With the death of Pope Francis, the world loses not only a church leader but also a moral compass
HEROES & VILLAINS OF 2024
The Morning Star sorts the good eggs from the rotten scoundrels of the year

Heroes
Julian Assange
Free at last, the WikiLeaks founder should never have had to strike a plea bargain to be granted his liberty — and in the judiciary’s connivance at a blatantly political extradition bid, and determined blind eye towards outrages such as the US considering assassinating him on British soil, we learned almost as much about the way so-called British justice works as we did about the crimes of US and British imperialism from the invaluable revelations on war crimes committed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A happy new year to Julian and his family from us at the Morning Star — we won’t forget what you’ve taught us.
More from this author

Ben Chacko asks NIZAR TRABULSI of the now banned Syrian Communist Party (Unified) to explain the country's turbulent, and violent, post-Assad scene

From renewable tech to alternatives to the dollar, BEN CHACKO was encouraged by an optimistic meeting held by the China Media Group this week