海角大神

Venezuelan opposition leader Mar铆a Corina Machado met President Donald Trump at the White House yesterday. She said she presented him her Nobel Peace Prize, which she won for her pro-democracy work, in recognition of his 鈥渃ommitment [to] our freedom.鈥� The Trump administration has sidelined Ms. Machado after ousting authoritarian Nicol谩s Maduro from power, instead backing his vice president Delcy Rodr铆guez.

A new U.S.-Taiwan trade deal caps tariffs on Taiwanese goods at 15% in exchange for $500 billion in investments in U.S. tech industries. The Commerce Department said the pact would spur a 鈥渕assive reshoring鈥� of semiconductor production it views as 鈥渧ital鈥� to industrial, technological, and military strength. The agreement comes as Taiwan鈥檚 chip giant TSMC ramps up investment amid soaring AI demand.

Iran鈥檚 judiciary denied accusations that it planned to execute Erfan Soltani, a young Iranian man detained amid a crackdown on widespread protests against the regime. The Trump administration had threatened military action if the Iranian government used deadly force on protesters and Thursday imposed new sanctions on Tehran. The harsh crackdown has reportedly quelled demonstrations.

Japan and the Philippines signed a defense pact amid growing tensions with China, allowing the tax-free provision of ammunition, fuel, and other supplies during joint military exercises. China claims disputed waters in the South China Sea and has built up its military presence there, leading to territorial confrontations. Japan and the Philippines are among the United States鈥� strongest allies in the region.

A hit song has been barred from Sweden鈥檚 official music charts, even as it tops streaming playlists, because it was created using AI. The folk-pop track, 鈥淚 Know, You Aren鈥檛 Mine,鈥� drew more than 5 million Spotify streams in weeks. Its creators say AI was only a tool in a human-led process, but industry officials disagree, highlighting a growing debate over the role of AI in the artistic process.

Galapagos birds are returning to the island of Floreana, where Charles Darwin visited nearly two centuries ago. He was the last to document a Galapagos rail 鈥� a small, shy bird that can fly and swim but isn鈥檛 very good at either. Long thought extinct, the rail is among several rare species rebounding after the removal of rats and feral cats. A biologist told the BBC it was 鈥渞emarkable, instant comeback.鈥�

鈥� From Monitor writers around the globe

Some businesses in Minneapolis and other cities are refusing entry to federal immigration officers, reflecting local dissatisfaction with the Trump administration鈥檚 deportation campaign as tensions continue to escalate.聽

The 1807 Insurrection Act聽allows presidents to deploy a military presence on U.S. streets in rare circumstances. President Trump threatens to invoke it as protesters clash with ICE in Minnesota.聽

Formation of the apolitical Palestinian committee, which met for the first time in Cairo, follows months of low-level conflict and unfulfilled pledges that have threatened the Israel-Hamas ceasefire. In Gaza, it was greeted with skepticism and hope.

The historic protests in Iran have become increasingly deadly. They鈥檙e also showing more parallels with another uprising nearly 50 years ago that forced Iran鈥檚 seemingly untouchable leader at the time to flee.

AI chatbot Grok was used to make provocative 鈥渄eepfake鈥� images of women and children, angering many. Though the social platform X has now suspended that capacity, the episode has highlighted how differently Europe and the U.S. view Big Tech and its regulation.

Belgian filmmakers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne veer away from easy solutions to the challenges their 鈥淵oung Mothers鈥� face, while holding room for growth and change.

When Iranians take to the streets in mass protest, as they have once again since Dec. 28, they often cite the soft role that Islam plays in Iraq, a real democracy right next door. A good example happened in Iraq on Jan. 11, or about the time that soldiers and police in Iran reportedly began shooting thousands of protesters to preserve the Islamic Republic 鈥� and its self-presumed mantle as leader of the Muslim world.

On that day, Iraq鈥檚 top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah聽Ali al-Sistani, gave his response to a request from leading politicians in Baghdad to endorse a particular candidate for prime minister. They looked to this revered figure, who lives quietly in the Shiite holy city of Najaf, to end months of political infighting. In the minority branch of Islam called Shiism, Mr. al-Sistani carries even more religious heft than the top religious authority in Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Both Iran and Iraq are majority Shiite.

Here is Mr. al-Sistani鈥檚 response to the squabbling politicians:

The highest religious authority has already made it clear that it refuses to have the names of candidates for the position of Prime Minister presented to it.

So why try again?!

May God protect you.

Mr. al-Sistani does not see clerical rule as feasible for Iraq, a religiously diverse nation. 鈥淎s long as I am alive, the Iranian experience will not be repeated in Iraq,鈥� Mr. al-Sistani has said. It is the people who must live up to their civic and religious ideals, he indicates, expressed through fair elections under a popular constitution.

For decades, Mr. al-Sistani and Mr. Khamenei have differed on this point 鈥� a contest of ideas over 鈥減olitical Islam鈥� that has played out across the Middle East, often violently. The two men also differ over whether the spiritual capital of Shiite Islam should lie solely in Iraq or Iran.

The latest protests, if they eventually provoke regime change in Tehran, might settle such questions. Particularly notable is that large protests erupted in Qom, Iran鈥檚 seat of Shiite learning, where clerics favor national rule by clerics. The protests there signaled 鈥渁 major symbolic breach in a city long seen as politically untouchable,鈥� stated the Iran International news site. In another holy city, Mashhad, a seminary was set on fire. Such protests have made a clear link between clerical misrule and economic mismanagement.

Polls indicate that most Iranians now support a separation of politics and religion. Meanwhile, in Iraq, the top cleric has now dashed the hopes of political leaders that he would endorse their candidate. As Mr. al-Sistani advised, with perhaps a wink toward spiritual reflection: 鈥淢ay God protect you.鈥�