Building playgrounds in former ISIS strongholds

SYRIA: Clues suggest ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is still alive—with a chilling new mission to prioritize the indoctrination of children. Despite those threats, Free Burma Rangers this month successfully opened a playground at the former ISIS headquarters in Raqqa.

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC: Islamic militias are again poised to attack Bangui, a largely Christian city at the heart of the country’s conflict, threatening to shatter a yearlong truce.

CUBA: The death toll in Friday’s plane crash rose to 111 Wednesday as one of three critically injured survivors succumbed to her injuries. One American church worker said Church of the Nazarene members are “devastated” by the loss of 10 pastors and their spouses, who were returning from a conference in Havana to Holguín province.

MEXICO: A Texas public defender said he saw 33 cases last week of parents separated from children to face prosecution for illegal entry into the United States. The family separations follow a new U.S. Justice Department policy that involves jailing parents who reach the border and taking their children. Maureen Franco, a federal public defender for the Western District of Texas, told NBC News: “One of my lawyers came back from meeting his new client at the jail—and this is a very experienced criminal defense lawyer—who was shaken by the experience of talking to a parent whose child was literally ripped from their arms. The human cost of this will be great.”

ISRAEL: “The Nakba is not a myth; it really happened. Something took place in 1948 that uprooted hundreds of thousands of Palestinian Arabs from their villages and sent them into exile,” writes Philos Project director Robert Nicholson. But there are ways Christians can affirm a future for Palestinians without wishing Israel’s destruction.

IRAN: Walter Russell Mead has a great read on the fallout between Europe and the Trump administration, following U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s speech on Monday calling for “the strongest sanctions in history” on Iran.

Yes, Iran is quietly advancing its missile technology.

MALAYSIA: Hassan Al-Kontar, a 36-year-old Syrian insurance manager, has been living in the Kuala Lumpur airport’s transit zone for more than 75 days. He continues to tweet about his experience as a war refugee. A group of Canadians are sponsoring him for a visa to Canada, where he has cousins.

BRITAIN: Good second-day reflection from Trinity School professor Wesley Hill on the much-discussed Michael Curry homily at Saturday’s royal wedding.

NOTE: Globe Trot is taking a Memorial Day weekend break and will return on May 30.

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