海角大神

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth fired the Army鈥檚 top officer Thursday. Reports suggest that Mr. Hegseth and Gen. Randy George disagreed over the secretary鈥檚 decision to block the promotion of several top Army officers, including women and Black service members. General George, the Army chief of staff, worked closely with Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll, a fellow Trump administration appointee with whom Mr. Hegseth has also reportedly clashed. The Defense secretary, who also fired the Army鈥檚 top chaplain yesterday, reposted a social media statement from a Pentagon spokesperson thanking General George for his 鈥渄ecades of service鈥� and wishing him well in retirement.

The Trump administration lost an appeal to change conditions for homelessness funding. In a case that highlighted competing philosophies for addressing homelessness, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit ruled that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development couldn鈥檛 change existing rules for grants. The department wished to fund transitional housing programs that 鈥減romote self sufficiency, not government dependency.鈥� A coalition of plaintiffs, including Democratic officials from 20 states, argued that housing provisions shouldn鈥檛 be contingent upon conditions such as employment and sobriety. The appeals court, which upheld an earlier ruling, said HUD鈥檚 proposed changes would have displaced housing recipients.

Twelve U.S. deportees arrived in Uganda, the first known transfer under a deal between the two countries. The deportees are expected to stay in Uganda as a 鈥渢ransition phase鈥� before being sent to other countries. The move is part of a broader policy of sending some migrants to third countries when they cannot be returned home. The Uganda Law Society criticized the process as 鈥渦ndignified, harrowing, 鈦燼nd dehumanizing,鈥� and said it would challenge the deportations in court. The United States has struck similar agreements with several African countries. Costa Rica, in Central America, has also agreed to accept up to 25 deportees a week.

The EPA announced new steps to address microplastics. Researchers worry that the materials are contaminating American drinking water. The new effort to regulate them was hailed by both environmentalists and supporters of the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin said that his agency would add microplastics, along with pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, to its draft 鈥渃ontaminant candidate list.鈥� That designation paves the way for research and potential regulation but doesn鈥檛 ensure any governmental action. Also Thursday, the Department of Health and Human Services announced a new $144 million initiative to research microplastics.

Great hammerhead sharks, cheetahs, and snowy owls are getting new environmental protections. At a COP15 meeting in Brazil, representatives from the European Union and 132 other countries added 40 new species to coordinated conservation efforts for animals who migrate across international borders. More than 1,200 endangered and vulnerable species are already protected by the 47-year-old U.N. Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals. 鈥淲e invest in a natural heritage we do not own, but are all responsible for,鈥� said Jo茫o Paulo Capobianco, Chair of COP15. 鈥淲e give concrete meaning to global solidarity, recognizing that migratory species transcend nations.鈥�

鈥� Compiled by Monitor writers around the world

The attorney general鈥檚 dismissal comes on the heels of Kristi Noem鈥檚 firing from the Department of Homeland Security. President Donald Trump has now pushed out two Cabinet members 鈥� both women 鈥� as he faces growing challenges over the Iran war and the economy.

It's been three months since President Donald Trump sent the U.S. military to Venezuela to capture the authoritarian leader, Nicol谩s Maduro. For the people of Venezuela, transformational change is still slow to come.聽

One year after President Donald Trump announced his 鈥淟iberation Day鈥� tariff plan, here鈥檚 a look at how effective using tariffs as a global-bully stick has been.

Two new efforts are underway to examine Jeffrey Epstein's past: One is looking into whether crimes occurred at Zorro Ranch. Another is a bipartisan Truth Commission, formed by the New Mexico state legislature, that seeks to tell the story of what exactly happened there.聽

The Iran war is the latest conflict that has seen blows to the bedrock principles of international law, the rules of war, and the protections for civilian populations put in place after World War II. Could this 鈥渁ge of impunity鈥� be allowed to become a new normal?

In Nigeria, schools are crumbling, teaching quality is often poor, and teacher-student ratios are high. One couple has been looking for solutions, hoping to improve teacher training and create a path out of poverty for children.聽

In one of Africa鈥檚 largest countries, fighting and wartime atrocities have intensified as Sudan marks three years of civil strife. Amid the violence as well as food scarcity, however, ordinary Sudanese continue to creatively and courageously support each other through citizen-led mutual aid networks.

These local humanitarian efforts, known as emergency response rooms, won a prestigious award last week from a British think tank, the Chatham House Prize. The award shines a spotlight on the civic underpinnings and practical effectiveness of such community associations.

Sudan鈥檚 war has displaced nearly 13 million people from their homes, and the emergency response rooms have sprung up in dozens of towns and villages to source and distribute food, water, and medicine. They often have volunteers cooking meals in large, open-air kitchens where fleeing families eat together. Chatham House praised the rooms鈥� 鈥渋mpartial nature and attempts to provide aid to all.鈥澛�

That spirit of inclusiveness during a conflict is not confined to Sudan鈥檚 emergency response rooms. Across Africa 鈥� and in other countries 鈥� such grassroots efforts help lay the groundwork for peaceful coexistence at the community level.

鈥淚nnovation often emerges most forcefully in fragile environments,鈥� according to Ibrahima Bokoum, a community leader in the eastern part of Congo, an area riven by rebel warfare. Writing in a recent Atlantic Council report, Mr. Bokoum noted, 鈥淩esilience cannot be imported; it must be cultivated locally.鈥�

鈥淧eople ... assume that peacebuilding only takes place after the guns have fallen silent, when in fact peacebuilding can and does take place before, during and after violent conflict,鈥� observed Dylan Mathews, head of the international nonprofit Peace Direct. The challenge, he wrote in a 2022 article, is to move to 鈥渁 more holistic vision ... [and] societal attitudes that foster peace.鈥�

Last year, Peace Direct supported local initiatives in 33 countries, including Myanmar. There, under a ruthless military dictatorship, 鈥淗ate speech, propaganda and rumours kept neighbours as strangers,鈥� the organization reported. But local communities forged connections across ethnic lines, which eventually morphed into violence prevention and mutual aid networks.

Observing community interactions on a different continent and at a very different period in history, French historian Alexis de Tocqueville identified 鈥渢he art of associating鈥� within local communities as a key to democracy. He was talking about the United States in the mid-1830s, several decades after it had become independent 鈥� and a couple of decades before it fought its own civil war.

Through active, iterative associations within local communities, Tocqueville observed, 鈥渟entiments and ideas renew themselves, the heart is enlarged, and the human mind is developed.鈥�