• Mideast ceasefire holds: Israel and Hamas completed the sixth exchange of hostages and Palestinian prisoners Feb. 15 with just over two weeks remaining in the initial phase of their fragile Gaza ceasefire, which faces major challenges with its first phase concluding in early March. 
  • Related Monitor story: In Israel, the U.S. president’s long-term plan for Gaza is hailed by some for its activism, and cast by others as a dangerous fantasy.
• Whistleblower firing to SCOTUS? The Trump administration wants the Supreme Court to permit the firing of the head of the federal agency dedicated to protecting whistleblowers, according to documents obtained by the AP Sunday. 
• U.S. Treasury eyes security: The Treasury Department’s Office of Inspector General is launching an audit of the security controls for the federal government’s payment system, after Democratic senators raised red flags about the access provided to the Department of Government Efficiency.
  • Related Monitor story: The Trump administration and Elon Musk have targeted bloated government bureaucracy by means of drastic upheaval. But their methods have raised questions.
• Resignations at Justice: Manhattan’s top federal prosecutor, Danielle Sassoon, and five high-ranking Justice Department officials resigned after Ms. Sassoon refused an order to drop corruption charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
• More Roman ruins found: Work being done to prepare for the construction of a London skyscraper has uncovered traces of the city’s origins, unearthing the remains of a Roman basilica built between 78 and 84 A.D., about three decades after Roman troops invaded Britain.

From Ukraine’s front lines to its cities, war fatigue has grown three years after Russia’s latest incursion. So has resilience, our reporter found. Ukrainians are split on a resolution. In one poll, 38% favored territorial concessions for peace; 51% rejected the idea of ever ceding land to Russia. Many watch carefully now as the U.S. and Russia tease new diplomatic efforts. There is also defiance. “When you hear ... ‘Ukrainians are tired of war,’ it is information warfare,” says a student in Lviv. “We love Ukraine and love our city,” says a local official in Kharkiv. “People should not be left without hope.”

President Donald Trump and Tom Homan, his hard-line “border czar,” are largely in sync. In terms of philosophy, though, there appears to be a sliver of difference between them. The president largely speaks of unauthorized immigrants as endangering the United States. Mr. Homan adds that, by crossing in illegally, they’re also endangering themselves. The country’s next immigration chapter may well be shaped by a man whose outlook comes in part from decades of witnessing despair at the border.

Canada’s Black community has a long history in Nova Scotia, dating to its earliest days as a French colony. Now, the community is trying to ensure that it isn’t washed away amid gentrification and economic shifts. “We have such a sense of rootedness here,” says the founder of a land trust that employs an affordable-property model with roots in the American civil rights era. “So we need to try to protect and preserve our heritage while managing all this growth that’s happening.”

“Brave New World” introduces a Black Captain America to the big screen. In doing so, it doesn’t shy away from exploring the complex legacy Black Americans have with their country’s flag. While the film has so far not received high marks, there are moments when it touches something rewarding, with even superhero fantasy offering echoes of the real world. “Captain America” has always been about championing those bullied and dismissed by society. “Brave New World,” our commentator writes, attempts it in a brave new way.

And finally, our progress roundup this week serves as a reminder that sometimes a long view is needed to see significant change. Consider the African countries overcoming colonialism and other challenges to grow their economies. In other cases, like the adoption of solar energy in Pakistan, rapid change is increasing people’s sense of safety and well-being. It’s an inspiring global survey. 

The Trump administration’s insistence that Europe be more responsible for its own defense – including support of Ukraine after a peace deal – has ignited a strong response. In a speech Friday, for example, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Europe is “now in another period of crisis which warrants a similar approach” to that during the pandemic.

Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof told Politico, “Europe has understood the U.S. message that it has to do more itself." In Germany, the person most likely to be the country’s next leader, Friedrich Merz, told The Economist that German troops could be used in Ukraine after a ceasefire.

Whether Europe can shake dependency on America’s military strength remains to be seen. One test will be the European Union’s response to Ms. von der Leyen’s suggestion of triggering the bloc’s emergency clause to permit governments to spend more on their militaries even if that spending pushes their budget deficits over the EU’s limits.

“Now is the time to move mountains in the European Union,” said Ms. von der Leyen, a former German defense minister.

Mr. Macron said Europe must break a mindset of “strategic dependency.” The continent relies heavily on Russian natural gas, imports from China, and America’s military might and technology. That has stagnated European innovation, weakened its economic vigor – witness the crisis in Germany’s once-dominant auto industry – and made it more vulnerable.

The EU is now faced with the need to more firmly anchor its identity in its values of shared prosperity and well-defended democracy. “Security is ... the precondition for maintaining our values, as well as being a necessity for our economic success and competitiveness,” wrote former Finnish President Sauli Niinistö last October.

A global poll taken by the European Council on Foreign Relations after Donald Trump’s election victory found that “People around the world see the EU as a major global power ... [but] the people who believe least in European power are the Europeans themselves.” The U.S. is just one of many countries now cheering the EU to see its own strength and to reject a mentality of dependency. The basis of any security is firstly a mindset of self-governance.