• Gaza truce expires: Thousands of Israelis protested in Jerusalem on Sunday, demanding the government seek the return of hostages instead of revenge. After an initial ceasefire expired March 1 without a peace deal, Israel blocked humanitarian aid into Hamas-run Gaza to pressure the militant group to resume stalled negotiations. Both sides accused the other of violating the truce. Meanwhile, Israel’s prime minister said there would be no “free lunches” for Hamas, which is holding up to 24 hostages alive. A U.S. envoy’s arrival in the region later this week could help revive the talks. – Staff
• Judge puts hold on some mass firings: A federal judge in San Francisco found the mass firings of probationary employees likely unlawful. The decision grants temporary relief to a coalition of labor unions and organizations that have sued to stop the Trump administration’s dismantling of the federal workforce. – Associated Press
  • Related Monitor story: As the administration seeks to slash the federal bureaucracy, career public servants speak out about the consequences.
• Mexican cartel leaders in U.S. court: Cartel leaders Rafael Caro Quintero and Vicente Carrillo Fuentes were arraigned in a U.S. federal court in New York City, following their surprise transfer from Mexico. – AP
• Crypto collapse rattles Argentina: Argentina’s crypto economy is reeling from the collapse of a cryptocurrency that has raised questions about the involvement of the country’s president, who has denied any link to the cryptocurrency. – Reuters
  • Related Monitor story: Cryptocurrency emerged to address the world’s fading trust in traditional institutions. But it may yet need to learn some old-school lessons.
• An Oscar-night haul: “Anora,” Sean Baker’s gritty, Brooklyn-set tale of a strip-club dancer who elopes with the son of a Russian oligarch, won best picture at the 97th Academy Awards Sunday. Mikey Madison won best actress for the film, which won five awards. Adrien Brody won best actor for his performance in “The Brutalist.”  “I’m Still Here,” a portrait of resistance under Brazil’s military dictatorship, won best international film. Here’s a full list of winners.
  • Related Monitor stories: Read Peter Rainer’s “Anora” review. Ahead of the ceremony, Peter pulled together his own list of best 2024 performances.

Israeli communities near Gaza still bear the marks, physical and spiritual, of Oct. 7. But the communities are rebuilding, and shifting toward tekuma, or rebirth. The last of the living hostages from Kibbutz Be’eri, a communal village surrounded by wheat fields and avocado groves, has been freed, and the kibbutz is making headway in its plans to rebuild. Small businesses are being revived. “It was clear to me on Oct. 8 when we sat together that I would ... dedicate myself to the rehabilitation of Be’eri,” says Gal Cohen, a printing press operator who was among the first people to spot the approaching gunmen. “It felt like my mission.”

President Donald Trump has said that he will create a sovereign wealth fund, essentially a large, state-owned investment portfolio, by executive order. Logistics of creation aside, do such funds work? Yes, writes our senior economics writer – when done correctly. Successful funds can pay for national programs without raising taxes. They can buffer against the unexpected or ensure that future generations will have adequate financial resources. But some economists caution that such funds can also create opportunities for grift and self-dealing. 

Many countries in the Global North got rich on fossil fuel extraction. Now, many in the Global South say they want the same opportunity. But a pipeline project in Uganda poses questions. The state oil company says the project, led by a French multinational, represents a path out of poverty, “an opportunity, not just for the country, but for the people.” But many living in the pipeline’s path, eyeing the evictions that make way for heavily guarded oil fields, are dubious.

Ukrainian families in front-line regions grapple daily with formidable obstacles as they try to rebuild their lives amid the destruction of Russia’s invasion. Providing the electricity, phone, and internet needed for online schooling can be enormously frustrating. “He’s upset when he can’t get all that knowledge,” says Antonina Aharkova, mother of Artem, a boy who says he dreams of satellite internet. He often needs to settle for electricity. Any day that has it brings gratitude, and a balm. 

They call it a bore. For those who view it, it’s anything but. For thousands of years, the world’s highest tides have arrived and receded in the Bay of Fundy. Some 160 billion metric tons of water flow into and out of the bay each day. At the head, the water can rise as high as a four-story building. Tourists in Nova Scotia can witness a tidal bore, a wave that moves upstream. “It’s like the cavalry coming up over the hill,” a visitor from North Carolina tells our reporting team. That’s quite an image.

In the past decade, terrorist attacks in the Middle East have dropped sharply, often because of military defeat, sometimes by a change in conscience. A possible example of the latter came Thursday. In a letter from his prison cell of 26 years, Abdullah Öcalan, founder of a four-decade-old armed insurgency for the rights of the large Kurdish minority in Turkey, called on his outlawed group to disarm and dissolve.

The violence long used against civilians by his Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has “reached the end of its course,” he stated. An “era of peace” and coexistence must now be developed by forming a new Kurdish political party in Turkey.

“There is no alternative to democracy in the pursuit and realization of a political system. Democratic consensus is the fundamental way,” said Mr. Öcalan, who is highly revered among Kurds and called “Apo,” or uncle. 

His letter evoked a mix of joy, tears, and doubts among Kurds spread across Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria. The PKK’s leaders, based in Iraq, have yet to say whether they will lay down their weapons. Mr. Öcalan himself hinted that the next step resides with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to recognize a democratic and legal “framework” for the Kurds.

The struggle for Kurdish rights is one of the world’s most protracted civil conflicts, born a century ago as European powers carved up the Middle East without making a homeland for this distinct ethnic group that now numbers some 40 million. With pro-democracy groups in the Mideast gaining influence and terrorist attacks on the decline, Mr. Öcalan’s letter may reflect a regional shift toward peaceful resolution of ethnic and religious differences.

In Syria, for example, a former rebel leader once tied to Al Qaeda who ousted a dictator in December has made initial moves toward an inclusive, democratic government. In Iraq, democracy has slowly cemented over two decades with some progress in accommodating the country’s Kurdish minority. In Iran, clerical rulers face rising calls for freedom.

Last October, when Turkish officials sounded out the PKK founder about a deal, Mr. Öcalan stated that he was able to shift the Kurdish issue “from an arena of conflict and violence to one of law and politics.” His letter, a public statement of a change of conscience, has now set loose that resolve. It might now force a genuine dialogue between Kurds and Turks to live peacefully together.