The U.S. and China are talking trade in London. Top officials are gathered Tuesday for a second day of negotiations aimed at rolling back export controls that threaten to choke vital production in both countries. Washington is pressing Beijing to end restrictions on the export of rare earth minerals needed to make electric vehicles and military equipment. China wants the United States to lift controls on sales of jet engines and other technologies. Still on the agenda are tariffs over 100% the two sides agreed to suspend for 90 days in May. – Staff

Russia launched one of the war’s largest drone attacks on Kyiv. The latest attacks reportedly struck seven of the capital’s ten districts, sparking fires, and hit a maternity ward in Odesa. They came a day after Russia launched 479 drones in the largest drone bombardment of the war. The Kremlin says the strikes are retaliation for Ukraine’s stunning drone operation last week on Russian military bases. That secret strike, more than a year in planning, prompted among U.S. commanders admiration for Ukrainian ingenuity and concern for American preparedness in the face of evolving drone warfare. – Staff

The head of NATO called for a “quantum leap” in defense. Secretary-General Mark Rutte said Monday members need to increase their air and missile defenses by 400% to counter the threat from Russia, warning that Moscow could be ready to attack the military alliance within five years. Mr. Rutte has proposed a target of 3.5% of economic output on military spending. Currently 22 out of 32 NATO members meet the 2% target. – The Associated Press 

Israel attacked a Yemeni port city. The Israeli navy struck the docks in the rebel-held port city of Hodeida on Tuesday, likely damaging facilities that are key to aid shipments to the hungry, war-wracked nation. This is the first time Israel’s forces have been involved in attacks against the Houthi rebels. The Houthis have repeatedly launched missiles and drones targeting Israel during its war on Hamas in Gaza. – AP

National Institutes of Health employees issued a rare rebuke. Deep spending cuts by the U.S. administration “harm the health of Americans and people across the globe” and “waste public resources,” according to dozens of scientists, researchers, and other employees at the NIH. In a letter, staff said the agency had terminated 2,100 research grants totaling about $9.5 billion and an additional $2.6 billion in contracts since Jan. 20. – Reuters
Related Monitor story: In March, we looked at how cuts to publicly funded research put a national strength at risk.

The High Seas Treaty gained momentum. If passed, the treaty would be the first legally binding agreement focused on protecting marine biodiversity in international waters, which cover nearly two-thirds of the ocean. Eighteen new countries signed the pledge yesterday on the first day of the third U.N. Ocean Conference in France. That brings the current total to 49 countries, with 60 needed for the agreement to enter into force. The surge in support adds energy to what could become a historic shift in how the world governs the open ocean. – AP

Protests in Los Angeles sparked by migrant arrests have not abated. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and President Donald Trump ramped up their sparring over the president’s unilateral decision to deploy National Guard troops despite objections from the state. Such an action is exceedingly rare. California has filed a lawsuit. In a further escalation, the Trump administration said Monday it would also deploy U.S. Marines to the city. Behind the clash, with its competing tactics and optics: dueling narratives over the cause and nature of the unrest and whether the federal government is helping to put out a fire or pouring gasoline on the flames.

New England has been losing farms for decades, owing to development and other factors. But recent years have seen a growing effort to shore up “human scale” agriculture and create the kind of resilient economies and places that people on both sides of the political spectrum say the country needs. The story of Hardwick, Vermont, a hamlet in the state’s poorest region, is a case study in what it means for a food system to truly “go local” in a world that has leaned on a global supply chain that’s now under threat.

To understand race relations in South Africa, just look at the multiracial coalition government that’s in power. When the country’s two biggest parties, which were historically rivals, formed a coalition government last year, few thought it would last. But it has, marking a new era of solidarity and compromise in South African politics – a joining of hands aimed partly at keeping incendiary populism at bay.

What is an appropriate way to document the journey of a family who had members taken hostage in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack in Israel? How best to handle the searing complexity of a protagonist who was fighting for his daughter while also being outspoken in his criticism of both Hamas and the Israeli government? The director of “Holding Liat” spoke with the Monitor about the decision to make the award-winning film.

As much as Coco Gauff has been a shining example of tennis ambassadorship off the court, her performance this weekend at the French Open reinforced her on-court dominance. And the night before Ms. Gauff’s thrilling win, the Women’s College World Series featured a winner-take-all game between the University of Texas and Texas Tech. It featured NiJaree Canady, the sport’s first million-dollar name, image, and likeness player – with the right to guard and monetize her personal brand. These victories support a confidence and candor that is fuel for more progress, our commentator writes. They showcase a kind of excellence that has come to define women’s sports.

Violent protests in Los Angeles over the arrests of people for violating U.S. immigration laws have resulted in a similarly intimidating reaction over the weekend: The Trump administration deployed the National Guard in the city to defend federal property and officers. Both responses set a new low in the nation’s ability to resolve the debate over unauthorized migrants – an issue that was the second most important one for Republican voters in the 2024 presidential election after inflation.

Yet even as the forceful arrests, fiery protests, and questionable use of guard members stay in the news, a different and peaceful approach has taken hold in recent weeks: the voluntary return of unauthorized migrants to their countries of origin – with many possibly able to seek legal entry to the United States.

“I wanted to see my family and my mom,” one returnee, Kevin Antonio Posadas, told The Associated Press. After living in Houston for three years, he went back to Honduras on May 16 with a $1,000 debit card from the U.S. government and an offer to someday apply for a U.S. visa. The administration claims thousands of migrants have taken up an offer to “self-deport.”

In early May, the White House teamed up with an arm of the United Nations, the International Organization for Migration, to provide “support to those who choose to return, helping them make a life-changing decision with care and clarity,” as the IOM puts it.

The Switzerland-based IOM, founded after World War II, has a track record of helping many countries strengthen their rule of law by aiding migrants to return home safely and willingly, making sure they have the support to start a new life. It has assisted the return of more than 1.5 million people over the past few decades, claiming its “rights-based” method allows migrants “to regain agency and make informed decisions.” In addition, governments can save money by avoiding the removal of migrants through adversarial legal proceedings.

Many migrants in the U.S., of course, have planted roots. They are unlikely to return to their home country. But if a system of voluntary returns grows, it may lay the groundwork for a consensus in Congress to deal with the complex issues of migration.

Or, as the IOM puts it, “Robust, well-run return systems are essential to maintaining the integrity of migration and asylum policies in support of States’ sovereign right to regulate migration.”