海角大神

Flight restrictions imposed at 40 airports during the U.S. government shutdown have been lifted. The Federal Aviation Administration said air traffic controllers have 鈥渞eturned to their posts鈥� and that normal operations can resume this morning. Controllers began receiving about 70% of the pay they missed on Friday, two days after the shutdown ended. Many airlines had not reduced flights as required.

Protests in the Philippines continued today over a flood-control corruption scandal, after hundreds of thousands rallied in Manila yesterday. Government officials and lawmakers are accused of misusing funds meant for flood defenses, as the country reels from two typhoons that killed more than 250 people. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said an independent fact-finding commission has filed criminal complaints against 37 suspects, with more complaints filed against business executives and officials for tax evasion.

Meanwhile, Mexico saw its largest protests since President Claudia Sheinbaum took office over a year ago, with thousands denouncing crime and violence. Saturday鈥檚 demonstrations followed the shooting of an anti-crime mayor in Michoac谩n earlier this month. Protesters called the government a 鈥渘arco state,鈥� with demands ranging from stronger crime-fighting initiatives to the president鈥檚 resignation. A group called 鈥淕eneration Z Mexico鈥� organized the rallies, echoing recent Gen Z-led movements worldwide.

Chile voted a Communist Party member and a right-wing candidate into a December presidential runoff. Leftist Jeannette Jara narrowly finished first in a crowded field, while conservative Jos茅 Antonio Kast placed second. Despite Ms. Jara鈥檚 lead, Mr. Kast is seen as the favorite, with right-leaning candidates together capturing nearly 70% of the overall vote. Mr. Kast promised to crack down on foreign criminals, echoing President Trump and tapping into two issues 鈥� crime and immigration 鈥� top of mind for many Chileans.

A busted gambling ring is under investigation by the NCAA, the governing board for college athletics. New Jersey authorities say the ring involved 14 people, including college athletes, and ran illegal sportsbooks in a $2 million operation between 2022 and 2024. Joseph 鈥淟ittle Joe鈥� Perna, a reported member of the Lucchese crime family, and several relatives were charged last week with racketeering, money laundering, and other gambling offenses. The probe comes as the NCAA debates whether to allow college athletes and staff to bet on professional sports.

Germany鈥檚 ruling coalition agreed to a plan to expand the army as Europe faces mounting pressure to strengthen its defenses. Given Germany鈥檚 deep aversion to militarism, the parties were divided over how to reach a target of roughly 80,000 more troops if volunteer numbers fall short. Their compromise was to create a database of the fitness and willingness of all men turning 18, starting next year. The list will guide conscription, suspended in 2011, if that becomes necessary.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt halted the execution of Tremane Wood last week, granting a last-minute reprieve. Mr. Wood will now serve a life sentence without parole. He maintains it was his brother, now deceased, who fatally stabbed Ronnie Wipf during a robbery the two committed together in 2002. Both the state Parole Board and Mr. Wipf鈥檚 family supported clemency. Gov. Stitt, who has granted such mercy only once before in six years in office, praised the victim鈥檚 relatives as 鈥渕odels of 海角大神 forgiveness and love.鈥�

鈥� From our staff writers around the world

The government shutdown affected federal workers and the jobs they do on behalf of Americans. As they go back to work, some reflect on the value of what they do, and the mountain they have to climb to make up for missed time.

Georgia is a hub of the U.S. timber industry, yet its mills are closing fast despite some help from new tariffs. Some family-run businesses say the key to survival is innovating and developing new products.

The world鈥檚 largest shopping event, Singles鈥� Day, was again held Nov. 11 in China 鈥� though the online bargains began weeks earlier, as is the case with Black Friday sales in other parts of the world. This year, however, the event was not just a commercial gala.

China鈥檚 annual shopping spree, which began in 2009 in earnest, no longer focuses on singles. (The date 11.11 resembles 鈥渂are sticks鈥� in Chinese, an idiom for being unhitched.) The unofficial holiday of mass consumption is now a key economic indicator: Whether or not the world鈥檚 second-largest economy will fall into a downward spiral of falling prices, or deflation.

Early reports from China鈥檚 giant e-commerce firms suggest spending for Singles鈥� Day was not enough to trigger a rise in retail prices and thus help end more than two years of declining prices. Sales were up 18%, but they were just over half the nearly 27% rise last year.

That may disappoint the Chinese Communist Party. In September, it vowed to 鈥渧igorously boost consumption,鈥� which would be quite a policy shift after decades of the party focusing on state investments in industries to help China become a global power. Prices of everyday goods have plunged, according to a Bloomberg News survey, while the share of loss-making companies is at a 25-year high.

The party has had some success in curbing one cause of falling prices. With its immense power over private companies, it has begun to reduce a state-driven overcapacity in industrial goods that has led to cut-throat competition in prices. But other fundamentals will be more difficult to reverse in order to achieve a healthy inflation rate.

鈥淗ouseholds have poor expectations for the future because homes are losing value,鈥� former Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said during a speech Nov. 14. 鈥淭his will drag on the growth of consumption and amplify the deflation trend.鈥�

The party might be reluctant to appeal to 1.4 billion Chinese people to get out and shop. Having to persuade consumers to spend more money on goods, especially with high youth unemployment, might shift power to citizens.

The party prefers people listen to it rather than it listening to the people. In China, however, when consumers sit on their hands, it is as good as voting on the party鈥檚 record as commander of the economy. Consumer power does not easily translate into democratic power. But using the freedom to shop 鈥� or not to shop 鈥� at least is a tip toward democracy.