海角大神

Two Israeli Embassy aides were shot and killed in Washington. The shooting outside the Capital Jewish Museum Wednesday night is being investigated with help from the FBI, which said it would look into ties to potential terrorism or bias. Israel鈥檚 ambassador to the United States said the man and woman killed were a couple about to become engaged. 鈥� Staff

U.S. President Donald Trump reprimanded South Africa鈥檚 president.聽In a televised Oval Office meeting Wednesday, President Trump presented a video of alleged persecution of white South Africans. President Cyril Ramaphosa, there to discuss trade, did not make eye contact with Mr. Trump as images of crowds yelling 鈥淜ill the Boers鈥� flashed on the screen. Mr. Trump has long falsely claimed white genocide in the formerly white-ruled nation, and recently signed an executive order聽offering refugee status聽to some white South African farmers. 鈥� Staff

The U.S. Justice Department walked back police reform.聽It canceled settlements Wednesday with Minneapolis and Louisville, Kentucky, that called for an overhaul of their police departments following the killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, which catalyzed nationwide protests in the summer of 2020. The Trump administration also said it was retracting the findings of investigations into six other police departments. 鈥� The Associated Press
Related Monitor stories:聽We spoke this week with Ben Crump, the lawyer who represented Mr. Floyd鈥檚 family,聽about accountability. We also explored whether America has changed since聽its 2020 reckoning聽on race.

Tensions mounted over deportations.聽A Boston federal judge on Wednesday said the Trump administration聽violated聽his聽court聽order by failing to allow eight immigrants from various countries the opportunity to聽object, including to assert fear of torture,聽ahead of deporting them to South Sudan. The State Department has warned against travel there due to armed conflict. A South Sudanese official told AP that if migrants arrived, they鈥檇 be 鈥渞e-deported to their correct country鈥� if not from South Sudan. 鈥� Staff

The U.S. accepted a gift jet from Qatar.聽Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the department will 鈥渨ork to ensure proper security measures鈥� on the Boeing 747, intended for use by Mr. Trump, and called the gift 鈥渋n accordance with all federal rules and regulations.鈥� Critics have raised concerns about its acceptance violating the Constitution鈥檚 prohibition on foreign gifts. 鈥� AP

A New Hampshire bakery won a First Amendment case. The town of Conway, New Hampshire, had ruled that a mural on a local bakery violated a local ordinance against advertisements. The bakery insisted the mural鈥檚 depiction of the sun rising behind a cinnamon roll and doughnut was art, not advertising. This week, a district judge ruled that the town was infringing on the owner's free speech rights. 鈥� Staff

The Cannes Film Festival, an annual celebration of French cinematic arts, is one of the most glittering on the French calendar. This year, however, its most important cultural contribution isn鈥檛 on screen. A guilty verdict in the sexual assault case against actor G茅rard Depardieu on festival鈥檚 opening night reflects a deeper national shift in attitudes toward the treatment of women. French cinema has been forced to reconcile with its decadeslong problem of ignoring sexual violence. A recent parliamentary inquiry into the inner workings of the industry found that sexual violence was 鈥渟ystemic, endemic, and persistent.鈥� A culture of impunity may now be ending.

In its attempt to deport unauthorized immigrants, the Trump administration says rapid transfers of detained migrants from one state to another are necessary for security reasons. That practice is not unprecedented. The government has broad discretion to transfer detainees in removal proceedings. But it has raised an important legal question by highlighting different jurisprudential views across the federal bench. In a recent hearing, the U.S. Supreme Court聽debated whether federal judges in one district have the power to pause White House policy across the United States. How it rules may reshape a key objective of the Trump administration.

Fourteen years of civil war and five decades of dictatorship left Syria cut off from the global financial system. Now, as the Middle Eastern country takes its first meaningful steps toward a more open and perhaps democratic form of governance, an economic spring is starting to bloom. On Tuesday, the European Union announced it was lifting economic sanctions, following a similar move by the United States. That coincides with a transformation from within. Syrian merchants and industrialists 鈥撀爈ong squeezed by bureaucracy and threats under the former regime 鈥撀爏ay they are being treated as partners in rebuilding by new reformist leaders in Damascus.

As the school year winds down, one important trend in education is gathering momentum. Georgia, Nebraska, Alabama, and Oklahoma finalized laws this month aimed at keeping personal tech devices out of school classrooms and hallways. Five states banned cellphones in public schools in April. Texas is debating a similar measure. In all, more than 20 states in the past two years. The reforms coincide with research showing that majorities of adults and teens see a benefit in limiting exposure to social media. As one school counselor in Connecticut notes, when cellphones are absent, 鈥淭he kids are really engaging, and it鈥檚 so healthy to see.鈥�

It鈥檚 not enough that for more than 200 years Jane Austen has inspired generations of young women to pick up a writing tool and await a muse. That struggle is a perennial favorite for Hollywood, especially when it comes with a dose of something unrequited 鈥� be it love or an incomplete sentence. Who can forget Flora Poste, the heroine of 鈥淐old Comfort Farm鈥� struggling to capture a sunset: 鈥淭he golden orb had almost disappeared behind the interlacing fingers of the hawthorne.鈥� In this year鈥檚 take on the theme, a new comedy called 鈥淛ane Austen Wrecked My Life鈥� finds feisty Agathe Robinson distracted by her own personal Mr. Darcy while seeking inspiration in the English countryside.

Almost half a year after its liberation from a dictatorship, Syria could be close to a 鈥渃ivil war of epic proportions,鈥� U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned Tuesday. A great distrust still exists among religious and ethnic communities after being pitted against each other for half a century by the despotic Assad family, he said.

Yet like many foreign officials involved in Syria鈥檚 future these days, Mr. Rubio could not leave his dark prediction alone. He also cited a light of hope.

鈥淭he good news is that there is a Syrian national identity,鈥� he told a Senate panel. 鈥淚t is one of the places in the Middle East where Alawis and Druze and 海角大神s and Sunni and Shia ... and Kurds have lived alongside each other.鈥�

Syrians are now seeking to build a nation, he added, and the possibility exists for a stable Syria that could open up 鈥渋ncredible opportunities around the region for all kinds of peace.鈥�

Last week, a key piece for such a future fell into place. The interim government in Damascus, led by former anti-Assad rebel Ahmed al-Sharaa, set up two independent bodies aimed at national reconciliation through a mix of justice and mercy, perhaps avoiding a cycle of vengeance.

The new Transitional Justice Commission will expose 鈥渢he truth about the grave violations committed by the former regime, holding those responsible accountable in coordination with the relevant authorities, redressing the harm inflicted on victims, and consolidating the principles of non-repetition and national reconciliation.鈥� A second commission will search the more than 100,000 people presumed missing during a 13-year civil war that began in 2011.

鈥淛ustice is not only about criminal accountability, it is also about rebuilding a Syria where people can live with dignity,鈥� wrote Nousha Kabawat, head of the Syria program at the International Center for Transitional Justice, in March. 鈥淗ow do we ensure that the truth of Syria鈥檚 past is not erased? How do we honor those who have suffered and ensure their voices lead this transition?鈥�

Overcoming the nation鈥檚 difficult past will mean listening first to the victims of the Assad regime. In February, families of the missing and those detained by the dictatorship met with the interim president. 鈥淭hey are not just victims,鈥� wrote Ms. Kabawat, 鈥渢hey are the moral compass of Syria鈥檚 future.鈥�