• Early reaction to Trump’s Gaza proposal: The US president’s suggestion last night that the United States “take over” the Gaza Strip and permanently resettle its Palestinian residents has been swiftly rejected and denounced by American allies and adversaries alike.
• Kurdish militants face opposition: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said he and Syria’s newly appointed president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, discussed steps to be taken against both the Islamic State and Kurdish militants in northeast Syria.
  • Related Monitor story: The task of restoring order in Syria, and faith in a peaceful future, is enormous.
• Gaza reconstruction: President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy said that a three-to-five-year timeline, as set out in a temporary truce agreement, is not viable. He called it “preposterous.”
• California’s anti-Trump legal fund: California’s Democratic-dominated Assembly endorsed up to $50 million in funding Feb. 3 to defend the state’s progressive policies against challenges.
  • Related Monitor story: The biggest U.S. state’s challenge to a Republican president mirrors Texas’ opposition to the Biden administration.
• Swedish shooting: Police say about 10 people including the gunman were killed Feb. 4 at an adult education center in central Sweden.
• Pacific Coast Highway reopens: The scenic route reopened Feb. 3 in Malibu, California, nearly a month after the deadly Palisades Fire began.

In southeastern Ukraine, Nataliia Bilanska is evacuating as advancing Russian forces bring the war front to her town. Like the volunteers helping her leave, she worries her home may not survive. Ukraine is staring down shortfalls in experienced fighters and equipment, and Russia is taking advantage, pushing ahead amid uncertain support for Ukraine from U.S. and European allies. 

President Donald Trump sees Chinese influence as a serious threat to U.S. interests – including in the Panama Canal, where he sent Secretary of State Marco Rubio over the weekend. The canal’s economic import is clear, carrying 40% of U.S. container traffic annually. But it holds major geopolitical significance as well, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and acting as a linchpin for U.S. engagement with Latin America.

The past week has seen a high-level reshuffling at the U.S. Department of Justice and the FBI as President Donald Trump, who has viewed federal law enforcement as being weaponized against him, forced out or reassigned senior officials. But legal experts and former officials say widespread firings at the FBI may cause more problems than they solve, eroding the agency’s independence and disrupting its ability to keep the public safe.

With the self-assurance of an entrepreneur and the bluff of a big-time poker player, President Donald Trump inaugurated a new and uncertain era in U.S. trade relations this week.

In the northern Nigerian city of Jos, Victor Bello has changed the trajectory of children sent to study at Quranic boarding schools. The children were taught little beyond recitation, and left to survive by begging. A Christian, he started a successful supplemental educational program by building trust with the community and working respectfully alongside the children’s Quranic studies.

Pigeons have gained fame throughout the centuries, often tapped for communication in peace as well as during war. In Delhi, a tight-knit community of pigeon-keepers has sustained an ancient tradition of tending to its flocks, forming surprisingly tight bonds with the birds.

During a five-nation tour of Central America this month, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has insisted on well-known and tough solutions to the illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border. At one of his last stops, Guatemala, a wholly different solution was waiting for him, one that may flip the script on migration narratives.

In mid-January, President Bernardo Arévalo – whose career specialty is as a conflict conciliator – announced a plan to invest in all Guatemalans deported by the Trump administration by tapping any work or language skills they acquired in the United States.

The plan, called Return Home, would treat deportees as experts in individual agency and assets for the nation, not as victims of politics or of an economic system. President Arévalo called them “anonymous heroes” worthy of a “dignified reception.”

If they have worked in construction or hospitality in the U.S., they could get skill certification. If they are fluent in English, they could be directed to jobs in ecotourism or other types of work with foreigners. If they have been entrepreneurs, they might be eligible for a loan. Most would be offered land to build a house.

If legal ways to work abroad open up, they would be encouraged to apply. That possibility is critical. The money that migrants send back to Guatemala accounts for about a fifth of the country’s gross domestic product. As deportation from the U.S. picks up, exporting workers to other countries could keep bringing in remittances, or dollars.

The president’s plan is by no means a small venture. During the Biden administration, the U.S. deported more Guatemalans than any other group. An estimated 675,000 unauthorized Guatemalans lived in the country in 2022. Paying for the plan may be difficult without foreign assistance.

On Monday, just before Mr. Rubio’s arrival, Mr. Arévalo told potential deportees in the U.S., “You are not alone, we know that you are going through moments of uncertainty and concern, but we are with you and we will fight for you.”

It was one way to take the fear and panic out of migration – either forced or voluntary – and perhaps change the debate over a very charged issue.