With the death of Pope Francis, the world loses not only a church leader but also a moral compass that spoke out against inequality, discrimination, war, and climate destruction, writes MARC VANDEPITTE
More than meets the eye in US actions in the Middle East
STEVE SWEENEY puts the killing by the US of Isis leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi into the wider political context of imperial designs for this part of the world

IT IS unclear how Isis leader Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Quraishi died last week, but we do know that it has led to a renewed sense of US triumphalism and calls for its continued presence in Syria.
The official narrative as told by Washington is that he detonated a suicide vest that killed himself, his wife and his children.
Other sources put the death toll higher. The West’s favoured pseudo-humanitarian organisation the White Helmets, which is consistently linked to jihadist groups, said that 13 were killed, including six children and four women.
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