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China sanctions U.S. military-related firms. Beijing on Monday announced sanctions on 10 American companies involved with drones, aerospace, and rare earths 鈥� blocking Chinese firms from exporting dual-use equipment to them. The action is partly in retaliation for the Pentagon鈥檚 recent prohibition on defense contracts for major Chinese tech companies that it says have ties to China鈥檚 military. China also said its government agencies would be barred from buying goods from 46 U.S. firms, including Raytheon Missiles & Defense and Lockheed Martin. National security concerns are leading to an increased technological decoupling of superpowers.
Our coverage: What do sanctions accomplish? Maybe not what you think.听

Mexico said it will restart oil shipments to Cuba. Only one international oil shipment has reached Cuba since January, when President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on those sending oil to the island. Cuba鈥檚 energy crisis has meant island-wide blackouts. Mexico has played a historically important role in U.S.-Cuba relations, often acting as an unofficial intermediary for the United States and the communist-led country it has tried to isolate. The plan announced by Mexico鈥檚 President Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo aims to take advantage of Cuba鈥檚 recent announcement of free-market reforms, relying on private companies with permits to transport oil to Cuba instead of sending it through the state.
Our coverage: As US stymies oil imports to Cuba, Mexico plays a balancing act

A judge blocked Justice Department subpoenas of Minnesota officials. In a ruling about six subpoenas issued to Minnesota officials, including Gov. Tim Walz, U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz ruled that it was an attempt to coerce them 鈥渋nto assisting the federal government with enforcing civil immigration laws and to harass and retaliate against them for failing to do so.鈥� Judge Schiltz, a George W. Bush appointee and a conservative, previously criticized the Department of Homeland Security for violating 96 court orders related to the rights of immigrants in Minnesota during Operation Metro Surge in January. That month, a spokesperson for the Homeland Security Department called Mr. Schiltz an 鈥渁ctivist judge.鈥�

Lionel Messi became the all-time leading scorer at the World Cup. His two goals against Austria yesterday not only secured a 2-0 win for Argentina but took him to 18 goals over six World Cups. Germany鈥檚 Miroslav Klose was previously the World Cup鈥檚 all-time leading scorer with 16. With five goals at this World Cup, Mr. Messi leads an intriguing race for the Golden Boot, the tournament鈥檚 top scorer. France鈥檚 Kylian Mbapp茅 and Norway鈥檚 Erling Haaland each scored two yesterday to bring their tallies to four. Messi has scored all Argentina鈥檚 goals so far.

The annual horseshoe crab survey is underway along East Coast beaches. The efforts by citizen scientists have sparked hope for the 450-million-year-old species, one of the oldest on the planet. In Delaware, efforts like these have brought the overharvested population close to its historic level, Jordan Zimmerman, a horseshoe crab biologist, told the Delaware Business Now. Marine biologists regularly educate visitors to East Coast beaches that, despite the alien appearance of the arthropods, the horseshoe crabs do not sting, bite, or carry venom.

鈥� Compiled by Monitor writers across the world

Could the Trump-Vance administration reach d茅tente with Iran? That would run against the views that President Donald Trump himself espoused in going to war, but the administration is eager for a peace deal and voices optimism about the talks.

Keir Starmer鈥檚 departure from office has been long expected. Will Andy Burnham, his heir apparent, be able to learn from Mr. Starmer鈥檚 mistakes 鈥� and those of the carousel of prime ministers passing through No. 10 over the past decade?

Voters who wanted out of the European Union were motivated by issues such as sovereignty and immigration. But today, the United Kingdom doesn鈥檛 feel freer, and immigration is still a hot-button topic. Why does Britain seem stuck in a rut?

Throughout the years, the three sections of the farm bill have helped build a big enough coalition of legislators to get the sweeping, expensive legislation passed. But this big-tent approach hasn鈥檛 been enough to supersede the increased partisanship in Washington.

Some trainees at Curt鈥檚 Caf茅 are trying to leave gangs. Many have arrest records or are experiencing hardships, which can make it difficult to find employment. The caf茅 offers services that address the trainees鈥� basic needs so that they can flourish on the job.

This month has seen two tightly contested runoff elections in South America. The results from Peru鈥檚 poll, held more than two weeks ago, are still not official 鈥� but indicate a razor-thin margin of 35,000 to 40,000 votes for the conservative candidate. The count of Sunday鈥檚 vote in Colombia has been much quicker, showing a win for right-wing political outsider Abelardo de la Espriella, by a 1% margin over his rival.

In the wake of highly polarizing campaign rhetoric, some observers might see the results as confirmation of a deep, irreconcilable divide within the electorate. But, viewed through a different lens, the results point to the virtually equal desire among citizens for safety and rule of law 鈥� as well as policies that offer pathways out of poverty and high economic inequality.

Both domestically and regionally, recent years have seen a growth in drug trafficking and organized crime, linked to transnational networks and flows of financing and armaments. In this context, election rhetoric promising a militarized approach to establishing public security has resonance, in countries from El Salvador to Ecuador to Chile.

However, as Luis Carlos Villegas, a former Colombian government official and ambassador, has pointed out, 鈥淪ecurity cannot be restored by giving an order.鈥�

It requires 鈥渢ime and knowledge, ... as well as international cooperation, which in turn derives from a political context that must be rebuilt,鈥� he wrote for the Atlantic Council recently. And, he noted, it cannot be divorced from social or economic issues that are also 鈥渉ighly urgent, complex, and costly.鈥�

That seems to be a lesson being learned by other leaders, such as Chile鈥檚 right-wing president, Jos茅 Antonio Kast, who took office in 2025. His actions have been much more measured than his campaign messages of a large-scale security crackdown, including mass arrests and deportations of unauthorized immigrants.

鈥淕overning ... means taking responsibility for reality, especially when it鈥檚 difficult,鈥� Mr. Kast said in a public address earlier this month. 鈥淚鈥檓 proceeding step by step because this isn鈥檛 something that happens overnight.鈥�

As Mr. de la Espriella himself acknowledged to Americas Quarterly earlier this year, 鈥淚t is not a matter of labels like left or right, but what common sense dictates.鈥�

Colombians are likely to appreciate both common sense and a willingness to rebuild trust in their national institutions. As one analyst told Monitor contributor Manuel Rueda a few days ago, 鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of mistrust in the political establishment.鈥�

鈥淐olombia is not alone in this trend,鈥� observed Juan Manuel Santos, the country鈥檚 former president who negotiated an accord with a long-running rebel insurgency in 2016. Increasingly, in political campaigns around the world, 鈥渕oderation is squeezed ... and democratic politics becomes less about solving problems than defeating enemies,鈥� he wrote in The Economist last week.

Ultimately, he noted, the new president 鈥� whose party has a minority in Congress 鈥� will be obligated to forge agreements and consensus. 鈥淎greements require trust,鈥� Mr. Santos observed. And history will remember a leader who has 鈥渢he courage, humility and greatness鈥� to rebuild such trust.