British toddler embraced by pope dies
LONDON — Alfie Evans, a sick British toddler whose parents won support from the pope during a protracted legal battle to take him to the Vatican children’s hospital for treatment, died early Saturday, five days after he was taken off life support.
The parents, Kate James and Tom Evans, announced their 23-month-old son’s death on social media, saying they were “heartbroken.”
Alfie had a rare degenerative brain condition that left him with almost no brain function, and multiple courts ruled that keeping him alive was not in his best interests.
“My gladiator lay down his shield and gained his wings at 02:30,” Mr. Evans, 21, said in a Facebook post decorated with a broken heart and crying emojis.
Pope Francis, who had publicly supported Mr. Evans and Ms. James’ campaign, wrote condolences that were posted Saturday on Twitter.
“I am deeply moved by the death of little Alfie,” Pope Francis said. “Today I pray especially for his parents, as God the Father receives him in his tender embrace.”
Mexico cyber attacks
Cyber attackers attempted to penetrate Mexico’s electronic payment systems Friday, forcing three banks to enact contingency plans, according to people familiar with the matter.
Three banks experienced “incidents” in recent days when operating the SPEI, Mexico’s interbank electronic transfer system, and will be connecting to the central bank’s network under “contingency schemes,” Banco de Mexico said in a statement Friday evening.
That could cause delays in money transfers, according to the statement, which noted that the central bank’s SPEI infrastructure and client money haven’t been affected.
Human rights abuses
PESHAWAR, Pakistan — A Pakistani human rights group that has accused the military of widespread abuses as it battles Islamist militants in Pakistan’s rugged border region with neighboring Afghanistan has emerged as a force among the country’s Pashtun minority, drawing tens of thousands to rallies to protest what it contends is a campaign of intimidation that includes extrajudicial killings and thousands of disappearances and detentions.
The group’s charismatic leader, 25-year-old Manzoor Pashteen, has become the face of the country’s oppressed Pashtun, charging that in the name of its “war on terror” the military has used indiscriminate force as it hunts for Taliban hideouts in the tribal regions where the Pashtun dominate, imposing collective punishments like bulldozing the homes of family members of suspected militants and punishing entire villages for extremist attacks.
Homage to Mountbatten
Prince William and his wife, Catherine, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, have revealed that their new baby boy has been named after Lord Louis Mountbatten, who was killed in August 1979 when the Irish Republican Army blew up his fishing boat.
The child is named Louis Arthur Charles, His Royal Highness Prince Louis of Cambridge.
“A touching nod,” the Daily Mail said.
The naming reminded Britons of a time when they lived in fear of what the IRA would blow up next.
As Lord Mountbatten vacationed at his summer castle without security, the IRA was able to plant a bomb onboard the yacht the night before the attack, blowing it up via remote control.