Francis pictured for first time since he was admitted to hospital more than a month ago with pneumonia
The Vatican has released the first photograph of Pope Francis since the 88-year-old was admitted to hospital more than a month ago with pneumonia in both lungs.
The photo shows the pope, bare-headed, seated in a wheelchair and wearing a white robe and purple shawl, in front of a simple altar with a crucifix on the wall.
Continue reading...Page honoring Charles C Rogers for his Vietnam war service is now defunct with letters “DEI” added to website address
The US defense department webpage celebrating an army general who served in the Vietnam war and was awarded the country’s highest military decoration has been removed and the letters “DEI” added to the site’s address.
On Saturday, US army Maj Gen Charles Calvin Rogers’s Medal of Honor webpage led to a “404” error message. The URL was also changed, with the word “medal” changed to “deimedal”.
Continue reading...Government declares seven-day period of mourning after fire in eastern town of Kočani kills at least 59
North Macedonia has declared a seven-day period of mourning after a fire in a nightclub that left at least 59 dead and scores injured, as authorities detained 15 people for questioning and the interior minister said a preliminary inspection revealed the club was operating without a proper licence.
At the end of a day in which the small Balkan country grappled with a disaster not seen in decades, its interior minister Panche Toshkovski said the venue in the eastern town of Kočani where the pre-dawn blaze occurred appeared to be operating illegally.
Continue reading...Victim, 45, hospitalized and in stable condition as police unable to say if attack was random or targeted
A 45-year-old man was set on fire in the middle of Times Square overnight on Sunday, according to police, three months after a woman was killed on a subway train in an arson attack.
Footage from the scene captured the moments the man, shirtless and severely burned, was rushed by authorities into an ambulance after the flames were extinguished.
Continue reading...Strikes began on Saturday with the aim of punishing Iran-backed armed group for attacks on Red Sea shipping
US officials have said airstrikes launched against Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis will continue indefinitely, after a first round on Saturday killed at least 31 people and injured up to 100 more.
The strikes, which aim to punish the Houthis for their attacks against Red Sea shipping, are Donald Trump’s first such use of US military might in the region since he took power in January.
Continue reading...The Toxicator closed for about an hour on its first day after a burst pipe flooded the area nearby with sewage
A toxic waste-themed ride at Alton Towers had to be temporarily closed on its opening day – after a burst pipe flooded the nearby area with sewage.
Toxicator, the park’s newest ride, was shut for about an hour on Saturday after the area nearby was evacuated.
Continue reading...French president says France, UK and others could each deploy ‘a few thousand troops’ to key locations to show Ukraine ‘long-term support’
Emmanuel Macron has said France, the UK, and other nations providing security guarantees for Ukraine after any eventual ceasefire would not be aiming to deploy a “mass” of soldiers, but instead could send contingents of several thousand troops to key locations in Ukraine without needing Russia’s permission.
The French president told regional French newspapers, including Le Parisien and La Dépêche de Midi, that “several European countries, and indeed non-European ones” had “expressed their willingness” to join a possible deployment to Ukraine to secure a future peace agreement with Russia.
Continue reading...Peter Reynolds, who runs a business in Afghanistan, was held along with his wife last month and needs heart pills, says his daughter
The life of a 79-year-old British man imprisoned along with his wife by the Taliban is in serious danger, his family have warned.
Peter Reynolds and his wife, Barbie, 75, who run a training business in Afghanistan, were detained last month when they travelled to their home in Bamiyan province.
Continue reading...Some areas forecast to have warmer weather than Ibiza and Corfu on Thursday’s spring equinox
Parts of the UK are expected to be warmer than Ibiza and Corfu this week on the first official day of spring.
This Thursday marks the spring equinox and temperatures could reach 19C (66F) in the south of England. The Met Office meteorologist Becky Mitchell said that was 8C hotter than the average for the time of year.
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