• Limited ceasefire in Ukraine: U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin agreed during a March 18 call to pursue a ceasefire against energy and infrastructure targets in the Russia-Ukraine war. It stops short of the U.S. administration’s proposal of a 30-day ceasefire. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later said that Ukraine is open to  proposals that lead to peace, but stressed the need for transparency. – The Associated Press
  • Related Monitor story: Russia likes the US turn on Ukraine. But do Putin and Trump share an endgame?
• A reversal on USAID: A federal judge ruled that the dismantling of the U.S. Agency for International Development likely violated the Constitution. He blocked the Department of Government Efficiency from making further cuts to the agency. – AP
• Astronauts return: NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Barry “Butch” Wilmore returned to Earth after more than nine months in space. Their SpaceX capsule splashed down early Tuesday evening, just hours after departing the International Space Station. – AP
  • Related Monitor story: A narrative grew around “stranded” astronauts. The real story was one of adaptability and strength.
• Progress for Congo: Talks between the leaders of Congo and Rwanda were held in Qatar, raising hopes of a shift in a conflict that has dogged the Democratic Republic of Congo for 30 years. Both governments committed to working toward a ceasefire. Direct talks between Congo and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels had been planned for March 18 in Angola. But M23 backed away, citing international sanctions on rebel leaders. The conflict, often framed primarily as a struggle over Congo’s mineral resources, is also bound up in identity and territory. – Staff 
• DEI-related purge: Ahead of a March 19 deadline set by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, tens of thousands of photos and online posts have been marked for deletion, according to a database obtained by the Associated Press. The posts mainly target women and minorities, and include articles on everything from Navajo code talkers to the Enola Gay, the B-29 aircraft that dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, during World War II. A Pentagon spokesman touted the Defense Department’s “rapid compliance” with a Feb. 27 Pentagon directive. – AP
• Court rules on AI art: A federal appeals court in Washington affirmed that a work of art generated by artificial intelligence without human input cannot be copyrighted under U.S. law. The decision marks the latest attempt by U.S. officials to grapple with the copyright implications of fast-growing generative AI. – Reuters

In March 2022, El Salvador declared a “state of exception” that has given its government sweeping powers to arrest and detain suspected criminals without warrants or evidence. It accepted planeloads of third-country deportees from the United States over the weekend, expanding its president’s controversial philosophy on security and civil liberties beyond Salvadoran citizens, and raising questions about other applications around the region and the world. It’s more than “simply a crime-fighting tool,” says a U.S.-based political scientist. “It’s a tool for the consolidation of authoritarian control.”

What happens when courts want to slow, or even undo, some action that a president is taking until the issue can be addressed in court? Exactly what happened this past weekend around arrests, deportations, and court maneuvers is still unclear, but the events served to highlight the new logistical and constitutional strains. President Donald Trump is providing a real-time test of whether courts can actually rein in the executive branch.

Israelis are far less unified in support of war nearly a year and a half after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack by Hamas militants. Exhausted and concerned for the lives of hostages believed to still be alive in Gaza, many openly question Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s motivations in breaking the fragile truce with early Tuesday morning’s airstrikes. Some hostage families still say military pressure remains the only course. Other Israelis doubt that a new mobilization would work. “I think there are many reservists who won’t come,” says a Tel Aviv man who says he has served 150 days, mostly in Gaza. “After 200 or more days of reserve duty, it’s hard to go,” he says, “especially if you have children.”

The growing visibility of transgender people in society and the spread of new ideas around sex and gender have led to emotional public debates about single-sex spaces and sports, and have prompted a rising backlash on the right. President Donald Trump has enacted a flurry of policies impacting aspects of life for transgender people. That has left members of the transgender community reeling, and Democrats divided over how to respond. But the politics surrounding the issue are dicey for both parties. Most Americans’ views tend to be far more nuanced, experts say, than the political positioning being put forward by either party.

In Laila Lalami’s unnerving novel “The Dream Hotel,” archivist and mother Sara Hussein faces the unthinkable – detention for having occasionally violent dreams. It’s a “precrime” in this not-too-distant world: a perceived inclination to break a law that raises digital flags. To take back her freedom, Sara builds alliances and hunts for ways to outsmart the devices monitoring her dreams. Her book is a page-turner with timely messages about privacy and agency. In a video chat, Ms. Lalami reflected on the novel’s origins, world-building, and mission. 

Cultural preservation doesn’t require profitability. But the Bebali Foundation has found a way to honor heritage and generate income in Indonesia. It works with some 60 culturally distinct community groups across 12 islands to keep alive their diverse textile traditions and natural dyeing techniques. “The foundation’s work benefits both culture and nature,” says an ethnobotanist who was an early adviser. By his estimation, it takes nearly a decade to tell whether a development project is successful. “The Bebali Foundation,” he says, “has passed this test.”

An investigative report on Iran ordered by the United Nations Human Rights Council was delivered on Tuesday and it paints a picture of a theocratic government very much afraid of its own people.

Aerial drones fly overhead to spot women without mandatory head covering. Facial recognition cameras look for dissidents in universities. An increase in executions of protesters has turned Iran into the world’s highest per capita user of the death penalty.

All in all, the report concludes, the Islamic Republic has committed crimes against humanity since mass protests in 2022 following the death in custody of a woman without a “proper” head scarf.

“For two years, Iran has refused to adequately acknowledge the demands for equality and justice that fuelled the protests,” said Sara Hossain, head of the U.N. Fact-Finding Mission.

Yet despite the crackdown, Iranians from diverse social groups, especially young women, still find public ways to express freedom and equality, often through artistic life on the streets or in online forums.

“When you step outside, you see their presence, their courage – it’s all about these fearless women now; nothing else compares,” stated a famous artist, Shohreh Mehran, as quoted in a 2024 book, “Women, Art, Freedom: Artists and Street Politics in Iran,” by scholar Pamela Karimi.

That public presence is best seen among young women selling crafts on Tehran’s streets. One art student named Saeedeh told IranWire, “For us who study art, being on this street without mandatory hijab is a form of resistance. ... More than sales, this protest presence is what matters.”

Some officials acknowledge the government has lost the people. “We are experiencing a social reality characterized by estrangement, protests, and hatred,” said Abbas Salehi, minister of culture and Islamic guidance, in January. He said trust must be rebuilt with the cultural and artistic community.

This quiet dissent seems to be having an impact. In mid-December, the government suspended a pending law that would have led to severe enforcement of veiling. It also loosened regulation of online dissent.

One other possible reason is the example set in Syria by the sudden collapse of an Iran-allied dictator to a small rebel force on Dec. 8. Iran’s ruling clerics may now realize their vulnerability to a similar uprising. One official said the new hijab law was suspended “to prevent the enemy from creating Syria [in Iran].”

The 2022 protests created a deep mental shift among Iranians, “reflected in the centrality of women and their dignity,” according to scholar Asef Bayat. Whether in their art or street presence, women know they have broken free.