New Hampshire’s results provide signals about November. Donald Trump won strong support from Republicans but was far less popular among independents.

• Sweden’s NATO bid advances: After almost two years of delay, Turkey’s parliament gives the green light to let the Nordic country join the alliance. Hungary is now the only NATO member yet to approve Sweden.
• POW plane crash: Russia accuses Ukraine of shooting down its plane with 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war.
• U.S. military strikes: The U.S. military hits three facilities in Iraq and two anti-ship missiles in Yemen in its effort to keep the Israel-Hamas war from becoming a wider conflict. 
• EBay layoffs: The online retailer will cut about 1,000 jobs, with its CEO saying the company’s costs have exceeded how much the business is growing. The layoffs are about 9% of the company’s workforce.

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Iran and Russia have generally had a touchy relationship. But that appears to be changing amid Russia’s war in Ukraine and turmoil in the Mideast.

War’s destructiveness extends beyond a tally of lives and structures lost; it extends to the richness of cultural life as well. Palestinians in Gaza say the loss of artists and academics who touched and inspired them will be felt for generations.

Tunisia’s leader shows how populism can use xenophobia and conspiracy theories to build and maintain support.

Last week’s freeze left many electric vehicle owners stuck in long battery-charging lines. EV drivers need a solution soon, or they may get left, literally, out in the cold.

When formal diplomatic channels grow cold, countries must rely on softer forms of statecraft. For 50 years, the Philadelphia Orchestra has played a singular role in connecting America and China through the universal love of music.

Iraq ranks as the fifth-most vulnerable country to global warming. About 70% of its young people live in poverty. And both Iran and the United States have lately launched attacks against militants in Iraq, reaffirming its history as a place for others to settle scores.

So amid these giant forces, what is the main concern of Iraq’s leader? “Corruption remains ... the greatest threat to Iraq’s future development,” wrote Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani in The Guardian in late 2023.

In fact, last month when the government celebrated the sixth anniversary of the victory over the terrorist group Islamic State – which took over a third of the country in 2014 – many Iraqis expressed hope for a greater victory.

“God willing, we will celebrate the victory day when we conquer your corruption,” wrote one Iraqi, Fadel Sharba, on social media.

Mr. Sudani knows well why corruption is the top priority. He came to power in 2022 after two years of mass protests by young people demanding clean governance in one of the region’s rare democracies. Even today, thousands of university graduates, unable to find jobs, often take to the streets. Many of the prime minister’s reforms are targeted at youth, who make up 60% of Iraq’s 43 million people. He has invited them to join in the anti-corruption drive through a campaign called #PasstheBaton.

Driven by these yearnings for honest and accountable leaders, Iraq is enjoying an unusual period of political stability, 21 years after a U.S. invasion toppled a dictator.

“Some Iraqi leaders can be successful in upholding the law and constitution, in driving agreement, and in getting things done,” wrote James Watt, a former British ambassador in the Middle East, in Devex, a news site on global development. “I see a country at peace with itself, hungry to rebuild.”

The government’s reforms have resulted in a record $24 billion in foreign direct investment last year and a record number of infrastructure projects. The number of hours of reliable electricity rose to 20 hours a day last year, up from 13 the year before. In ensuring nobody is above the law, “Iraq has come a long way in recent years,” declared Human Rights Watch this month.

The prime minister describes Iraq’s current situation this way: “We find ourselves in a far more harmonious situation than at any other time in the last three generations.” A big reason for that harmony has been the upwelling for integrity in governance among young Iraqis, reflecting their values of civic equality and freedom born of Iraq’s long experience of adversity.