Vatican: Pope Francis denounced abortion as the "white glove" equivalent of the Nazi-era eugenics programme and urged families to accept the children that God gives them. Francis spoke off-the-cuff to a meeting of an Italian family association, ditching his prepared remarks to speak from the heart about families and the trials they undergo. He lamented how some couples choose not to have any children, while others resort to pre-natal testing to see if their baby has any malformations or genetic problems. "The first proposal in such a case is, 'Do we get rid of it?"' Francis said. "The murder of children. To have an easy life, they get rid of an innocent." Francis recalled that as a child he was horrified to hear stories from his teacher about children "thrown from the mountain" if they were born with malformations. "Today we do the same thing. Last century, the whole world was scandalised by what the Nazis did to purify the race. Today, we do the same thing but with white gloves," Francis said. The Pope urged families to accept children "as God gives them to us."
United States: Chicago anti-violence activists and a group of Florida high school shooting survivors fanned out across the city's South Side, knocking on doors and registering people to vote in a bid to build support for changing the nation's gun laws. Ryan Deitsch, 18, from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, where 17 people died on February 14, said the tragedy has afforded the survivors a national spotlight they are now using to try and build a groundswell of support. Their goal is to reach "anybody who lives here and is tired of the status quo." Chicago is the first location on more than 25-stop tour Parkland students are taking this northern summer, targeting communities rocked by gun violence, or where lawmakers supported by the National Rifle Association are seeking office.
Mexico: Heavy rain and wind from Tropical Storm Carlotta lashed Mexico's Pacific coast southeast of Acapulco ahead of its expected landfall. Carlotta, the third named storm of the Pacific hurricane season, was meandering just off Mexico's coast, according to the US National Hurricane Centre. It said that Carlotta had maximum sustained winds near 85km/h, and its centre was located about 115km south-southeast of Acapulco.
Afghanistan: A suicide bomber blew himself up in eastern Afghanistan, killing 21 people and wounding another 41, most of them believed to be Taliban fighters who had gathered to celebrate a three-day ceasefire marking the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Fitr, a police official said. Nangarhar provincial Police Chief Ghulam Sanayee Stanikzai said the devastating explosion came as previously unthinkable scenes of unarmed Taliban fighters celebrating Eid, often alongside Afghan security forces, played out in cities throughout the war-shattered country. Within hours of the explosion President Ashraf Ghani announced he would extend a nine-day ceasefire that was to expire today. The ceasefire was to end at the conclusion of the Eid holiday, which follows the monthlong fasting month of Ramadan.
