海角大神

Talks on the Russia-Ukraine war were brief. Delegations met in Turkey Monday for their second round of direct peace talks in just over two weeks. But officials said the discussion, which unfolded a day after a string of long-range attacks by both sides, lasted just over an hour. The sides agreed to exchange thousands of dead and seriously wounded troops. The Ukrainian delegation told reporters that Russia presented a memo setting out its terms and that Kyiv would need a week to review it. 鈥� The Associated Press

Violence continued in Gaza. At least 27 people were reportedly killed Tuesday as people headed toward an aid distribution site, following the killing of at least three Monday. Witnesses, including health officials, said Israeli forces opened fire. Israel鈥檚 military again said it fired warning shots. The southern Gaza aid hub, run by the Israeli and U.S.-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, was also the site of shooting Sunday in which 31 were reportedly killed and more than 170 were wounded. 鈥� AP
Related Monitor story: As food trickles in, the U.N. is calling the U.S.-Israeli plan 鈥渧astly insufficient.鈥� Our report from Gaza.

Syria鈥檚 stock market reopened. Trading resumed on the Damascus Securities Exchange after a six-month closure. Syria鈥檚 new leaders are trying to shore up the country鈥檚 battered economy and begin rebuilding after nearly 14 years of civil war. The move to reopen Monday comes as international restrictions on Syria鈥檚 financial systems begin to ease. The United States and Europe last month both announced the lifting of a wide range of sanctions imposed during the Assad dynasty鈥檚 rule. 鈥� AP

The United Kingdom is boosting its defense. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the U.K. is聽building up to a dozen nuclear-powered attack submarines to deter Russian aggression and establishing a cyber command to counter Russian attacks on its networks and infrastructure. He called the current national security challenges 鈥渕ore immediate and more unpredictable than at any time since the Cold War.鈥� The move is in keeping with President Trump鈥檚 demands that NATO members spend more on their own defense.聽鈥� Staff

Over 100 wildfires are burning across the Canadian prairies. Despite fraught relations between Canada and the U.S., fire season is a constant reminder of the proximity, physical and political, between the two nations. Smoke from the blazes has traveled as far south as Georgia. The U.S. has also sent in firefighting support, as Canada did during the devastating fires in Los Angeles this winter. Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe thanked provinces and territories and three U.S. states - Arizona, Oregon, and Alaska - for resources and equipment. 鈥淲e are truly grateful, and we stand stronger because of you,鈥� he said. 鈥� Staff

Tulsa鈥檚 new mayor is proposing $100 million in reparations. The private trust would give descendants of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, one of the worst racial attacks in U.S. history, scholarships and housing help. The plan by Monroe Nichols, Tulsa鈥檚 first Black mayor, would not provide direct cash payments to descendants. A lawsuit filed last year on behalf of the survivors was rejected by the Oklahoma Supreme Court. 鈥� AP
Related Monitor podcast: Our 2021 鈥淭ulsa Rising鈥� series looked at the city鈥檚 innovative and ongoing efforts to heal.

Mark Glyptis voted last year for Donald Trump and his vow to use tariffs as a tool to revive U.S. manufacturing. It鈥檚 a tool that鈥檚 not panned out yet for steelworkers in Weirton, West Virginia. Meanwhile, a surge in factory construction, undergirded in part by Democratic clean energy incentives, is occurring in Republican-run states 鈥� not in the industrial Midwest. But Mr. Glyptis hasn鈥檛 given up hope that President Trump鈥檚 strategy will bear fruit. 鈥淚t took 40, 50 years for us to get here. You鈥檙e not going to solve it in a year or two,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to take quite some time. But it鈥檚 going to happen.鈥�

For decades, migrants fleeing conflict and poverty in Latin America have carved well-worn paths northward to the United States in search of better lives. Their numbers peaked in 2023. Now that human flow is reversing in response to the Trump administration鈥檚 hard-line immigration policies. As people turn back toward the homes they left behind, their numbers threaten to exacerbate the region鈥檚 political, economic, and humanitarian crises at a time when views of migrants have hardened across the Americas.聽

In the past half-century, South Korea has made modest progress toward gender equality through legislative and social reforms. But when the Asian country鈥檚 residents go to the polls Tuesday to elect a new president, they will find a ballot without any female candidates for the first time in 18 years. Their absence is notable. Women were on the front lines fighting for South Korea鈥檚 democracy following an attempt by former President Yoon Suk Yeol to safeguard his power through martial law. They hope a new administration will bring new momentum to their quest for equality.

Growing up in Boston, Jarris Charley says he didn鈥檛 believe in jobs. The drug dealers were the ones with money. He got involved 鈥撀燼nd landed in prison. Near the end of a five-year term, a former manager from a job-training program asked him, 鈥淛arris, why don鈥檛 you just come back?鈥� The program, More Than Words, is a bookstore, but one that does much more than sell bestsellers. It serves young people who face social barriers such as homelessness or foster care, helping them see their potential as they help the nonprofit move 4.5 million books a year.

When I was a young boy, creating something that could fly from a mere scrap of paper seemed almost magical. Now I could share the wonder with my granddaughter.

As we peppered the sky with planes, I focused on the flights 鈥� how high, how far, how long, and which planes performed best. But my granddaughter was not primarily focused on such things. With the guileless wisdom of a child, she seemed to know that the most important things in life aren鈥檛 things at all.聽

鈥淕谤补苍诲辫补?鈥�

鈥渊别蝉?鈥�

鈥淐an we fly paper airplanes forever?鈥�

It鈥檚 official: The trend of migration out of large cities and into smaller towns among young professionals in the United States is not just a blip. It had already begun before the COVID-19 pandemic, and its continuing acceleration seems set to reimagine the future of small-town America.聽

During the 2010s, around 30,000 big-city residents between the ages of 25 and 39 were moving away each year. That number grew tenfold to nearly 300,000 in 2023. A University of Virginia census analysis shows this was the first time since the 1970s that small towns beat out larger urban areas for net migration gains. 聽

The cost of housing 鈥� more space for less money 鈥� is, of course, a major driver. (And paying for child care in a major metro area, it鈥檚 been said, can feel like taking out a second mortgage.) But just as much as the dollars saved, the intangible values of life in the slow lane are a draw. These include neighborliness and social connection, less time in traffic, easier access to the outdoors, and opportunities for creative enterprise.聽

Another type of connection also makes relocation attractive 鈥� reliable internet. The demand for fast Wi-Fi can also prompt rural areas to improve business services overall. In little Rutland, Vermont (population 16,000), a new coworking space supports business startups and networking for newcomers and longtime residents. 聽

Transplanted urbanites frequent the local caf茅 and the grocery store, and help create new businesses. They may find economic and social mobility easier to achieve in a reinvigorated small town. One study shows that larger, densely populated cities can be 鈥渓ess conducive to the American Dream.鈥�

About 10 years ago, on a 100,000-mile journey through America, reporters James and Deborah Fallows found that small towns 鈥渃an be acutely aware of being looked down on by big-city fashionable America. Sometimes that condescension is spirit-breaking. Sometimes it is motivating.鈥� More often than not, they encountered motivation: 鈥淚 can open a restaurant here, I can get a house here, I can build a company here.鈥澛� 聽

Such enthusiasm is not misplaced; it鈥檚 being borne out by fresh data. From 2019 to 2023, one real estate platform reports, applications to launch new businesses in the smallest metro areas and rural counties shot up 13% faster than in other parts of the U.S.聽