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Autocracy concerns rise in Turkey

Turkish authorities formally arrested and charged a top political rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, as officials deepened the crackdown against anti-government demonstrations. Istanbul Mayor Ekrem İmamoğlu was set to be named the presidential candidate for Turkey’s opposition Sunday, but his jailing on corruption charges effectively kneecapped his bid; authorities also imposed a protest ban and travel restrictions in Istanbul. İmamoğlu’s arrest “crossed the line separating a competitive authoritarian system from a truly autocratic Turkey,” Le Monde wrote. The US and Europe are unlikely to push Ankara to change course, a Turkish opposition lawmaker wrote: Washington needs Turkey to counter Iran’s influence in the Middle East, while Europe sees the country as critical to defense against Russia.

Rage and Trump to define Canada election

New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Sunday called a snap election for April 28, kickstarting a campaign that will be defined by US President Donald Trump. Carney said he has already begun to “fight the Americans,” describing the country’s trade war with the US as among the “most significant threats of our lifetimes.” The tough talk tapped the wave of nationalism that Trump has inspired: “Rage is the new Canadian mood,” The Globe and Mail declared. That anger, which has already helped Carney’s party stage a stunning comeback in the polls, could give them the edge. The opposition Conservatives are battling the widely held perception that they would align with Trump — and yield to his demands.

US optimistic over Ukraine truce talks

US and Ukrainian officials resumed ceasefire negotiations in Saudi Arabia Sunday, as a top US envoy voiced optimism for a breakthrough — while repeating multiple Kremlin talking points. The talks mark the latest test of Washington’s approach to Kyiv: Ukraine has agreed to a US-led temporary truce, but in interviews over the weekend, US special envoy Steve Witkoff called Ukraine a “false country,” praised Russian President Vladimir Putin, and dismissed concerns that Moscow might be emboldened by a deal in Ukraine and invade other European nations. Washington wants a broad truce by Easter, Bloomberg reported, though experts believe Putin is trying to prolong the talks: The Russian delegation in Saudi include “technical people who can ensure the talks aren’t rushed,” one Russia-based analyst said.

China braces for ‘shocks’

China’s premier said Beijing is preparing for “unexpected shocks” ahead of further US tariffs, striking a cautionary yet upbeat note about the country’s economic trajectory. At a Beijing forum attended by top foreign business leaders — and one Republican US senator — Premier Li Qiang urged countries to open their markets to Chinese exports. China also hopes to bolster foreign investment as it battles with broad economic malaise, while strengthening regional ties: The country’s foreign minister met his Japanese and South Korean counterparts Saturday, urging them to restart free-trade talks. Beijing sees an opportunity to use the US foreign policy shakeup to drive a wedge between the US-Japan-Korea alliance, Nikkei wrote.

Europe questions Fed funding backstop

European finance officials are reportedly discussing the possibility that the US Federal Reserve may no longer provide dollar funding during times of market stress. The behind-the-scenes talks, Reuters reported, cast doubt “over what has been a bedrock of financial stability.” It remains highly unlikely that the Fed would stop honoring its funding backstops, but President Donald Trump has broken with enough other long-standing US policies to spark concern across the Atlantic. The worry reflects how Trump’s weaponization of Washington’s dominance over the global financial system could ultimately erode US financial hegemony: “Economic dominance flows more from attraction than coercion. To reinforce U.S. economic power, Trump should lean into his dealmaking instincts,” an expert argued.

OpenAI, Meta explore deal with Reliance

OpenAI and Meta are separately exploring deals with Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance to grow their artificial intelligence offerings in India, The Information reported. The push reflects how much Western tech firms want to break into India, as the country offers a huge market for AI. A team-up with Ambani, seen as a close ally of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, could help OpenAI or Meta allay the concerns of Indian officials who worry foreign tech companies could hurt homegrown innovation. The “accelerating global land grab” for AI has pushed countries like India to prioritize building out infrastructure, like data centers, so local companies also reap the benefits, The Information wrote.

Silicon Valley’s new religion

Silicon Valley has become a new frontier of Christian evangelism, driven by some of its most influential entrepreneurs and the changing political and cultural tide. Long seen as a bastion of progressive, atheistic values, the Valley has undergone a transformation in recent years led by figures like Peter Thiel and Y Combinator’s Garry Tan. This technology-centered reimagining of Christianity disputes the idea that Christ’s teachings are anti-capitalist, Vanity Fair noted, and are in fact a competitive advantage. “We were always taught as Christians to serve the meek, the lowly, the marginalized,” the founder of a faith-centered events series for tech leaders told The New York Times. “If anything, the rich, the wealthy, the powerful need Jesus just as much.”

More Americans seek second passports

More wealthy Americans are buying the right to live somewhere else — just in case. More than half of the world’s nations offer passports or visas tailored to those able to cough up enough cash, with Americans now representing a majority of people “hedging” their options, The Atlantic wrote. Many aren’t yet moving abroad, but want the option, worried by the chaos of the last few years and the uncertainty that has followed US President Donald Trump’s return. “I never would have imagined my No. 1 source market would become America,” one immigration adviser said. For those who can’t pay their way, family ancestry offers another increasingly popular avenue to diversify one’s passport collection.

Mauritius monkey trade under scrutiny

Mauritius is the world’s largest exporter of laboratory monkeys, but the industry is controversial both on the island and abroad. Long-tailed macaques are ubiquitous in Mauritius, and a hot commodity for Western researchers: Labs in the US or Europe can pay up to $20,000 for a single animal. In some Mauritian villages metal monkey traps are “seemingly everywhere,” Science reported, and the country has exported thousands of the creatures in recent years. But as at least one government minister has called for an export ban, scientists are worried it would slow research, while conservationists are divided: Some want to protect the monkeys, while others consider them an invasive species, as they arrived with European sailors around the 17th century.

UK observatory faces uncertain future

An astronomer is calling attention to the uncertain future of an historic astronomical observatory in England. The observatory at Herstmonceux succeeded the Royal Observatory Greenwich, which acts as the dividing line between the Earth’s Eastern and Western hemispheres: London became too smoggy and bright to do research after the industrial revolution, and the observatory moved to a darker location in the countryside and was renamed. In the 1960s, it housed one of the most powerful telescopes in the world. But Herstmonceux became light-polluted, too, and a charity turned it into a science education center in the ’90s. Now, the charity is being evicted, putting “a key piece of global astronomy heritage” at risk, solar physicist Ryan French wrote.

March 24:

• A South Korea court is expected to rule on whether to formally remove Prime Minister Han Duck-soo from office.
• Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva begins a state visit to Japan.
• Actor Steve Buscemi launches a true-crime podcast.

An original prop model of the titular character from Steven Spielberg’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial could net more than $1 million at auction. The model of the gentle alien was designed by acclaimed special effects master Carlo Rambaldi and used in the scene in which E.T. burrows in a pile of toys in Elliott’s bedroom closet to hide from his mother. The prop is estimated to sell for between $600,000 and $900,000, according to Sotheby’s, but could fetch even more given its rarity. It is on sale alongside other 20th-century Hollywood artifacts, including a pair of sandworm models from David Lynch’s Dune.

Math runs through Max Levchin’s thinking about Affirm, his biggest venture since he built PayPal with Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Reid Hoffman, and the rest of what became known as the PayPal Mafia.

The buy-now-pay-later loan service is what Soviet-born Levchin calls a “moral capitalist enterprise,” and has pledged to never charge its customers late fees. But that means there’s little room for error: “From the very beginning, the underwriting discipline here was the only thing that stood between us and losing money,” he told Semafor’s Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson.