• Canada set to vote: New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and his Conservative opponent kicked off their election campaigns against the backdrop of a trade war with the U.S. Mr. Carney announced Sunday there will be a five-week election campaign before a snap election on April 28. – The Associated Press
• Changes at Columbia: Columbia University agreed Friday to implement policy changes, including overhauling its rules for protests and conducting a review of its Middle Eastern studies department. The announcement came a week after the Trump administration ordered the Ivy League school to comply with a range of orders in order to continue receiving federal funding. – AP
• Sudanese forces in capital: Sudan’s military said March 22 it had retaken more key government buildings a day after having captured the Republican Palace in Khartoum from paramilitary forces. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces group still holds territory in the Darfur region. Fighting there picked up on Saturday. – AP
  • Related Monitor stories: In January we looked at the resilience of Sudanese university students. Also: Our international news editor joined our podcast in November to discuss our series on personal accounts from Sudan’s war zone.
• Confrontation in France: When French actor Gérard Depardieu walks into a Paris courtroom March 24, he won’t just be facing two women who accuse him of sexual assault – he’ll also be confronting a nation long criticized for dragging its feet in confronting sexual violence, particularly when committed by the powerful. – AP
  • Listen: Last year, Colette Davidson spoke from Paris about her reporting on the handling of alleged sexual misconduct and abuse by cinema stars in France.
• Namibia’s first woman president: Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah was sworn in as Namibia’s first woman president on March 21, nearly 60 years after she joined the liberation movement fighting for independence from apartheid South Africa. She becomes one of a handful of women leaders in Africa, after Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, Joyce Banda of Malawi, and Samia Suluhu Hassan of Tanzania. – AP
• Heathrow aftermath: The British government has ordered an investigation into the country's “energy resilience” after an electrical substation fire shut Heathrow Airport for almost a day March 21. The airport said it was fully operational on Saturday. Airlines said that severe disruption will last for days. – AP

Bernie Sanders is bringing his populist message to the heartland and West, drawing large crowds on his Fighting Oligarchy tour. He’s joined by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who could inherit his mantle. The Vermont senator and two-time presidential candidate has no plans to seek the Oval Office again. And his message may not resonate with everyone: His vision suggests bigger government at a time when trust in institutions is low. And many Americans still view achieving wealth as part of the American dream. But with much of the Democratic Party grasping for a strategy and a message, it’s telling that Mr. Sanders is stepping up, and striking a chord.

Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s former president, was charged in February with plotting a coup to stay in power after his 2022 election loss to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He could soon be tried by the Supreme Court. Many in Brazil and in the international community have celebrated the legal moves as a sign of the strength of the country’s institutions, and as a chance to prevent a deeper erosion of democracy. But some worry that relying on the justice system alone is unlikely to heal Brazil’s deep political and societal divisions, and could even exacerbate them. We explored the competing narratives.

Voice of America was rejected by the Soviets. It’s no surprise that Russians in officialdom today were pleased by news that the U.S. administration was defunding the radio service. But for Russians who came of age in the Cold War alongside the U.S. state media network – before the internet and before the spread of alternative voices – the closure evoked poignant memories: of grasping to hear jazz music, of being witness to the global events of the day, of listening to broadcasts and momentarily feeling “a breath of fresh air.” We gathered some perspectives.

The Haskell Free Library & Opera House, a century-old symbol of friendship, was deliberately built to straddle the Canada-U.S. border. Now the United States has moved to limit access to it by Canadians. That action, along with other Washington moves and rhetoric – on tariffs, in references to Canada as “the 51st state” – is souring relations in this border region. Not all amity is lost. Several Vermonters interviewed here voiced support for their neighbors to the north, while some in Quebec carefully distinguished between a people and their president. Still, our reporter found, the Trump White House is spurring patriotism in Canadians.

Many U.S. communities have taken steps to reduce food waste in recent years but seen little progress. The Bay State has managed to pull it off. One key: laws that support a rising effort to turn organic waste into renewable energy. A facility owned by Vanguard Renewables is one of six in the commonwealth that converts food scraps and manure into biogas through anaerobic digestion. “It’s really a great circle,” says Abe Marciniec, the site manager. “Food starts at the farm, and our farms turn it back into energy,” he says. “Farm to table, then back to farm.”

What does it take to keep a green sea turtle alive and thriving for 95 years? Or an African penguin for 31? All of the finned and flippered residents at the New England Aquarium are monitored closely, and many receive maintenance such as regular toothbrushing, ear cleaning, and feather preening. But the geriatric animals here get an extra dose of care. Our photographers went for a look.

Every so often in Hollywood, a Christian film causes a stir. Pundits note a surprising box-office success or two and wonder if the United States is poised for a surge in Christian entertainment. The fact is, Christian films have been among the most consistently profitable for years. With producers keeping costs modest and making content for a sizable and largely overlooked audience, faith-based fare consistently hums along at a decent clip.

Recently, the buzz has been mounting again. It centers mainly on “The Chosen,” the series about Jesus originally seen as so untouchable by big studios that it had to be crowdfunded. Some $100 million and four seasons later, the show has now been seen by 280 million people worldwide.

What’s most interesting about “The Chosen” is that not only Christians are watching it. The showrunners say as much as 30% of audience members are not practicing Christians. This is intentional. The studio behind the show told The Economist that its mission is not about creating Christian television but about “restoring faith in things worth believing in.” In 2023, a Pew Research Center survey found 81% of Americans agree that “There is something spiritual beyond the natural world, even if we cannot see it.”

Online, atheists have popped up to confess they watch “The Chosen.” What has attracted them is a sense of authenticity and a deep goodness. One posted on Reddit, “If anyone’s wondering why I’d get into this kind of show it’s because I love seeing the human side of Jesus. ... I love getting to see the side of him that loves everyone, not just the saints but the sinners especially. That above all he was kind. The episode in the first season with the children made me cry so hard.”

Other Christian-based shows are following suit. “Mary,” a story about Jesus’ mother, was Netflix’s third-most-watched film after its release during the 2024 holiday season. “House of David,” about the biblical King David and by the same company as “The Chosen,” is the eighth-most-popular show on American streaming services.

“We weren’t looking to make a religious show,” the executive producer told the Los Angeles Times. “It’s about these humans in this moment living this story.”

Christian entertainment has been successful for decades. Now, the industry is discovering that connecting its values to the broader world can also make its message more universal.