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Ukraine: European leaders are joining Ukrainian President Zelenskyy at the White House today in a gesture of solidarity, after U.S. President Trump appeared to embrace some of Russia鈥檚 conditions for ending the war. Friday鈥檚 summit in Alaska between Mr. Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin did not lead to a ceasefire, but instead shifted the focus to a broader peace agreement.

Israel: Hundreds of thousands of protesters demonstrated in Tel Aviv and other parts of Israel on Sunday against the war in Gaza. Many stayed home from work and blocked roads to demand a deal that would bring the remaining hostages home and end the war, amid plans for a new military offensive in Gaza.

Bolivia: Presidential elections held Sunday are headed to an October runoff between a surprise center-right candidate in the lead and a conservative former president in second place. The preliminary results mark the end of nearly 20 years of leftist rule in the Andean nation and come amid its worst economic crisis in decades.

Air Canada: Flight attendants defied a government return-to-work order Sunday after going on strike the day before. Canada鈥檚 largest airline was forced to cancel flights for a second day during peak summer travel. The shutdown affects 130,000 passengers daily.

Plastics: The sixth round of United Nations talks for a landmark treaty to curb plastic pollution ended Friday without an agreement. Around 100 nations pushed for limits on plastic production. Oil-producing countries and the United States objected. The talks will resume at a later date.

Wildfires: As fires continue to burn across southern Europe, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro S谩nchez called Sunday for a 鈥渘ational pact鈥� to address what he described as an accelerating climate emergency. He also thanked Europe鈥檚 firefighting forces for helping put out the blazes.

Syria: Programmers and engineers who fled the Syrian civil war are returning home to help build the nation鈥檚 fledgling tech industry. As the nation recovers from the war, it is working to bring its digital infrastructure up to date. Web developer Baraah Ramadan told tech outlet Rest of World, 鈥淚t鈥檚 time to give back.鈥�

鈥� Staff, The Associated Press, and Reuters

After the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska and a whirl of Ukrainian diplomacy, European and U.S. leaders seem increasingly divided on how to end the war in Ukraine, setting the stage for a dramatic Volodymyr Zelenskyy visit to the White House Monday.

The messy business of mass deportation has come to Folkston, Georgia, where preparations have begun at a newly expanded detention center. Some worry that the effort represents a dangerous turn away from American values.聽

In what was billed as a 鈥渉ealing concert,鈥� tens of thousands of Israelis gathered in Tel Aviv on Thursday for a music festival. The purpose was to support the survivors and bereaved families of those lost during the Hamas attack on the Nova music festival in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Yet one former hostage, Omer Wenkert, told the crowd of another purpose:

鈥淚 call for unity 鈥� that we, as a people, begin to pick up the broken pieces and rise from them. To lift what lies within us,鈥� he said. 鈥淎s a people, we will heal this wound.鈥�

Another survivor at the concert, Joy Cohen, told The Times of Israel, 鈥淓veryone who has gone through the worst of the worst can come together and share light.鈥�

Meanwhile in Gaza, the universal balm of music has lately served a similar aim. Hundreds of young people have been taking music lessons and then offering informal concerts to Palestinians. Taught by teachers from the Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, the students scramble to find instruments, such as a hand drum made from a can. They speak of how music expresses their feelings and eases their fears.

One teacher, Ahmed Abu Amsha, said the music has soothed some young listeners deeply affected by the violence. 鈥淪everal of them, who hadn鈥檛 been able to speak for weeks because of fear, started to speak again,鈥� he told Le Monde.

The war between Hamas and Israel is not the only current conflict in which music has helped bring life into an arena of death.

In late July, thousands of people attended a music festival in Ukraine鈥檚 capital despite the threat of Russian attacks. One person told The Kyiv Independent that the festival was an 鈥渋sland of freedom.鈥� Another said it shows 鈥淲e are one nation and we will be here forever.鈥�

In a civil conflict in Sudan 鈥� which has the largest number of people displaced by war 鈥� musicians have released recordings to inspire people with chords of national unity and love. One rapper, Sharara, penned these lyrics in a 2023 song: 鈥淰ictorious, God willing, there will be no militia ruling the country. Whether life is long or short, truth will triumph over falsehood.鈥�

By its nature, music compels a connection with others and can break mental boundaries. Or, as former hostage Mr. Wenkert said, it lifts 鈥渨hat lies within us.鈥�