• Ukraine, Russia in limited ceasefires: Ukraine’s defense minister said Kyiv had agreed to two ceasefire agreements with Russia. The United States, which announced the agreements March 25, said it had made separate agreements with Kyiv and Moscow to ensure safe navigation in the Black Sea and to implement a ban on strikes against energy facilities in both countries. – Reuters
• Consumer confidence drops: U.S. consumer confidence fell for a fourth straight month, and Americans’ trust in the future – based on a Conference Board measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for income, business, and jobs – declined to a 12-year low amid rising concern over tariffs and inflation. – The Associated Press
  • Related Monitor story: In times of uncertainty, individuals’ and businesses’ spending often slows, and can cool the economy.
• Executive order on elections: President Trump signed a sweeping executive action Tuesday to require documentary proof of citizenship to register to vote in federal elections and mandate that all ballots be received by Election Day. The order calls on states to work with federal agencies to share voter lists and prosecute election crimes. It threatens to pull federal funding from states where election officials don’t comply. 
• U.S. intelligence hearings: The Trump administration’s top intelligence officials stressed to Congress March 25 the threat they say is posed by international criminal gangs, drug cartels, and human smuggling. The hearing came a day after news that plans for military strikes in Yemen were shared in a group chat that included a U.S. journalist. Mike Waltz, Mr. Trump’s national security adviser, took responsibility during an interview Tuesday night with Fox News. “We made a mistake. We’re moving forward,” he said.
  – AP
• Related Monitor story: At the crossroads of intel and national security, experts warn that rapid changes invite risk.
• Strengthening ties in Asia: With strained U.S. alliances dominating headlines, a quieter shift could sway global geopolitics: Diplomats of China, Japan, and South Korea – countries historically at odds over issues from wartime grievances to territory to trade – met in Tokyo March 22 and agreed to speed plans for a summit this year. Proposed focus: advancing economic cooperation and addressing common challenges. All three countries are bracing for potentially stiff new tariffs planned by the Trump administration. Their collaborative response could signal a hedging of America’s top two Asian allies toward China, their leading trade partner. – Staff

The lease on a Social Security office on the outskirts of Columbus, Georgia, has been terminated, one of dozens of looming closings of federal offices across the United States. Walk-ins have been curtailed as the agency works to uphold its mission, which includes handling payments for 74 million Americans and issuing Social Security numbers for the nearly 10,000 new citizens born every day. The impact of deep cuts could challenge Americans’ views more broadly of what the government not only should do, but also is capable of doing.

Voters in the battleground state of Wisconsin will decide on April 1 whether their state Supreme Court will have a liberal or conservative majority. The technically nonpartisan race has turned into a partisan proxy fight and the first real test of whether Democrats can fight to win back control of Congress in 2026. It’ll also determine who has the power to decide some major issues that stretch far past Wisconsin.

Palestinians flocking back to the Yarmouk refugee camp outside Damascus, Syria, say it’s more than a physical place. And they are proving that you can return home, whether it’s livable or not. Yarmouk was founded in 1957 to house refugees driven from northern Palestine by the 1948 Mideast war. Today, much of it is destroyed. But “Our situation has changed 100%,” Samer Jalbout says, his smile caked in concrete dust as he shovels debris. “Now we can express our identity and our religion. We can relax and just be.”

The world’s youngest country is no stranger to conflict. South Sudan fought a two-decade war for its independence from Sudan, which it achieved in 2011. Then, just over two years later, a bitter civil war broke out. That conflict ended in 2018 with a wobbly peace deal between the country’s two top leaders. But now, their power-sharing agreement is fracturing. There is still some space, small though it might be, for optimism. The rainy season is coming, making military maneuvers difficult. That could allow for confidence-building measures on the ground.

“The Ballad of Wallis Island” is both modest and magical. One of its co-stars, Carey Mulligan, has described its tone as a “gentle euphoria.” That phrase perfectly expresses how this wonderful movie transports us. The Monitor’s film critic offers his highest rating to the movie, which pulses with humor as it explores the landscape of nostalgia and love.

In countries struggling against a drift toward autocracy, the tone of pro-democracy protests is usually hostile, even rude. Not so in Turkey these days. After a week of street demonstrations since the March 19 detention of the main opposition politician, Turks are offering a new playbook to the world – largely based on loving one’s enemies.

From his jail cell Monday, for example, presidential hopeful Ekrem İmamoğlu – who was arrested on dubious charges of corruption – sent this message to the young people protesting in Turkish cities against the two-plus-decade rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan:

“Stay away from conflicts. Be good to our security forces, police officers, and people whom I love very much. Let me see you all with smiling faces.”

In a step affirming democracy, Mr. İmamoğlu’s center-left Republican People’s Party went ahead with a planned presidential primary Monday while also opening the voting to all citizens. Mr. İmamoğlu was the only candidate – something President Erdoğan sought to prevent by the arrest in order to stay in power. Yet the party estimates nearly 15 million adults cast ballots in a country of 86 million people.

The party is also trying not to invite police violence, calling for peaceful action by the protesters. It has moved the demonstrations to different places while keeping municipal services running.

When some protesters hurled curses and insults at President Erdoğan’s family, leaders of the Republican People’s Party called for “clean language.” Party leader Özgür Özel said the curses felt like they were “directed at my own mother.”

Since his election as Istanbul’s mayor in 2019, Mr. İmamoğlu has countered the president’s tactics of polarization and attempts to eliminate rivals with what he calls “radical love,” or the antithesis of fear. Besides appealing to Mr. Erdoğan’s supporters, he has become famous with his slogan “Everything will be fine.” With humor and gentleness, he tells Turks that they can bring “democracy out from within us.”

This politics of inclusion is one reason Turkey’s opposition parties now control the local governments of more than half of the population. Constitutionally barred from running again, President Erdoğan is tightening his grip on power. Rather than following the tactics of fear, Mr. İmamoğlu says the protests have “ignited” a light rising like the sun, binding Turks together “with warmth.”