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Gaza truce holds before hostage return

Israel and Hamas appeared on track for a Monday exchange of hostages and prisoners, after a landmark US-brokered truce took effect in Gaza on Friday. Israeli forces withdrew to an agreed position in the enclave, allowing displaced Palestinians to return to Gaza City. US President Donald Trump is traveling to Israel for the hostages’ return, before flying to Egypt for a summit aimed at securing a permanent peace. Coupled with relief and elation over the initial ceasefire is a deeper anxiety over Gaza’s future: Trump’s plan lacks a legitimate Palestinian partner, while the involvement of Washington, Gulf states, and Turkey could spark a battle for influence in Gaza, an expert wrote in Foreign Affairs. “The most demanding work begins now.”

US, China dig in on rare earth spat

China on Sunday vowed countermeasures against the US if President Donald Trump imposes new 100% tariffs on Beijing, escalating the countries’ spat over rare earth minerals. Trump, who said Chinese leader Xi Jinping “just had a bad moment,” made his latest tariff threat on Friday after China imposed new restrictions on rare earth exports. Both sides are digging in: US Vice President JD Vance said settling the dispute will be a “delicate dance,” but Washington has “far more cards” than Beijing, which signaled it is “not afraid” of a trade war. US stocks tumbled after Trump went on the offensive; a broader deterioration of ties could also imperil China’s recent market rally and cast fresh doubts over the country’s investability.

Deadly Afghanistan-Pakistan clashes

Deadly clashes erupted along Afghanistan’s border with Pakistan, marking a new low in the countries’ ties since the Taliban retook power in 2021. The violence killed dozens of Pakistani soldiers and Taliban fighters, and comes days after Islamabad bombed an Afghan market close to the border, alleging it held a terrorist base. Pakistan has accused Afghanistan of offering a safe haven to militants carrying out cross-border attacks. The confrontations, while risking a broader conflict, also pose a geopolitical opportunity for India, which has cautiously sought to improve relations with the Taliban — perhaps filling the diplomatic hole left by its regional rival, Pakistan, analysts said.

White House debates Insurrection Act

The White House is considering invoking the Insurrection Act as officials ramp up federal law enforcement action in US cities, Vice President JD Vance said. The 1807 statute would allow President Donald Trump to deploy active-duty military personnel; the government has already sent National Guard troops to Democratic-run cities with the stated aim of protecting immigration agents from protests. Courts have blocked some of those deployments, but analysts say the legal setbacks could push Trump to take a more aggressive route and invoke the act. Top Trump adviser Stephen Miller has called the unfavorable court rulings a “legal insurrection,” but polls show that most Americans oppose using active troops in US cities.

Foreigners in Japan help birth rate

Foreigners living in Japan are helping to prop up the country’s historically low birth rate. Babies born to non-Japanese parents accounted for 3% of all newborns last year, a record, partially offsetting a decline in births among Japanese citizens. Immigration to Japan is on track to hit a new high in 2025. As in other rich nations, the rise in immigrants has corresponded with the ascendance of a right-wing populist political party warning of a “silent invasion.” But as Tokyo frets over its looming demographic crisis, the birth data is the latest indication of how immigration can boost developed economies: Foreigners have also helped plug Japan’s acute labor shortages.

Alison Roman was one of digital media’s first food stars — she’s had recipes go viral since 2018 and an infamous “cancellation” in 2020. Now, with her latest cookbook, Something From Nothing, she’s trying to move away from life on the internet. This week, Ben and Max bring on the chef and author to talk about food media, the value of a physical cookbook in a digital world, and how AI is influencing her recipes. They also talk about why cooking and her new book are the “antithesis of the internet.”

Germany takes aim at drones

German police will be allowed to shoot down drones, as concerns about Russian aggression in Europe escalate. Dozens of flights were diverted or canceled at Munich Airport this month after drone sightings; similar events led to groundings in Copenhagen and Oslo. European leaders have attributed the incidents to Moscow, with the European Commission president calling for a “drone wall” of sensors and weapons to detect and destroy unmanned aircraft at the border. It’s possible that the drones were launched within the EU, however, meaning security forces need authority to destroy them away from NATO’s eastern flank: Britain, France, Lithuania, and Romania have all given their police similar powers in recent weeks.

Tata, LG test India’s IPO market

Two blockbuster trading debuts in India this week will showcase the country’s rising status as a fundraising hub, while testing the strength of its markets. Tata Capital’s listing on Monday, followed by LG Electronics India the next day, are expected to set the tone for future IPOs in India, Bloomberg wrote. The country’s listings market has had a busy few years, driven by a boom in domestic capital that has made up for foreign investors who pulled out in favor of China. “Global investors are in wait-and-watch mode,” one analyst said. Indian stocks have underperformed relative to other exchanges this year as US trade tensions bite, and any perceived weakness in Tata or LG’s performance could hinder other IPOs.

Preparing to overshoot 1.5°C

Climate scientists and policymakers met earlier this month for a first-of-its-kind summit on addressing the world’s 1.5°C warming target “from above, rather than below.” It is almost certain that the world will overshoot the 2015 Paris Agreement’s target of limiting warming to less than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Scientists are already preparing by exploring ways to bring the temperature back down, including through capturing atmospheric carbon and “solar geoengineering,” or reflecting more sunlight back into space. These measures are possible but risky, and could ultimately worsen the impact of warming in some parts of the world: The dilemma reflects the fact that having to deal with overshoot would be an exercise in “managing failure,” one scientist said.

Green turtles bounce back

Green turtles, once on the brink of extinction, have bounced back, a new report found. The species is one of the world’s largest sea turtles, and humans have long hunted it to make turtle soup and to eat its eggs as a delicacy; it has been listed as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature since the 1980s. But conservation efforts, including protecting buried eggs and releasing hatchlings to avoid predators and accidental capture in fishing nets, have helped their numbers recover, although the population remains far below its pre-industrial peak. Other animals have been less fortunate: Notably, more than half of all bird species were found to be “in decline.”

How origami and math fit together

A mathematician used origami to probe a shape that can help explain how particles interact. Cornell University’s Pavel Galashin found that patterns in origami can give rise to a geometric shape called an amplituhedron, and that particle collisions can create the same shape. The finding could both help mathematicians better understand the shape’s properties, and enable physicists to more efficiently predict wh