海角大神

A U.S. military refueling plane 鈥渨ent down鈥� in friendly airspace in western Iraq.聽A second aircraft involved in the incident landed safely, said U.S. Central Command, which runs America鈥檚 operations in the Middle East, on Thursday. The incident involving the KC-135 tanker 鈥渨as not due to hostile fire or friendly fire,鈥� according to the statement. Seven U.S. troops have been killed in action and some 140 have been wounded in the U.S. war against Iran, according to the Pentagon.

A Michigan synagogue was targeted in an attack. A suspect is dead after ramming a truck into the Temple Israel synagogue and engaging in gunfire with security. No other injuries are reported. Located in West Bloomfield, near Detroit, Temple Israel is one of the largest Reform congregations in the United States 鈥� with 12,000 members, according to its website 鈥� and was organized in 1941. Antisemitic attacks, including those targeting synagogues and Jewish institutions, have surged in recent years in the U.S. and globally.

NASA aims for an April 1 launch for its next Moon mission.聽The Artemis II mission intends to fly a crew of four astronauts around the Moon and return them safely to Earth. The launch has been delayed since February due to safety concerns. The Artemis program intends to land humans on the Moon for the first time in more than 50 years. Because of delays with Artemis II, a lunar landing has been pushed back from 2027 to 2028.

China passes a sweeping law to assimilate ethnic minorities. Drawing on Chinese leader Xi Jinping鈥檚 nationalist agenda, the law subordinates the language and culture of China鈥檚 55 ethnic minority groups to those of the Han Chinese, who make up more than 90% of the population. It requires ethnic preschoolers to learn Mandarin and prohibits parents from teaching children anything 鈥渄etrimental to ethnic unity.鈥� Mr. Xi has overseen brutal crackdowns on Tibetan and Uyghur populations that critics call cultural genocide.

Drone attacks widened across central Africa. A strike killed three people, including an aid worker, in the eastern Congolese city of Goma. No group has claimed responsibility, but M23, the Rwandan-backed rebel group occupying the city, said the Congolese military carried out the Wednesday attack. Drone attacks from both sides have increased dramatically in the region in recent weeks, according to the global conflict monitoring organization ACLED. Wednesday鈥檚 attack hit a house occupied by UNICEF staff members.

Grammarly pulled back an application of AI. The editing tool Grammarly removed its Expert Review feature 鈥� an AI-powered function that provided specialized feedback designed to improve writing 鈥� following an outcry from journalists and authors about its unauthorized use of writers鈥� words and images. Wired magazine reports that the tech firm Superhuman, which owns Grammarly, now faces a class action lawsuit for presenting edits attributed to writers and academics, some deceased, without their permission.

A study found that bumblebees can survive underwater. Scientists at the University of Ottawa in Canada reported this week that submerged queens employ anaerobic strategies to lower their metabolism 鈥� also carrying a thin layer of air on their bodies 鈥� allowing them to effectively go without new oxygen for up to a week. In areas of heavy rainfall, it means more of them have a chance to survive surprise flooding. It鈥檚 a century-old myth that airplane dynamics make them unsuited to flight. Who knew they could scuba?

鈥� Compiled by Monitor writers around the world

If the United States expected Iran to capitulate by now, it refuses to do so. Instead, it is pursuing a survival strategy of fighting on and selecting targets to raise the war鈥檚 costs so high that the U.S. and Israel would think twice before attacking again.

The disruption of oil-tanker traffic is becoming an increasingly urgent problem for the global economy. A key question is how quickly safe passage can be restored聽鈥� either through force or by ending the war.

In an era of political partisanship, Senate Republicans and Democrats came together on a bill aimed at addressing housing affordability. Yet disagreements in the House, which had passed its own version of the bill, could still derail the legislation.

President Donald Trump鈥檚 supporters say his decision to attack Iran reflects his leadership style of swift, unilateral action. Others see it as impetuous. As the president hints at an endgame, huge questions 鈥� over the Strait of Hormuz, the Iranian nuclear program, and the country鈥檚 leadership 鈥� remain.

Israel鈥檚 Benjamin Netanyahu has been consistent in stating his Iran war aim: regime change. But can he declare victory without it? 鈥淎n exit strategy needs to be realistic,鈥� cautions one Israeli analyst. 鈥淏ecause if it is not realistic, there is no exit.鈥�

The Iran war shows that despite President Trump鈥檚 rejection of globalization in favor of U.S.-dominated mercantilism and tariff pressure, the world economy still relies on a complex set of international links that can impact all, including the United States.

In just the past six years, the world economy has been jolted by three sharp rises in oil prices. First, during the pandemic. Then, after Russia鈥檚 invasion of Ukraine in 2022. And now, a war-battered Iran has begun to block the Strait of Hormuz, a choke point for ships carrying 20% to 30% of the world鈥檚 petroleum supply.

Such energy crises often bring short-term hardship, such as higher gasoline prices. Yet they also spark bursts of innovation that help soften the next disruption to the global oil supply chain. One historic model: The 1973 Arab oil embargo led many countries to create strategic oil reserves for coordinated release in times of emergency, such as now.

With the start of the Iran war Feb. 28, creative responses to the current crisis are starting to show up. 鈥淲hat is needed now is not alarmism but foresight,鈥� wrote Christopher Long, head of intelligence at the security management firm Neptune P2P Group, in The National.

Some American farmers, for example, who are worried about rising prices for fertilizers derived from natural gas, are eyeing a switch to new types of biological sources, such as nitrogen-fixing microbes or fertilizers made with low-emission hydrogen.

In the European Union, the latest oil shock helped spur a decision this week to invest 鈧�200 million ($230 million) toward designing and building small nuclear power plants as reliable sources of low-emissions power for a continent highly dependent on fossil fuel imports.

And with Iran threatening ships crossing the narrow Hormuz passage, insurers in the maritime industry are coming up with creative ways to lessen fears of lost or damaged vessels. The U.S. International Development Finance Corp., for example, has offered a $20 billion reinsurance backstop to cargo carriers.

The spirit of innovative thinking is never in short supply. Billions of people now facing rising energy costs are on a steep learning curve to devise ways to operate more efficiently or to switch to non-oil sources, such as solar power. For all the limited progress made so far to reduce greenhouse gases, the Iran crisis might accelerate the energy transition.

Expensive oil has many benefits, writes Rita McGrath, a Columbia University business professor, in Fast Company magazine this month. It 鈥渁ccelerates the relative attractiveness of dematerialized products and services: software over hardware, streaming over shipping, local services over global supply chains, energy efficiency over energy consumption.鈥�

Sweet are the uses of adversity, Shakespeare wrote. And just as sweet is releasing the fetters of material limits by reshaping the world with innovative ideas in energy.