'The world needs Francis' leadership'

'Centering the voiceless: Pope Francis' enduring global impact'

Stan Chu Ilo at Al Jazeera

Pope Francis "believes that those who suffer and who inhabit the existential peripheries of life reflect the true face of God," says Stan Chu Ilo. Our "world can only overcome the polycrisis it is facing today under the guidance of leaders like him." Francis has "demonstrated his unyielding commitment to promoting coexistence and confronting global injustice many times over in the past decade." The world "needs Francis' leadership and message of peace, fraternity and solidarity more than ever."

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'America's most shameful vote ever at the UN'

Bret Stephens at The New York Times

Vladimir Putin has "never had a bigger accomplice in deceit than Donald Trump," says Bret Stephens. By "participating in the moral and factual inversions that Putin has deployed for his invasion of Ukraine, the Trump administration isn't setting itself up as some sort of evenhanded broker to end the war." It is "turning the United States into an accessory to Russia's crimes — or at least to the lies on which the crimes are predicated."

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'America's enemies are rooting for the death of the National Endowment for Democracy'

Peter Roskam at the National Review

America's "most dangerous adversaries have been celebrating what they see as a major victory: a funding freeze that has effectively halted the work of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). The "authoritarian regimes in Beijing, Moscow, Tehran, and Havana, the Taliban in Kabul, and terrorist networks are crowing." A "weakened NED means local citizen groups will be less effective in challenging authoritarian crimes." The "loudest voices applauding NED's struggles are those who wish to see freedom fail."

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'Statewide cellphone ban in schools is a lesson in common sense'

The Boston Globe editorial board

Few "distractions in schools today are as pervasive and damaging as cellphones," says The Boston Globe editorial board. State "legislatures and education officials across the country are taking action." The "evidence is clear that classrooms function better without smartphones," and "public opinion largely aligns with educators." That's "why a standardized policy across districts banning devices — including cellphones and tablets — for the duration of the school day" is the "right approach." Schools are for "learning, not scrolling."

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