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Europe moves to establish special tribunal on Ukraine. The Council of Europe and the European Union said it would create a team to prepare the foundations of a new instrument to prosecute senior political and military leaders for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. It comes as Russia launched one of its largest daytime drone attacks on Ukraine, with more than 550 drones striking cities across the country. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the attack 鈥渟trongly indicates that Russia has no intention of really ending this war.鈥�

President Donald Trump says he鈥檒l visit China May 14-15 for talks with leader Xi Jinping. The trip, the first by a U.S. president to China in nearly a decade, is expected to focus on trade and technology as well as pressing world issues such as the wars in Iran and Ukraine. In a post on Truth Social on Wednesday, Mr. Trump said he looked forward to spending time with Mr. Xi and anticipates a 鈥渕onumental鈥� visit. Earlier, Mr. Trump postponed his China trip for six weeks to focus on the U.S. military operation in Iran.

Foreign ministers from G7 nations will meet outside Paris Thursday and Friday. The Russia-Ukraine war and the Middle East conflict are expected to dominate the agenda. On Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will speak to U.S. strategy on the Iran war in his first foreign visit since the conflict began on Feb. 28. Although several G7 nations and allies have expressed support for measures to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, most have been unwilling to offer their full backing for the U.S. assault on Iran.

Democrats flipped a Florida state House seat. Democrat Emily Gregory won the seat in Palm Beach, Florida, and will now represent an area that includes President Donald Trump鈥檚 Mar-a-Lago estate. Democrats also won a state Senate contest in Tampa, extending a string of state election victories this past year. While these wins won鈥檛 change party control in Tallahassee, Democrats are celebrating victory in a district that elected its previous GOP representative by 19 points and Mr. Trump by double digits in 2024. Mr. Trump endorsed the Republican candidate, voting by mail despite his efforts to end the practice nationally.

NASA is planning to build a base on the moon. The agency is planning to build a permanent structure on the lunar surface during the next decade, with a three-phase plan that could cost $30 billion, NASA officials said on Tuesday. The announcement comes as the agency is accelerating the Artemis program, an effort to land humans on the moon for the first time in 50 years. Artemis II, which is scheduled to launch in early April, aims to send humans around the moon and back.

Sarah Mullally became the first woman to hold the position of Archbishop of Canterbury. She marked the start of her ministry in a service at Canterbury Cathedral in England on Wednesday. Founded by King Henry the VIII in 1534, the Church of England ordained its first female priests in 1994, and later allowed women to become bishops in 2014.

Philly fed TSA workers a giant cheesesteak sub. More than 100 airport workers and volunteers crafted the Philadelphia specialty 鈥� actually a line of them 鈥� at an airport terminal. The subs, with about 1,000 total pounds of meat and cheese, were handed out to airport staff, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported, including to TSA workers whose paychecks have been curtailed by a partial shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security. A Guinness World Record official confirmed the rolls were touching. That made this sandwich line鈥檚 end-to-end length, 1,200 feet, a world record 鈥� if shorter than some of the lines at security.

鈥� Compiled by Monitor writers around the world

Are social platforms such as Instagram and YouTube designed to be addictive and harmful to audiences, including young people in particular? Juries in both California and New Mexico found Meta liable for harming children.

China has long been an economic lifeline for Iran. But Beijing鈥檚 muted response to the war reveals a degree of disillusionment with its Middle East partner 鈥� highlighting China鈥檚 pragmatic, self-interested approach to foreign relations.

The Kremlin has had a testy relationship with online messaging services in recent years. Now, it seems to be moving to shut them out of Russia completely in favor of one approved super-app 鈥� potentially upending the online lives of many Russians.

Keeping foiled plots that threaten Americans鈥� safety quiet could prevent unnecessary worry. Or it could make the public more vulnerable.

Opening Day in baseball heralds the arrival of spring as surely as the northern migration of geese. At a time when the United States is taking a harder stance against illegal immigration, the national pastime - with its rosters of great players from a diversity of nations - showcases the value of sport in uniting humanity in the common pursuit of teamwork and excellence.

Boston is joining the list of cities that聽are achieving results after sustained harbor cleanup efforts. Some towns will soon see the return of recreational shellfishing, a New England tradition.

Parts of Boston Harbor are clean enough for recreational shellfishing for the first time in a century. To mark the moment, we dig into the history and debates around New England clam chowder.

This month, three democracy-tracking organizations released analyses of the state of political, press, and personal freedoms around the world. The title of one report, 鈥淭he Growing Shadow of Autocracy,鈥� sums up a shared view about backsliding on all these fronts. Yet the data and perspectives also reveal progress 鈥� especially in the enduring and widespread appeal of democratic ideals and values.

Looking back at 2025, the Sweden-based Variety of Democracies Institute, known as V-Dem, counts 44 countries worldwide that it says are 鈥渁utocratizing,鈥� including the United States. In particular for the U.S., V-Dem cites recent 鈥渁ttacks on the press, academia, civil liberties, and dissenting voices.鈥�

On the other hand, the Dartmouth College-based Bright Line Watch finds that declining views of American democracy from earlier in 2025 have 鈥渓argely stabilized,鈥� and public opinion now shows 鈥渕ild optimism.鈥� The smooth rollout of state elections last November, as well as court rulings on immigration and tariff issues, appears to have reaffirmed for Americans that their system of checks and balances still works. Speaking on NPR, Bright Line Watch co-founder John Carey pointed to the key role of 鈥済overnment institutions that serve as referees.鈥�

Such institutions can help stem a drift to autocracy in countries that Washington-based watchdog Freedom House defines as only 鈥減artly free.鈥� The organization annually tracks 25 indicators of political rights and civil liberties 鈥� such as electoral processes and pluralism, freedom of expression, and rule of law. In 2025, these metrics deteriorated in 54 countries.

However, they trended upward in 35 others. Three examples are Bolivia, Fiji, and Malawi 鈥� among the world鈥檚 poorer or smaller nations. They each moved from 鈥減artly free鈥� to 鈥渇ree鈥� status. They did this through fair elections and the peaceful transfer of power, as well as steps to root out corruption and boost transparency and judicial independence. Gabon and Syria, both in the 鈥渘ot free鈥� category, saw substantial improvement in scores as they began to loosen restrictions on basic rights after decades of authoritarian rule.

Freedom House makes a point of noting that more than 85% of the countries rated as 鈥渇ree鈥� in 2005 still remain so, two decades later. As the organization鈥檚 CEO, Jamie Fly, and research director Yana Gorokhovskaia wrote in The Washington Post, 鈥淎s more than 50 years鈥� worth of ... data shows, the demand for freedom is universal and unwavering.

鈥淭hose who live under repression,鈥� they stated, 鈥渞equire the sustained support of those of us who enjoy the blessings of liberty.鈥�