海角大神

The United States used a military aircraft disguised as a civilian plane to conduct its first strike on an alleged drug smuggling vessel in September, officials told The New York Times. The acknowledgment has prompted new legal concern about recent operations, with some experts calling the strategy 鈥減erfidy,鈥� a war crime. A White House spokesperson claimed the attacks are in line with the 鈥渓aw of armed conflict.鈥�

Iran said it was keeping communication with Washington open, as President Donald Trump announced a 25% tariff on nations doing business with the Islamic Republic in response to its crackdown on nationwide protests. The government has eased restrictions on international phone calls, but the internet remains blocked, and hundreds of people have reportedly been killed. Scott Peterson reports on why the sweeping demonstrations have grown into an existential threat for the regime.

Senator Mark Kelly sued Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, saying the Pentagon violated his right to free speech by censuring and moving to demote him after he encouraged troops to disobey illegal orders. On Jan. 5, Secretary Hegseth issued a letter of censure saying the retired Navy captain鈥檚 conduct 鈥渦ndermines the chain of command鈥� and 鈥渃ounsels disobedience.鈥� The Arizona Democrat鈥檚 lawsuit argues the department鈥檚 actions amounted to retaliation.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi opened a summit with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to 鈥減ush forward鈥� trade and security ties and build trust. Facing challenges from China and North Korea, the two U.S. allies have overcome historical friction to step up defense cooperation in recent years. Beijing is reportedly restricting rare earth exports to Japan as part of a campaign to punish Ms. Takaichi for her supportive stance toward Taiwan, the democratic island claimed by Beijing.

President Trump threatened to block ExxonMobil from investing in Venezuela, with the oil giant鈥檚 CEO calling operations there 鈥渦ninvestable鈥� and Mr. Trump saying Exxon was 鈥減laying too cute.鈥� Laurent Belsie wrote recently about how costs and the political instability caused by the U.S. intervention are making would-be extractors wary. Washington is working to lift some sanctions on Venezuela.

The International Criminal Court opened a landmark case on the persecution of Myanmar鈥檚 Rohingya minority, marking a step toward justice for hundreds of thousands of refugees. It鈥檚 been more than six years since Gambia filed the case accusing Myanmar鈥檚 military of genocide, and more than a decade since a genocide case has reached this level in the United Nations鈥� top court. The outcome could set precedent for how the world handles such allegations moving forward.

London鈥檚 murder rate dropped to its lowest point since recording began in 1997. The city鈥檚 police chief called London 鈥渆xtraordinarily safe,鈥� denouncing the 鈥減olarized debate鈥� around safety. The British capital has a homicide rate of 1.1 per 100,000 people in 2025, compared to 3.2 in Berlin and 11.7 in Chicago. Murders of young people under age 25 have become especially rare, down to 18 from a peak of 69 in 2017.

鈥� From Monitor writers around the globe

The Federal Reserve鈥檚 independence from partisan politics is a cornerstone of U.S. economic stability and market confidence. A Justice Department criminal probe of Fed Chair Jerome Powell may signal new risk to this principle.

Artificial intelligence is steadily becoming a greater part of people鈥檚 daily lives, and that trend is expected to continue in 2026 鈥� bringing with it scrutiny of the technology鈥檚 effects on society.

Across Central America, voters are losing faith in democratic governments鈥� ability to curb rising crime rates. That has left the field open for authoritarian, not to say dictatorial, leaders.

Al Qaeda-linked insurgents. Military coups. Russian mercenaries. These are the global headlines out of Mali. But behind each of them are communities uprooted and lives upended.

Beauty can be found in a bird鈥檚 plumage, a coral reef, a butterfly wing. Our reviewer shares her picks for art books that celebrate nature in all its vibrancy and endless variety.

In the midst of the Arctic winter, residents of Greenland are feeling the heat of global geopolitics.

United States officials have stepped up insistence on the 鈥渘eed鈥� to take control of the mostly ice-covered island by force or by financial means. The declarations stress Greenland鈥檚 strategic location along Arctic sea routes 鈥� which both Russia and China are vying to use 鈥� as well as access to its estimated 1.5 million tons of rare earth mineral reserves.

What鈥檚 at stake 鈥渋s not just about rare earths 鈥� it is about the very idea of sovereignty in an age of resource rivalry,鈥� Phar Kim Beng, of the Institute of International and ASEAN Studies, wrote in the Malay Mail.

The U.S. logic is 鈥渞ooted in energy security, future-proofing supply chains (especially minerals) and in the strategic denial of competitors,鈥� geopolitics analyst and bestselling author Tim Marshall wrote in The Times of London.

In this view, the Danish territory is an asset to be owned rather than an ally with which to engage, an approach that runs counter to 80 years of global treaties and norms that have prioritized diplomacy over bellicosity.

With China鈥檚 current predominance in the extraction and processing of rare earth minerals, essential for the automotive, military, and tech industries, the U.S. is playing catch-up. And both countries are applying aspects of centuries-old mercantilism, which took a zero-sum view of resources as limited, thus requiring economic domination of other nations. An Australian think tank has identified a related notion of 鈥渇rontierism,鈥� which sees Earth鈥檚 polar regions as areas 鈥渢o be conquered, developed or claimed rather than ... shared as global commons.鈥�

This trend prompted a conference last year in Nuuk, Greenland鈥檚 capital, to call for expanding 鈥減olar law鈥� to address extraction and fair use of resources, as melting ice caps affect fish stocks and access to land-based resources.

Examples of multilateral approaches to such 鈥済lobal commons鈥� are somewhat uncommon, but still instructive. A 2023 security pact among the U.S., South Korea, and Japan included cooperation on critical mineral supply-chain issues. Other examples include a 2001 United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement,聽 the 2008 Great Lakes Agreement and Compact between the U.S. and Canada, and multiple water-sharing agreements in Central Asia.

Lisa Murkowski, a Republican senator from Alaska 鈥� whose Inuit population shares cultural traditions with Greenlanders 鈥� has urged the U.S. to shift away from talk of acquisition to alliance. 鈥淟et us choose respect, dialogue, cooperation, and partnership,鈥� she said on January 8.聽

Those values have contributed to global economic progress since World War II. They are essential now as the international order is being transformed by new geopolitics.

鈥淚n an era of intense technological competition, perhaps the greatest rare earth of all is trust among nations,鈥� as Malaysian analyst Dr. Phar observed. 鈥淚f that melts away like Arctic ice, the world that emerges will be far more brittle than the minerals buried beneath Greenland鈥檚 frozen soil.鈥�