• Trump officials question courts: Top Trump administration officials are openly questioning the judiciary’s authority to serve as a check on executive power as the new president’s sweeping agenda faces growing pushback from the courts.
  • Related Monitor story: What if the executive branch doesn’t enforce judicial rulings? It has occurred before, but this could become a unique and challenging instance.
• Hamas hostage exchange: A spokesperson for Hamas said on Feb. 10 that it would delay the next hostage release after accusing Israel of violating a ceasefire agreement.
  • Related Monitor story: As Palestinian prisoners return home, there is joy, but sorrow, too.
• Famine in Gaza abates: The United Nations humanitarian chief said on Feb. 9 that famine has been mostly averted in Gaza as a surge of aid enters the territory during a fragile ceasefire.
• Romania’s president resigns: Romanian President Klaus Iohannis announced his resignation in an address on Feb. 10 following mounting pressure from populist opposition groups, saying he will leave office on Feb. 12.

Tariffs lead nowhere good. That has been the general wisdom in a time of growing globalization. But in announcing a new slate of tariffs, President Donald Trump is doubling down on challenging that view. The moves by themselves don’t signal the start of a global trade war. “It’s more of a trade cold war,” one expert says. Nations are wary, ready to respond, while wondering if Mr. Trump is again using tariffs as a negotiating tactic. At home, some supporters see an opportunity to put self-sufficiency over cheap imports.

Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is trying to slash the federal bureaucracy with dramatic actions, from offering severance packages to shutting entire agencies. Those workers who chose careers in public service say they don’t know what to think. One note encouraged them to leave simply by typing “Resign” in the subject line of an email. Employees are asking if they even have a job anymore. “We have no guidance,” says a supervisor at the Treasury Department. “I have nothing to tell them.”

So when, exactly, is that degree in French philosophy going to come in handy? It turns out, maybe more often than people think. The number of undergraduate degrees awarded in English, history, languages, literature, and related subjects fell as students focused on building more job-friendly skills. But now students and universities are finding that the subjects that teach “the life of the mind” are actually in demand. One university went so far as to put up a billboard: “Humanities = Jobs.” That’s causing a rethink of their value.

French agriculture is a vital part of what it means to be French: its food culture. But as in other places around the world, farmers are struggling to make ends meet in France. From polls to neighborhood menus, it’s clear that many French support their farmers. “If we want to eat well, we have to make good choices,” says one restaurant owner in Paris. But how far are consumers willing to go to save French farming? A disappearing way of life is at stake.

In our weekly roundup of progress around the world, out-of-the-box thinking yields sometimes surprising results. There are countries achieving economic growth while reducing carbon emissions, and in Bolivia, women are taking charge of their safety with their own successful taxi businesses. Also, bees!

More than three-quarters of Africans live in a country where security and democracy have deteriorated over the past decade, stated a recent report by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation. Nothing reflects that slide more than a violent offensive by Rwanda-backed rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Some 3,000 people have been killed and 500,000 displaced since mid-January.

Yet responses to the crisis offer a measure of the way Africans are building foundations for durable stability on the continent.

“We must resist the temptation of thinking that we can somehow shoot or bombard our way into a solution in the face of the complexity involved,” Kenyan President William Ruto said during an emergency summit of leaders from southern and East Africa in Tanzania on Saturday. Peace, he argued, depends on respecting the demands of African citizens for freedom, justice, and economic opportunity.

The takeover of the city Goma in eastern Congo by the rebel group M23 is just the latest turn in a pattern of strife dating back to the 1994 genocide in Rwanda. The ethnic animosities that spilled across the border remain an ongoing security concern. But the conflict is also driven by competition over mineral resources. Eastern Congo holds some of the world’s richest deposits of gold and coltan, a metallic ore used in devices such as cellphones and laptops.

Mr. Ruto’s comment underscores how Africans are shifting their thinking from the economic potential of natural resources to human capabilities. Six in 10 Africans are under the age of 25. By 2035, the World Economic Forum anticipates, more young Africans will enter the workforce each year than in the rest of the world combined.

That demographic bulge is forcing deep change. Over the past decade, the Mo Ibrahim Foundation noted, Africa has made notable gains in health care and gender equality. The International Monetary Fund reported that a “new wave of leaders ... has expressed renewed commitment to fighting corruption.” More than 1,000 new tech hubs are driving a burst of innovation across Africa, according to the United Nations. In December, African heads of state outlined strategies already underway to boost education spending and accelerate the continent’s digital transformation.

The last war in the Congo – 26 years ago, involving six invading armies and nearly two dozen rebel movements – carved up the country temporarily. This time, there is an urgency for peace, showing how Africa may be embracing the potential of its people over material riches.