海角大神

President Donald Trump said the U.S. will 鈥榝inish the job鈥� soon in prime-time speech Wednesday. It was his first national address since the Iran war began more than a month ago. He called the operation a success and argued that all of Washington鈥檚 objectives have so far been met or exceeded, but said Iran would continue to face a barrage of attacks for two or three weeks. Mr. Trump spent much of the 20-minute address emphasizing assertions he has made in recent weeks while providing few new details. 鈥� The Associated Press

China and Pakistan released a Middle East peace proposal. Pakistani and Chinese officials met in Beijing Tuesday to rally support for Islamabad鈥檚 mediation efforts. Their plan includes ceasing attacks on critical infrastructure, including desalination and nuclear power plants, and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. China has kept its distance from the conflict, echoing calls for a ceasefire but placing the onus on the United States and Israel.聽
Our coverage: Why Pakistan has emerged as key mediator in US-Iran war

A coalition of 35 nations will meet Thursday to discuss how to open the Strait of Hormuz. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer organized the online gathering. The group includes nations from Germany to Japan to Nigeria but not the U.S. President Donald Trump has said it is not America鈥檚 job to open the strait; other countries must do it. The Thursday meeting will be the first time countries have convened to discuss a plan, British officials told The Guardian.

The Mexican government denied covering up the origins of an oil spill. Using satellite imagery, environmental groups allege a leak in state-run infrastructure led to an oil slick spanning more than 140 miles of coastline in the Gulf of Mexico in early February. The government says the spill originated from a ship anchored off the coast in March and that 鈥渘o leak has been reported鈥� from state pipelines. The lack of information is feeding economic and environmental damage, activists say.

Iraqi authorities are questioning a man about the kidnap of an American reporter. Shelly Kittleson, taken outside a Baghdad hotel on Tuesday, is the first U.S. journalist to be abducted in over a decade, says the Committee to Protect Journalists. Following a car chase, Iraqi security forces arrested one of the alleged kidnappers, said to be a member of the Iran-backed militia group Kataib Hezbollah. Nine journalists from around the world remain missing in Iraq.

India launched the world鈥檚 largest population census. Originally scheduled for 2021, the census is the country鈥檚 first since India eclipsed China as the most populous nation, with an estimated 1.4 billion people. During the next year, millions of officials will collect data 鈥� including, controversially, on caste 鈥� that will shape political representation, welfare allocation, and other development decisions for the next decade.
Our coverage: India鈥檚 census delay brings new life to an old debate: Is it moral to count caste?

Congo is headed to the World Cup for the first time in 52 years. Government officials declared Wednesday a public holiday to mark the 鈥渉istoric鈥� victory. The decisive moment came with a goal in the 100th minute to secure a 1-0 win over Jamaica. The win brought a rare moment of unity and joy in a country facing ongoing conflict in its eastern region, where millions have been displaced. The last time Congo qualified was in 1974, when it competed as Zaire.

鈥� Compiled by Monitor writers around the world

As more ground forces head to Iran, shifting threats and end goals could either baffle opponents and lead to success, or pull the United States into another forever war.

Saudi Arabia says it鈥檚 ready to take 鈥渁ll necessary measures鈥� to defend itself from Iran. Riyadh is still hoping for a diplomatic breakthrough, but it鈥檚 also getting ready to exercise military options, if necessary

The number of orphanages in Haiti exploded following a 2010 earthquake. Today, amid growing international research 鈥� and violence in Haiti 鈥� there's a push to place children with relatives or in foster care.

Many landlocked Ethiopians want a slice of their neighbor鈥檚 extensive coastline. Both sides have troops at the border. Is another conflict inevitable?

In one of the biggest cases of the year, Supreme Court justices sounded wary of the government鈥檚 argument that the Constitution does not guarantee birthright citizenship. In a first, the president of the United States attended the oral argument.

In the first endeavor to orbit the moon in more than half a century, four astronauts launched on the Artemis II mission from Cape Canaveral. A Monitor journalist watched the historic step toward a lunar mission from the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

After more than four years of war in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin might be discovering that adherence to truth and open communications can be essential to ensuring a motivated military. A Kremlin attempt to steadily shut down Russia鈥檚 most popular and effective messaging platform, Telegram, has stirred dissent among civilian volunteers who assist the war online.

They are the patriotic digital influencers who arrange money and supplies 鈥� the resources the military does not reliably provide 鈥� for soldiers on the front lines. Without free access to an independent app like Telegram, which has already been slowly throttled for months, this civil society of auxiliary supporters could turn on the government. Morale in the army ranks might fall fast.

Spotty access to Telegram has also begun to reduce the ability of soldiers to message their families.

鈥淎ll military work goes through Telegram 鈥� all communication,鈥� a Russian soldier told Politico. 鈥淭hat would be like shooting the entire Russian army in the head.鈥� A government-backed new app, called Max, is widely seen as inadequate in its capabilities as well as an attempt to control all digital communications and cut off Russia from the outside world.

For many Russians, an open internet is essential to survive Ukrainian missile attacks. One governor of a region near Ukraine told The New York Times that Telegram is needed for air-raid alerts. Disruptions to the messaging service have led to 鈥渘eedless deaths,鈥� he said. In March, one well-known blogger, Ilya Remeslor, who had been loyal to Mr. Putin, turned on the Kremlin for its 鈥渟trangling of internet and media freedoms.鈥� He has since been put in a psychiatric ward.

Frequent internet blackouts and the loss of access to foreign apps such as YouTube have already disrupted daily life. Memes have made fun of Russians using paper maps, pagers, and walkie-talkies. Last week, protests in defense of Telegram were planned in more than two dozen cities and towns but were prevented by local officials. And as more people rush to use censor-skirting VPNs (virtual private networks), officials are clamping down on those, too. A survey released last month found 83% of teenagers have reacted negatively to the internet restrictions. Nearly half of the teens said they were angry, and 15% said they were crying.

The Russian inventor of Telegram, tech billionaire Pavel Durov, who now lives in self-exile in the United Arab Emirates, said the Kremlin鈥檚 moves on free speech are 鈥渁 sad spectacle of a state afraid of its own people.鈥� Yet his fellow-citizens鈥� response to the expected end of Telegram could end up being a force for freedom. And the same ideal of liberty, it turns out, is just what the people of Ukraine are defending.