海角大神

The head of the U.S. military in Latin America resigned one year into a three-year term. As leader of the Southern Command, Adm. Alvin Holsey鈥檚 job involved overseeing recent strikes on small boats in the Caribbean Sea that the Trump administration has said are running drugs for Venezuela-based cartels. His departure after more than 37 years in the military 鈥渟ends an alarming signal,鈥� said Sen. Jack Reed, the top Democrat on the Senate Armed Services Committee. 鈥� Staff

The European Union unveiled a roadmap to 鈥渃redibly deter鈥� military threats by the end of the decade. Amid Russian provocations, including recent airspace violations, the bloc is working to boost its capacity, from an anti-drone system to an air and missile defense shield. The document does not mention the United States, which has pressured Europe to take charge of its own defenses. 鈥淓uropeans must take more responsibility,鈥� German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said yesterday. 鈥� Staff

Senate Democrats rejected for the tenth time a stopgap spending bill that would reopen the government. They are insisting they won鈥檛 back away from demands that Congress take up health care benefits. While some bipartisan talks have been ongoing about potential compromises on health care, they haven鈥檛 yet produced any progress toward reopening the government. 鈥� The Associated Press

Uruguay decriminalized euthanasia with broad public support for the law, which surpassed 80% approval in 2020 when it was proposed. Regardless of one鈥檚 posture, 鈥渨hat is needed in the conversation is more empathy,鈥� Uruguayan Florencia Salgueiro told the Monitor in 2023. Her father had sought assistance in dying. 鈥� Staff

Communities in Mexico are working to recover following historic floods last week. The rains caused landslides and left at least 200 communities cut off from roads. Electricity has returned in some areas, but government assistance has been slim. Despite sky-high approval ratings in her first year in office, President Claudia Sheinbaum has faced hostile crowds during visits to affected areas. 鈥淗ere we no longer ask, 鈥楬ow are you?鈥� We just say, 鈥楥ourage鈥�,鈥� one resident told El Pa铆s. 鈥� Staff

Developers are building new homes for displaced Ukrainians. Hansen Village, a modular settlement near Kyiv, houses 2,000 people who have fled war-torn and occupied territories. It鈥檚 funded by Utah developer Dell Loy Hansen, who has invested more than $140 million in housing and aid for Ukraine since 2022, and includes a school, health clinic, and sports facilities. 鈥� AP

Norway declared victory in its goal of ending gas-powered car sales by 2025. Electric vehicles made up more than 95% of new car sales this year, up from 89% in 2024. The shift was driven by tax breaks and incentives such as free tolls. Oslo plans to begin phasing out some of those benefits over the next two years. 鈥淲e can say that the goal has been achieved,鈥� Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg said. 鈥� Staff

Thursday鈥檚 indictment of former national security adviser John Bolton is the latest example of the Trump Justice Department going after people President Donald Trump says have done him wrong.

President Donald Trump appears to have drawn a lesson from the Hamas-Israel ceasefire deal: To achieve peace, you have to lean heavily on the combatants. Now, he鈥檚 applying that approach to Russia, to force an end to its invasion of Ukraine.

Violent confrontations this week between Hamas and rival armed groups in Gaza may complicate the peace process. But they have also brought a long-overdue sense of security to many Palestinians there.聽

If the Israeli army withdraws from Gaza, who will ensure law and order there? Only Turkish President Recep Tayyip聽Erdo臒an has the trust of Hamas and a strong enough military. How far will he go to help turn the ceasefire into lasting peace?

The Founding Fathers expected the U.S. Constitution to be amended. In letters, they wrote that it would have to adapt to survive. Yet the document hasn鈥檛 been meaningfully updated in decades. An author looks at how supporters of expanded rights have shifted their fight to the courts, and what that means for the durability of those rights.

As the world鈥檚 second-largest continent, Africa has more regional trading blocs than any other (about 30). In dollar value, two of the blocs are among the world鈥檚 top 10. Yet 80% of African exports flow not to neighboring nations but to countries elsewhere around the globe.

That鈥檚 changing. Especially as aid cuts and tariff increases by the United States have pushed many African governments to accelerate their economies and trade with each other. That has put a renewed focus on an ambitious continent-wide, free-trade agreement that鈥檚 been in the works for more than five years.

鈥淎frica has learned to stand on its own two feet. ... We are learning to industrialise, to create jobs, to innovate,鈥� said Jane Osei, head of the African Investment Network. Speaking to African Business magazine in Washington this week, she framed the rollback of aid and preferential trade as giving Africa a certain 鈥渋ndependence鈥� that provides 鈥渙pportunity within the challenge.鈥�

The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) is helping unlock some of that opportunity. Since its 2019 launch, 54 countries have signed on. That鈥檚 double the European Union鈥檚 membership and almost four times the EU鈥檚 population. During a pilot phase of the pact, a few countries have traded manufactured items as well as raw materials, while working to align payment and customs policies. This month, Ethiopia shipped goods under the pact for the first time while Namibia did the same in June.

鈥淭hese steps demonstrate a growing commitment to the vision of a single continental market,鈥� states GIS, a European-based think tank, describing it as 鈥渁 shield against external shocks鈥� and 鈥渁 vehicle for unlocking Africa鈥檚 full economic potential.鈥�

Much of this potential lies in the size of Africa鈥檚 market (with a population of over 1.5 billion) and among the thousands of small businesses that form the backbone of its economies. Intra-African trade grew to $208 billion in 2024, up 7.7 %from the previous year. Small producers traded a larger share of their products within Africa than larger firms. Expecting continued growth, global shipping giant DHL announced this week that it will expand services across Africa.

Kenyan statesman Raila Odinga, who passed away Wednesday, was a proponent for African self-reliance and economic integration. But he emphasized the need for transparent, democratic governance, which is still rare on the continent.

Ultimately, as AfCFTA Secretary General Wamkele Mene said on a Brookings Institution podcast this year, 鈥淲e have to ... create the conditions for our development to take place. ... Nobody is going to develop our continent except ourselves.鈥�