Spring is officially upon us in the Northern Hemisphere! We hope you’ve taken some time to step outside and smell the flowers amid a torrent of decidedly less appealing global headlines.

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Spring is officially upon us in the Northern Hemisphere! We hope you’ve taken some time to step outside and smell the flowers amid a torrent of decidedly less appealing global headlines.

1. A referendum held on Sunday and Monday in Italy failed, delivering a blow to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government. What did the vote address?

Immigration restrictions

Reorganizing Italy’s voting districts

Meloni had hoped to keep a low profile ahead of the vote to prevent it from becoming a test of her own popularity, Giorgio Ghiglione wrote last week.

2. A temporary cease-fire between Afghanistan and Pakistan that began last week ended on Monday. What was the reason for the truce?

To allow refugees to cross the countries’ shared border

To discuss permanent peace terms in Qatar

To recover the dead from a recent hospital bombing

To celebrate the Islamic Eid al-Fitr holiday

Neither side used the opportunity to discuss terms for a longer-lasting cease-fire, showing how difficult it will be to de-escalate the conflict, FP’s Michael Kugelman writes in South Asia........

© Foreign Policy