'The West's response has become critical'

'How far will Rwanda go in Congo?'

Michela Wrong at Foreign Affairs

Among the "core principles" African unifiers "embraced was the inviolability of existing, colonial-era national borders." But the "rapid conquest and occupation of a huge area of the Democratic Republic of Congo by Rwanda and the M23 rebel group it supports has raised concerns that the principle may now be endangered," says Michela Wrong. If the "M23 and its Rwandan backers get their way, a country already hosting seven million displaced people could be engulfed in a destabilizing war."

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'Gabby Petito series on Netflix shows vital lessons about domestic violence'

Nicole Russell at USA Today

A new Netflix documentary series, "American Murder: Gabby Petito," "uses text messages, social media videos and interviews with family members to weave a vital narrative about domestic violence," says Nicole Russell. One thing the "documentary does well is to dispel myths about abusers. It also highlights the primary element of abuse — coercive control." Physical violence "rarely happens early in a relationship, but elements of emotional abuse often begin right away, as we see in the documentary."

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'Congress can stop this tariff madness right now'

Charles C.W. Cooke at National Review

The "Constitution gives absolute control over tariffs to Congress," and "with one bill — passed by veto-proof majorities — Congress could take back some (or all) of that power," says Charles C.W. Cooke. It "would be nice if our legislators could remember that they had been elected to serve in the legislature." Republicans "might not want to cross Donald Trump," but "they would actually be doing him — and themselves — a favor if they did."

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'Putin is not Hitler. His actions in Ukraine are horrific enough to need no exaggeration.'

Simon Jenkins at The Guardian

Is "Vladimir Putin another Adolf Hitler? The Western world seems to think so," says Simon Jenkins. But this "distorts the issue under discussion and diminishes the exceptional horror of Hitler and the Holocaust." Putin's "actions in Ukraine have been horrific enough to need no exaggeration." The "true third way is to concentrate on Putin as Putin and Trump as Trump." Both "should be assessed on their own terms and on those of their times."

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