Russian President Vladimir Putin may sit alongside former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Trump’s son-in-law, former Senior Adviser Jared Kushner on President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace. The Kremlin has confirmed that Putin has been invited to join the new body to be chaired by Trump. The board will oversee Gaza’s reconstruction and was originally part of the U.S.-brokered 20-point plan to end the war there, but recent developments suggest the organization’s reach might extend far beyond the Palestinian territory. 

Who’s on it? 
The committee will be the “greatest and most prestigious board ever assembled at any time any place,” said Trump on Truth Social last week. Member states will be limited to three-year terms on the board, but those that contribute more than $1 billion in the first year can become permanent members, according to a draft charter seen by Bloomberg. 

Along with Blair, Rubio and Kushner, the founding executive board will include U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and World Bank President Ajay Banga. U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is said to be among the many world leaders who have received invitations. French President Emmanuel Macron has already declined. 

A 15-member Palestinian technocratic committee, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, has also been set up to run day-to-day affairs in the devastated enclave. Former U.N. Middle East Envoy Nickolay Mladenov will be the “key link” between this administration and another committee called the Gaza Executive Board, said Middle East Eye. Major General Jasper Jeffers, the former head of U.S. Special Forces, has been appointed to lead an International Stabilization Force. 

What else could the board do? 
According to the draft charter, the Board of Peace will seek to “solidify peace in the Middle East” and, at the same time, “embark on a bold new approach to resolving global conflict.” Notably, there’s no mention of Gaza, which adds to “speculation that the group may have a broader mandate to cover other conflicts,” said The New York Times, and “could even be aimed at creating a U.S.-dominated alternative to the United Nations Security Council.”

The 2011 Fukushima meltdown was a nightmare that all but shut down Japan’s nuclear power industry. But things change, and the country has now restarted the world’s largest nuclear power plant over the objections of neighbors who fear another calamity.

Restarting reactor No. 6 at Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant northwest of Tokyo is a “milestone in Japan’s slow return to nuclear energy,” said The Guardian. Japan’s government wants to reduce the country’s carbon emissions and increase its energy security without relying on fossil fuels. 

But many of the 420,000 people living near the plant say the restart is “fraught with danger,” said the outlet. Authorities refused calls to hold a referendum on the plant’s future, but polls show “clear opposition to putting the reactor back online."

What did the commentators say?
Japan shut down all 54 of the country’s reactors following the Fukushima incident and has since restarted 14 of the 33 that remain operable, said CNN. The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa restart, though, is seen as a “watershed moment in the country’s return to nuclear energy,” said Reuters. Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operated the Fukushima plant, reports it has a host of new safety measures. 

Japan’s big nuclear restart is an "economic inevitability,” said Yuriy Humber at Nikkei Asia. Restarting reactors can “help lower electricity bills” in a country still experiencing high inflation. A dormant nuclear plant, meanwhile, “still costs tens of millions of dollars a year to maintain.” All of this has long been true, but the trauma of Fukushima forced officials to take a path that is “slow, deliberate and shaped as much by psychology as by policy.”

The nuclear power industry in Japan “cannot simply be switched on again,” said Tadahiro Katsuta at Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. Reactors once supplied 29% of the country’s electricity, but that number has dipped to 5%. Renewable energy has started to fill the gap and is expected to fulfill 40% or more of Japan’s energy needs by 2040. The bottom line, though, is that the Fukushima incident demonstrated that the “claimed inherent safety of nuclear power is a myth.”

What next?
The return of Kashiwazaki-Kariwa’s reactor was scheduled for yesterday but was delayed  “following an issue with an alarm,” said Bloomberg. The issue was not serious, a company spokesperson said to The Japan Times, and the reactor went online this morning.

Children play inside a colorful igloo built by locals in Lviv. The city in western Ukraine continues to face bombardment from Russia, including drone strikes that hit a playground last week.
Yuriy Dyachyshyn / AFP / Getty Images

These games serve dual purposes: They can help you beat boredom during long flights and give you something fun to do with friends and family when you finally arrive at your destination. Bonus alert: Each game also comes in a compact container, so it tucks away easily in your carry-on.

The Chameleon travel pack
Bluff your way to a win. This social word game is all about determining who’s the chameleon, unless you are the chameleon, and then the goal is to escape without getting caught. Participants will enjoy the fast pace and having to stay on their toes, coming up with clue words that help them blend in and stay under the radar. ($14, Amazon)

Jaipur
Designed for two players, Jaipur puts competitors in the “shoes of rival traders” vying to “earn the favor of the Maharaja,” said GamesRadar+. It’s an “easy-breezy” game where the aim is to take and sell goods for points. While “straightforward,” Jaipur is also “absolutely riveting” and comes with beautifully illustrated cards. ($28, Amazon)

Smug Owls
Show off your verbal prowess during a game of Smug Owls. Players use a card deck to create a riddle, then try to come up with the most creative response. Everyone will take their own approach to the riddle, and there are no right answers. Some might crack jokes, while others make profound statements. Bring it along on a group vacation, as up to 15 people can play. ($22, Amazon)