Pope

Pope Francis has expressed concern about the increasing difficulty of starting a family in Italy, stating that it has become a significant challenge that only the wealthy can afford. Speaking at a conference on Italy's demographic crisis, he noted that pets are replacing children in many households. The country has one of the lowest fertility rates in the European Union, with births dropping to a new low of below 400,000 last year. The Pope attributed this decline to a lack of hope among younger generations, who face uncertainty, fragility, and precariousness due to difficulties in finding stable jobs, high rents, and insufficient wages. The Pope shared an incident where a woman asked him to bless her baby, only to reveal a small dog instead. Expressing his frustration, he questioned why someone would prioritize a pet over hungry children. This remark received applause from the audience.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan's supporters celebrated late into the night after he secured another five years as Turkey's president. Erdogan proclaimed that the entire nation of 85 million had won, but his call for unity seemed insincere as he mocked his opponent Kemal Kilicdaroglu and targeted a jailed Kurdish leader and the LGBT community. Kilicdaroglu did not explicitly concede defeat and complained about the unfairness of the election, alleging that Erdogan's party had utilized state resources against him. Erdogan secured just over 52% of the vote, but nearly half of the electorate did not support his authoritarian vision. Although Kilicdaroglu managed to force Erdogan into a runoff, he was unable to close the significant gap in votes and fell more than two million votes behind. Erdogan celebrated his victory with speeches to cheering supporters in Istanbul and from his palace in Ankara, taunting Kilicdaroglu with the words "Bye, bye, Kemal."