A growing feud between the U.S. and Brazil has put both nations’ diplomatic corps on high alert, as South America’s largest economy finds itself on the receiving end of a Trumpian diplomatic spat. This month, Washington revoked the visa of Brazilian Ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti after Brasilia refused visas for several Trump administration officials whom authorities claimed were planning to denounce the country’s leftist government.

Brazil has said it will not formally accept President Donald Trump’s Senate-approved ambassador pick, Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez, until after its October election. The country complained that the U.S. had named Perez before completing certain diplomatic obligations.

‘Protocol can double as a weapon’
The visa cancellation is the “latest split” between two governments that have “spent the past year oscillating between confrontation and detente,” said The New York Times. But this episode is “very, very unique and severe,” said Carlos Poggio, a political science professor in Brazil, to the outlet. 

“On the surface,” the diplomatic kerfuffle “may seem like tit-for-tat pettiness,” said Puck. “True practitioners of statecraft” understand that “protocol can double as a weapon.” Voiding Viotti’s visa is “not an isolated incident,” said the office of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in a statement to NBC. Rather, it’s part of a “deliberate escalation of hostile measures” fueled by “ideological motives that are incompatible with a bilateral partnership that has always been guided by mutual respect.”

‘Part of a pattern’
Some in the Brazilian diplomatic corps have questioned why Trump is “rushing to have an ambassador in Brasilia only months before October’s election,” said The Associated Press. After all, the post has been “vacant since Trump returned to the White House” last year. 

“This isn’t just about Brazil,” said Orna Blum, a former senior State Department official who focused on Brazil, to Puck. “It’s part of a pattern.” The Trump administration has aligned itself with “far-right political movements from Germany’s AfD to Marine Le Pen in France and now with Jair Bolsonaro and his son Flávio in Brazil.” Being seen as “picking sides in another democracy’s elections” under Trump has “cost America credibility with allies around the world.”

The United Nations is preparing to choose a new secretary-general for the first time in a decade, with seven candidates vying to succeed António Guterres of Portugal. The choice will be made by the U.N. General Assembly, following the recommendation of the Security Council, whose permanent members are China, France, the U.K., Russia and the U.S. But the winner faces a huge challenge, with multiple geopolitical crises and the U.N.’s own status in question.

What does the secretary-general do?
“Equal parts diplomat and advocate, civil servant and CEO,” the secretary-general is both chief administrative officer and the U.N.’s public face, according to the organization’s official description. He or she oversees several important U.N. bodies, including the Security Council, which is charged with maintaining peace and security. 

Unlike a prime minister or president, the secretary-general does not have the power to make laws or command countries. The role is more about persuasion, diplomacy and authority than political power.

Who is in the running?
“Calls for a Madame Secretary-General” have been growing “louder,” said the Australian Institute of International Affairs. The women candidates include Michelle Bachelet (pictured above), the former president of Chile; María Fernanda Espinosa, the former foreign minister of Ecuador; Rebeca Grynspan, the former vice president of Costa Rica; and Carolyn Rodrigues Birkett, the former foreign minister of Guyana.

The men in contention are Rafael Grossi, an Argentinian diplomat and the director general of the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency; Macky Sall, a former prime minister and president of Senegal; and Olara Otunnu, a former Ugandan diplomat and under-secretary-general of the U.N. Observers say it’s “difficult to pick a favorite” because the world’s major powers are “divided on the outcome,” said Agence France-Presse. But Grossi has been “repeatedly mentioned.”

What will be their priorities?
Gaza and Ukraine will be high on the list. But influencing outcomes in either will be a “tough task,” because the “relevance, power and financial capability” of the U.N. is “under an increasingly harsh spotlight,” said Deutsche Welle.

The U.N. is an “increasingly irrelevant global institution,” said Politico. The U.S., its “most powerful member,” is “abandoning and defunding” many parts of its “sprawling structure.” The Security Council “barely functions” because of the “rivalries” between the U.S., China and Russia, all of whom have veto powers. “Even as a venue for international gatherings,” the U.N. is “fading” because leaders would “rather meet and make deals” at the G20.

Mount Etna continues to spew lava and ash in Catania, Sicily. Europe’s highest and most active volcano has been erupting since last week, causing the disruption and cancellation of hundreds of flights in what experts say is its longest stretch of continuous activity since the 1970s. 
Salvatore Allegra / AP Photo

Anime is a unique version of animated storytelling indigenous to contemporary Japan and a style that exploded in international popularity during the 1990s. And with the ongoing proliferation of streaming services, international audiences have greater access to the large and diverse catalog of anime films than ever before, including these eight classics.

‘Kiki’s Delivery Service’ (1989)
Whimsical, beautiful and quietly moving, this film is a coming-of-age masterpiece. Director Hayao Miyazaki’s “timeless” movie is “made for young hearts but also has a way of growing up with us, taking on new meaning when viewed at different life stages,” said Melanie McFarland at Salon. (HBO Max)

‘Spirited Away’ (2001)
By winning the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2003, “Spirited Away” (pictured above) gave an art form known to Americans mostly through Saturday morning cartoons and the Pokémon phenomenon the kind of prestige previously reserved for high-end Disney and Pixar films. A “tremendously original and beautiful film,” it gives viewers the feeling of a “nightmare that’s not at all frightening but instead marvelous in its alienness,” said MaryAnn Johanson at Flick Filosopher. (HBO Max)

‘The Colors Within’ (2024)
Anime filmmaking remains dominated by men, making Naoko Yamada’s “The Colors Within” a triumph on multiple levels. The film “paints an exquisite rainbow of adolescent blues in this gentle tale of music and friendship,” and its “musically diverse songs beautifully channel the personalities of each member,” said Phuong Le at The Guardian. (HBO Max)