海角大神

The District of Columbia sued to stop President Trump鈥檚 use of National Guard troops in the city. The lawsuit argues the deployment is an illegal use of the military for domestic law enforcement. The White House said it was an attempt to undermine a 鈥渉ighly successful鈥� campaign against crime in the capital. Despite some protests, President Trump appears to have normalized the presence of troops on city streets. 鈥� Staff

Twenty-six countries pledged troops for Ukraine after the fighting with Russia ends, said French President Emmanuel Macron. He and other European leaders met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff yesterday to discuss long-term military support and continued American backing for Ukraine. Mr. Zelenskyy said a meeting with Russian President Putin is necessary to end the war. 鈥� The Associated Press

President Trump hosted tech CEOs for a dinner at the White House. The guest list included Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, Apple CEO Tim Cook, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and a dozen other executives from the biggest artificial intelligence and tech firms. A notable absence was tech billionaire Elon Musk. The executives praised Mr. Trump and talked about their hopes for technological advancement.聽 The president asked them how much they were investing in the country. 鈥� AP

North Korean and Chinese leaders pledged deeper ties in Beijing. Kim Jong Un met with Xi Jinping on the sidelines of festivities commemorating the end of World War II, state media reported Thursday. Experts say he likely hopes to restore ties with China, North Korea鈥檚 biggest trading partner and aid provider. China wants its neighbor to return to negotiations and give up its nuclear weapons development. 鈥� AP

The U.S. government designated two Ecuadorian gangs as foreign terrorist organizations, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on a visit to Ecuador. Los Lobos and Los Choneros are blamed for much of the violence that has spread there since the pandemic. Mr. Rubio said the designation gives the U.S. government 鈥渙ptions鈥� for working with the government of Ecuador to crack down on the groups. 鈥� AP

Taiwan鈥檚 tech hub is making it easier to raise children. Politicians have tried for years to reverse Taiwan鈥檚 plummeting birth rate, with little success. Companies in Hsinchu, Taiwan鈥檚 Silicon Valley, offer child subsidies, on-site kindergartens, and flexible work policies to ease the pressures of parenting, reports Rest of World. It鈥檚 the only region in the country that is home to more children than seniors. 鈥� Staff

Astronomers discovered a giant new cloud in the Milky Way. Stretching across 200 light years, the mass of dust and turbulent gas known as the Midpoint cloud acts like a cosmic river, carrying material toward the galaxy鈥檚 center. Scientists believe it is on the verge of birthing new stars, offering rare insight into how star formation occurs in extreme conditions. 鈥� Staff

Both parties agree in principle that health policy should be driven by facts and science聽鈥� not by politics. But translating science into policy involves human judgments. And an uproar this week around vaccines shows聽rising tension over public health.聽

鈥淵ankee go home鈥� was once a popular Latin American anti-imperialist slogan. Now, trying to control a drug-fueled wave of violence, some in the region are having second thoughts about the United States.

Red flag laws are designed to stop potential gun violence by people deemed a threat to themselves or others. The Minnesota shooter鈥檚 intentions weren鈥檛 known until it was too late, leading some to lament missed clues.

For decades, Iran鈥檚 powerful Lebanese ally Hezbollah was a check on the Beirut government鈥檚 power. Israel severely weakened the Shiite militia, yet as a new Lebanese government seeks to assert its authority, an easy compromise seems unlikely.

The film adaptation of the award-winning novel 鈥淧reparation for the Next Life鈥� benefits from being directed by someone who shares the qualities of the book that inspired it: verisimilitude and empathy.

There鈥檚 a story behind every vintage car. Whether they鈥檙e gearheads or not, visitors to the vault at the Petersen Automotive Museum will hear plenty to pique their interest.

In Central Asia, summers have long brought both abundance and scarcity. As crops grow and then ripen in the dry heat, water becomes increasingly scarce. And with warmer seasons in recent years, river levels have fallen to new lows. That has led something else to sprout up: water diplomacy.

Among the region鈥檚 five nations 鈥� Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan 鈥� historic rivalry over water has turned into intense dialogue aimed at trust and cooperation. 鈥淭he times require more dynamic [action] from us,鈥� said Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister Kanat Bozumbayev at a recent meeting of the region鈥檚 commission for managing transboundary waterways.

August saw a flurry of measures and agreements in this crossroads of Eurasia. Uzbekistan unveiled a plan to conserve water by modernizing its antiquated irrigation network. Kazakhstan funded restoration for the receding Caspian Sea, with Turkmenistan joining the push. A few months earlier, Tajikistan, which houses the vast Bahri Tojik reservoir, agreed to release and share millions of cubic meters of water with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

鈥淲ater diplomacy goes beyond simple cooperation,鈥� according to Barbara Janusz-Pawletta of the International Water Management Institute. At an April conference in Uzbekistan that highlighted 鈥渢rust鈥� and 鈥渄ialogue,鈥� she emphasized the importance of 鈥渆nsuring all parties鈥� interests are taken into account.鈥�

Central Asia鈥檚 openness to dialogue and joint action are notable, given that these former Soviet republics have had contentious disagreements over borders previously demarcated by Moscow. More than two decades ago, the International Crisis Group dubbed this legacy a Pandora鈥檚 box that could exacerbate resource competition and ethnic divisions.

Contrary to such predictions, the countries have successfully pursued territorial peacemaking, even under authoritarian, 鈥渟trongman鈥� rule. Earlier this year, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan resolved a decades-long border dispute in the picturesque, populous, and fertile Ferghana Valley, where hundreds of people have died in armed clashes over the past three decades.

Soon after, the European Union participated in the first-ever EU-Central Asia summit. In addition to shared goals on water and environmental cooperation, the joint declaration also referred to promoting and protecting 鈥渇undamental freedoms鈥� of a civil society, including freedoms of expression, association, and the press.

Central Asia鈥檚 journey through the process of water and land negotiations has required communication, reciprocity, and mutual respect. These features offer a navigational guide to other parts of the world grappling with similar issues. And they could also inform needed economic and democratic transformation within Central Asia.