Pope Francis has criticized the West's recent involvement in Afghanistan as an outsider's attempt to impose democracy — although he's done so by citing Russia's Vladimir Putin while thinking he was quoting Germany's Angela Merkel.

In a radio interview aired Wednesday, Pope Francis was asked about the new political map taking shape in Afghanistan after the United States and its allies withdrew from the Taliban-controlled country after 20 years of war. The pope said he would answer using a quote that he attributed to the German chancellor, who he described as "one of the world's greatest political figures."

Near the start of each school year, many U.S. schools wrestle with how to teach about 9/11 – the deadliest foreign attack ever on American soil.

In interviews I conducted recently in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area – one of three places where hijacked planes crashed on Sept. 11, 2001 – I found that Muslim students are often subjected to ridicule and blame for the 9/11 attacks.

Poland's government asked the president Tuesday to declare a state of emergency along the border with Belarus as it tries to stop migrants from entering from the neighboring country. The government cited the potential risk from foreign actors and the actions of protesters in Poland as rationales for the declaration.

President Andrzej Duda said later that he was urgently analyzing the request and hinted that he would grant it.

Countries neighboring Libya wrapped up their meeting Tuesday in Algeria, with calls for foreign fighters and mercenaries to be pulled out from the conflict-stricken North African nation.

The two-day meeting also urged Libyan parties to stick to a political road map that ended hostilities last year and set parliamentary and presidential elections in December.

A defensive President Joe Biden called the U.S. airlift to extract more than 120,000 Americans, Afghans and other allies from Afghanistan to end a 20-year war an "extraordinary success," though more than 100 Americans and thousands of others were left behind.

Twenty-four hours after the last American C-17 cargo plane roared off from Kabul, Biden spoke to the nation and vigorously defended his decision to end America's longest war and withdraw all U.S. troops ahead of an Aug. 31 deadline.

The Ukrainian leader who found himself ensnarled in Donald Trump's first impeachment comes to Washington to see a new U.S. president, seeking increased military aid and backing for his country's bid for NATO membership.

The White House says the meeting Wednesday between President Joe Biden and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is aimed at showing support for Ukraine's sovereignty in the face of Russia's seizure of Crimea and backing of armed separatists in the country's east. Biden also intends to encourage Zelenskyy's efforts to tackle corruption and reassure him that the U.S will help protect Ukraine's energy security.

Israel on Wednesday approved a series of measures easing its blockade of the Gaza Strip, including opening the main commercial crossing with the Palestinian enclave to imports.

The announcement came a day after Israeli officials allowed the import of crucial construction material needed for the Gaza Strip's rebuilding following the recent conflict in May. Tensions have run high in recent weeks as Hamas activists have launched incendiary balloons into Israel, sparking a number of wildfires across the border, and staged a series of sometimes violent demonstrations along the border fence with Israel.

Driving back to base after firing rockets toward Israeli positions from a border area last month, a group of Hizbullah fighters was accosted by angry villagers who smashed their vehicles' windshields and held them up briefly.

It was a rare incident of defiance that suggested many in Lebanon would not tolerate actions by the powerful group that risk triggering a new war with Israel.

European Union justice and home affairs ministers are meeting Tuesday to discuss the Taliban's takeover of Afghanistan and the flow of refugees and migrants it is expected to produce.

The meeting comes the day after the last U.S. forces flew out of Kabul's international airport, ending America's longest war.

Hugely popular online games and celebrity culture in China are the latest targets in the ruling Communist Party's campaign to encourage the public to fall in line with its vision for a powerful, more wholesome country.

The message? Play less, study and work more.