海角大神

Middle East: Syrian and Israeli officials held a rare meeting in Paris on Tuesday to discuss normalizing relations and restoring a 1974 ceasefire agreement, the Syrian state-run news agency reported. The talks were brokered by the United States. Meanwhile, Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz approved a plan to take over Gaza City and authorized the call-up of roughly 130,000 reservists, his ministry told Agence France-Presse Wednesday.

Ukraine:聽President Trump assured that troops would not be deployed as part of American security guarantees for post-war Ukraine, although air support and pilots could be part of the deal. NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte said Washington鈥檚 willingness to defend Ukraine was a 鈥渂reakthrough鈥� in the聽peace process.听

Venezuela: Three U.S. warships are reportedly on their way to waters off Venezuela as the Trump administration works to combat threats from Latin American drug cartels. Venezuelan President Maduro said Monday he is mobilizing over four million militia fighters after the United States doubled its reward for his arrest.听

Transparency: A public database for tracking federal spending has been restored five months after it was taken offline, reports the Wall Street Journal. A federal judge ordered the Trump administration to bring back the website in what some see as a victory for public accountability.听

The Amazon basin: Presidents from across South America are meeting in Bogot谩 this week for the fifth summit of the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organization. Indigenous leaders published a statement Monday demanding more of a voice in discussions about the rainforest鈥檚 future, calling for legal protections for Indigenous land and a ban on new oil, gas, and mining projects.听

Sweden: After years of planning, a beloved church in the Arctic city of Kiruna is being lifted and resettled three miles to the east on a massive trolley. The entire city is relocating to avoid being swallowed up by the iron-ore mine that put the town on the map over a century ago. Thousands of spectators watched yesterday as the red, wooden church inched toward its new home.听

France: Meanwhile, over 40,000 people signed a petition to keep a Medieval relic known as the Bayeux tapestry from being relocated. French President Macron had offered to loan the 230-foot embroidered tapestry to the British Museum in London. An art historian launched the petition out of concern for the masterpiece.

Prayers and remembrance:聽A memorial was held Tuesday for slain hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin in Jerusalem, a year after the American-Israeli was executed in a tunnel by Hamas along with five other young Israelis. For many Israelis, 鈥淭he Beautiful Six,鈥� as they are known, are a cautionary tale that diplomacy saves more lives than military force.听

鈥� Staff, The Associated Press, and Reuters

School lunch debt has been rapidly increasing. Now, changes to SNAP and Medicaid could reduce automatic eligibility for free and reduced-price meals. How are schools responding to prevent hunger and save their budgets?

Rising electricity bills are stinging consumers across the United States. Experts say the trend reflects rising demand for electricity 鈥� including from AI 鈥� but also the need for upgraded and more adaptable power grids.

The demise of USAID didn't just end funding to thousands of charitable organizations around the world. In many places, it fractured communities that depended on that aid.听

Traditionally, Hindu priests are male and Brahmin. Ranjan Ravaliya is neither. And younger women, especially from immigrant families, are seeking her out to perform their wedding ceremonies. Part of our series on women of faith.

For decades, Syrians could not readily buy books banned by the Assad family dictatorship. The dynasty鈥檚 fall means no more banned books.

Over the past nine months, a visitor to Serbia in southeastern Europe might have run into almost-daily protests by university students. The biggest demonstrations brought out at least 4% of Serbia鈥檚 6 million people, most of them Generation Z.

While the numbers and the persistence of the protests are impressive, what really matters is that 鈥渢he students have behaved with exemplary integrity,鈥� as one faculty member at the University of Novi Sad put it. That has brought them widespread public support.

Their integrity is rooted in a consistent demand: The students want transparency and accountability from government after the collapse of a renovated rail station canopy killed 16 people last November. They suspect corruption led to the tragedy and have yet to get clear answers from the increasingly authoritarian government of President Aleksandar Vu膷i膰.

In addition, they have organized themselves after the democracy they seek: The protesters operate by consensus and with equality, without leaders. Most avoid confrontation with police and will not align with any political party. They simply want rule of law and clean governance.

If some of this sounds familiar, it is because a wave of protests against corruption around the world in recent years 鈥� from Mongolia to Iraq 鈥� has become more youth-led. The world now has the largest youth generation in history, one that is digitally connected and, according to surveys, the most affected by bribery and other forms of corruption.

鈥淵oung people everywhere want a fairer future and are willing to play their part in ending corruption,鈥� states watchdog group Transparency International. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e not just preparing to lead 鈥� they already are.鈥�

One study found the number of protests led by young people increased by more than sixfold between 2006 and 2020, with corruption as the second most common issue. As the United Nations declared last year, 鈥淵oung people are powerful forces for promoting integrity and combating corruption.鈥�

Both the U.N. and Transparency International have launched programs to bring young people together in 鈥渃lubs鈥� and 鈥渂oot camps鈥� to learn how to track accountability and transparency in public institutions. This has helped change the narrative from young people as victims of corruption to promoters of integrity.

Yet the grandest lesson for youth is happening almost daily in Serbia. Its young people are not only the center of a new politics, they are a model, too.