渃orrect its wrongdoings,鈥� Beijing signaled confidence that China can outlast the United States in the trade war. China鈥檚 leader, Xi Jinping, is treating the conflict as part of a long-term strategic competition with the United States for global influence. 鈥� Staff
• U.S.-Iran talks: With Iran weeks away from developing nuclear bombs, the adversaries held their highest-level talks in years in Oman on Saturday. The U.S. seeks to prevent a nuclear Iran looming over Israel. Meanwhile, Iran 鈥� saddled with sanctions 鈥� faces a worsening economy and restless population, with food prices up 41% year-on-year last month. U.S. President Donald Trump, who exited a 2015 Iran nuclear deal he said was too soft, has threatened worse sanctions and bombing if negotiations fail. Axios reported the parties will meet again in Rome this weekend. 鈥� Staff
• Fire at a governor鈥檚 home: Police evacuated Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family from the governor鈥檚 residence in Harrisburg after what officials called an act of attempted arson. The fire broke out overnight Saturday, on the first night of the Jewish holiday of Passover, which Shapiro and his family had celebrated there. Police said a suspect was in custody and that charges were forthcoming. 鈥� The Associated Press
• Argentina unrest: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was set to visit Buenos Aires Monday in a show of U.S. support for Argentina鈥檚 President Javier Milei, whose economic reforms appear to be wearing thin with growing sectors of the country. Last week Mr. Milei faced the third general strike of his 17-month presidency. Labor unions and pensioners protested deep cuts in government spending and downsizing of the public sector, 鈥渃hainsaw austerity鈥� moves that have in some ways served as a model for efforts to slash the U.S. federal government. 鈥� Staff
• Support for Ukraine: Germany and Britain sent a message to Russia that Ukraine will continue to receive Western support in its fight. The European powers last week for the first time co-led a meeting of what is often known as the Ramstein group of some 50 countries that give military support to Ukraine, after Washington gave up the chair. 鈥� Reuters
  • Related Monitor story: Can Europe confront Russia without U.S. help? Not yet, but it may have to.
• Remembrance: An investigation continues into the cause of last Tuesday鈥檚 roof collapse at a nightclub in the Dominican Republic, which killed 226 people including a merengue icon and a baseball star. After a five-hour memorial for singer Rubby P茅rez at Santo Domingo鈥檚 National Theater late last week, attendees spontaneously sang his hit song 鈥淰olver茅.鈥� Zulinka P茅rez, one of his daughters, said, 鈥淚 knew he was loved, but I never imagined this.鈥� 鈥� AP
• Masters triumph: Rory McIlroy turned a near collapse into his grandest performance of all, hitting a wedge into 3 feet for birdie in a sudden-death playoff Sunday to finally win the Masters at Georgia鈥檚 August National and take his place in golf history as the sixth player to claim the career Grand Slam. 鈥� AP

More than a decade after Syria鈥檚 war began, and months after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad, small investments 鈥� in homes, in businesses 鈥� signal hope. The obstacles to rebuilding are immense. Economic collapse, sanctions, broken infrastructure, and political uncertainty cast a shadow. Government promises have mostly been symbolic gestures. The challenges are especially acute for families without regular income. But there is a motivating will. 鈥淧eople want to be on their land,鈥� says a construction worker who found a temporary job on the salt flats, 鈥渘o matter what the work situation is.鈥�

President Donald Trump鈥檚 controversial immigration actions are possible partly because he is enforcing already existing, but rarely used, legislation 鈥� from an 18th-century wartime authority to a World War II-era registration law. How far he can push his executive power in the courts remains to be seen. Detractors argue some of his actions are unconstitutional. The government contends that judges are overstepping their role by holding the White House back.

In recent years, satellite cities have begun sprouting on the fringes of many African cities, promising an orderly, modern alternative to their grit and congestion. Many of the projects, rushed and overly ambitious, have flopped. Kenya鈥檚 Tatu City is poised to be an exception. This new urban development is meant to be everything Nairobi is not. Wide avenues run through carefully planned residential and industrial areas. Residents have a reliable supply of water and electricity. Starting from a blank canvas, it promises to provide not only an alternative way of living, but also a hub of economic growth.

Sheltering people fleeing violence and persecution is a moral and spiritual imperative across faiths. But after decades of working with the government to resettle refugees, organizations in the United States find themselves without a partner. First came a president鈥檚 executive order suspending admissions and freezing funding. Lawsuits followed. On April 9, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which operates some of the largest resettlement programs, said it needed to shutter such programs by year鈥檚 end. Now in limbo, resettlement organizations are determining what services they can provide on their own.

Humans started scratching caves into the limestone hillsides of Matera, Italy, 9,000 years ago. In medieval times, facades were added, roads laid. But the caves were largely untouched for centuries, and then occupied without water or drainage or heat for a period leading up to the 1950s. Today, after preservationists鈥� work, filmmakers and other storytellers come for the same reasons tourists do: for the breathtaking, nearly biblical look of the place. And for the now famous, once infamous, caves. With camera and pen, we went inside.

President Donald Trump鈥檚 sweeping tariffs 鈥� duties on imports 鈥� have brought recriminations and specific threats by most nations. Notably, the European Union has struck a decidedly mild tone. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 important here is that Europe reacts in a calm and measured way,鈥� Irish Foreign Minister Simon Harris said. Britain, an EU member until 2020, said it, too, would negotiate calmly with Washington.

For the EU, the stakes in a trade war with the United States would not be low. But its mild reaction so far comes from a need to navigate the divergent interests of 27 member countries. Patient listening and consensus-making are the only options.

That can be infuriating for some. The bloc鈥檚 bureaucracy can be a faceless force, binding energy and ideas in endless process. But recent weeks have shown the flip side. Europe didn鈥檛 react precipitously to the Trump tariffs because it first needed to deliberate.

France wanted to get tough on the U.S. but not cause damage to its best exports. Everyone was eager to put pressure on American Big Tech, except Ireland, which houses the European headquarters of most of these firms. And Italy, whose prime minister is a strong ally of Mr. Trump, didn鈥檛 want to do much at all.聽

Each country knows that it is far stronger together than alone. For example, 鈥淓U countries typically have a hundred times more leverage over China when acting through the EU than when acting bilaterally,鈥� noted a study by the Mercator Institute for China Studies. The EU鈥檚 unity has held so far because 鈥淎 shared commercial policy remains in everyone鈥檚 interest,鈥� a European diplomat told Reuters.

Mr. Trump once co-penned a book called 鈥淭he Art of the Deal.鈥� The EU鈥檚 superpower is 鈥渢he art of compromise,鈥� wrote Jan Vo脽winkel on the Common Ground of Europe blog. That means being open to letting good ideas float to the top through respectful and informed deliberation.聽

The EU 鈥渉as been successful because it takes a very long-term view,鈥� Dr. Vo脽winkel said. At its best, it helps member states 鈥渃onstantly search for 鈥榗ommon ground鈥� and find compromises in the spirit of shared values.鈥�