海角大神

The Mideast war has escalated significantly as both sides attack crucial energy infrastructure. The flurry of activity resulted from an Israeli attack against Iran鈥檚 South Pars natural gas field, the largest in the world. Iran retaliated against its Gulf neighbors, with Thursday strikes setting Qatari liquefied natural gas facilities and two Kuwaiti oil refineries ablaze. U.S. President Donald Trump vowed that Israel would not attack South Pars again, but promised major consequences if Iran continued to attack Qatari facilities. He said in a social media post that the U.S. would 鈥渕assively blow up the entirety鈥� of South Pars.
Our coverage:听Caught between attacks and regime, Iranians try to cope

President Donald Trump is pushing Japan鈥檚 prime minister for help with the Iran war. Takaichi Sanae had indicated that she hoped to talk about China with Mr. Trump in Washington on Thursday. Instead, the Japanese prime minister is likely to face pressure from the president to help reopen the Strait of Hormuz by deploying warships to the Middle East. That鈥檚 a tough ask for Ms. Takaichi, even though she and Mr. Trump get along well. The war in Iran is unpopular in Japan: A recent poll showed 9% support for it.

The White House waived a shipping law in an effort to stabilize oil markets. The 60-day suspension of the Jones Act, which requires U.S. cargo to be transported between ports by U.S. ships, 鈥渨ill allow vital resources like oil, natural gas, fertilizer, and coal to flow freely to U.S. ports for sixty days,鈥� according to a statement from White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt. The move comes as energy prices rise amid the ongoing Iran war.
Our coverage: Strait of Hormuz: Why no one, so far, is rushing to help US open vital passage

Venezuela鈥檚 longtime defense minister is out. Acting President Delcy Rodr铆guez announced Vladimir Padrino L贸pez, a close ally of ousted authoritarian leader Nicol谩s Maduro, would be stepping down after serving as the 鈥渇irst soldier in the defense of our country鈥� for almost 12 years. Mr. Padrino was believed to have a strong grip on Venezuela鈥檚 armed forces. Analysts say he was kept in his position to ensure stability following Mr. Maduro鈥檚 capture. He is replaced by Gen. Gustavo Gonz谩lez L贸pez, who immediately following Ms. Rodriguez鈥檚 rise to power in January was named head of military counterintelligence.

The legacy of labor and civil rights icon Cesar Chavez is under scrutiny. That鈥檚 following a New York Times investigation published on Wednesday that includes allegations that he sexually abused women and girls for years. Mr. Chavez is one of the most celebrated activists in American history for his work as founder of the United Farm Workers union. His co-founder, Dolores Huerta, released a statement on Wednesday claiming that she experienced two abusive sexual encounters with Mr. Chavez. Multiple cities, and the UFW, have canceled celebrations for Cesar Chavez Day this month.

The U.S. will require $15,000 visa bonds for travelers from 50 countries. The policy, starting April 2, expands on an existing program that previously applied to 38 nations. It requires applicants for tourist and business visas to pay the bond upfront. Officials say the measure is meant to reduce visa overstays, with the money returned if travelers follow the rules. The move is part of President Donald Trump鈥檚 broader push for stricter immigration policies.

鈥� Compiled by Monitor writers around the world

President Donald Trump has been pressuring the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. But the Iran war and surging oil prices are complicating the economic picture, prompting the U.S. central bank to hold rates steady.

Sen. Markwayne Mullin fielded fierce questions about his conduct from a fellow Republican during his confirmation hearing for Homeland Security secretary. Mr. Mullin offered a slightly more conciliatory tone on immigration enforcement than his predecessor.

During the third funding shutdown since last fall,听Transportation Security Administration employees are again working without pay and bearing the personal cost of a political standoff.听Some workers are taking sick days and others are quitting, causing airport delays.

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi听Gabbard told lawmakers the U.S. military campaign in Iran had effectively destroyed that country鈥檚 military capabilities. But she deflected questions about whether the Trump administration had been warned that Iran would attack its Gulf neighbors and close the Strait of Hormuz, bringing oil shipments to a halt.

Is delayed justice really justice?听Indians have the right听to a speedy trial, yet it can take decades for cases to make it through the country鈥檚 overworked听and understaffed courts.

In Egypt, the study of sub-Saharan African languages like Swahili is on the rise, pointing to a larger identity shift in how the country sees its relationship to the rest of the continent.

Ever since the launch of ChatGPT in 2022, news about the impact of artificial intelligence on jobs has vacillated between two four-letter words: fear and hype. As a result, about two-thirds of Americans believe AI will lead to fewer jobs, while the overpromising of AI鈥檚 potential has helped lead to a similar proportion of Americans not using AI much or at all in their jobs.

By last year, however, surveys of AI鈥檚 actual impact in the workplace had started to roll in. And many indicate a move toward enhancing the application of reason, analytical judgment, and other skills of humans 鈥� and redefining intelligence to levels beyond the limits of a machine or the brain.

One federal survey in the New York-northern New Jersey area found that a large share of businesses using AI are retraining workers to utilize the technology with no significant reductions in employment. 鈥淔or those who have a job, they are more likely to be retrained than replaced by AI,鈥� the survey concluded.

Another study by three prominent universities found that employees who were retrained to use AI earn substantially more. Meanwhile, research analysis by Morgan Stanley, a financial firm, found AI will not only augment human capabilities but also 鈥渃ould come with an unprecedented demand for鈥痳e-skilling.鈥� AI will be 鈥渁鈥痭et positive effect on employment growth.鈥�

鈥淓ach wave of technological transformation has brought both disruption and opportunity,鈥� said Morgan Stanley U.S. economist Heather Berger.鈥�鈥淲e expect AI to do the same: While some roles may be鈥痑utomated, others will see enhancement through AI augmentation, and AI is likely to create entirely new roles.鈥�

Upskilling means elevating the capabilities of workers beyond what they believe is their level of intelligence. The nature of work in the AI era will require an expansion of qualities, such as curiosity, intuition, and humility. 鈥淭he skill that is going to be rewarded most in the short run is imagination in finding creative ways to use AI,鈥� Rajeev Rajan of Atlassian, an office-software firm, told The Economist.

The world鈥檚 thinkers have often tried to break the belief that intelligence is human-centric. The founder of the Monitor, Mary Baker Eddy, wrote that discernment requires a capacity for spiritual understanding beyond the physical senses. 鈥淪uch intuitions reveal whatever constitutes and perpetuates harmony, enabling one to do good, but not evil,鈥� she stated in Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures.

Just before the debut of ChatGPT, three Dutch academics wrote in the journal Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence of the need to reconceptualize intelligence in 鈥渋ts many possible forms and combinations.鈥� Human intelligence is not 鈥渢he golden standard鈥� in defining the capacity to 鈥渞ealize complex goals.鈥澨�

AI might catch up with human intelligence, they suggested, but we should not dwell on whether 鈥淎I will outsmart us, take our jobs, or how to endow it with all kinds of human abilities.鈥� Rather, humans can expand their capacity for judgment to better supervise the growth of AI.