ROME: Pope Francis is recovering well from pneumonia and that a “new stage” in his pontificate would open, two of his closest advisers said Friday, offering notes of optimism as the 88-year-old pontiff hit the five-week mark in his hospitalization.
Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra told AP that he had found Francis in good humor and serene during the three times he has visited the pope at the Gemelli hospital in Rome.
Peña Parra, who is the Vatican chief of staff, visited Francis on Feb. 24, March 2 and March 9 along with the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the lone Vatican officials who have called on him aside from his personal secretaries.
“The pope will recover,” Peña Parra said on the sidelines of a book launch. “The pope is recovering well. The doctors say that he needs some time, but it’s going well progressively.”
“I found him well, serene, in good humor, and — just like him — tough with the desire to go forward,” he said.
The Vatican press office reported Friday that Francis’ overall condition remained stable, with slight improvements as he continues respiratory and physical physiotherapy. He was continuing to reduce his reliance on high-flow supplemental oxygen he has needed to breathe during the day and no longer needs the mechanical ventilation mask at night.
In other comments Friday, another top friend and ally of the pope, Cardinal Victor Manuel Fernández, said that “a new stage” was opening in Francis’ 12-year pontificate and that he expects some surprises from the pontiff when he’s released.
Fernández, the Argentine theologian whom Francis brought in as the Vatican’s doctrine chief, said that he had been in touch with Francis since his Feb. 14 hospitalization and was heartened that he had stabilized. He provided no time frame on when Francis might be released, but ruled out any thought that he might resign.
He said that he understood that Francis was responding well to treatment, but that doctors were keeping him at the hospital “to be 100 percent.” He said that Francis needed rehabilitation therapy to help him regain strength to speak after so many weeks on noninvasive mechanical ventilation and supplemental oxygen.
Fernández revealed that Francis had resisted going to the hospital when his bronchitis worsened, and only agreed to go after people close to him threatened to quit if he didn’t.
“I don’t know what swear words they used (to tell him) you have to go there, otherwise we go home and end our relationship here,” he said.
As a result, he said he knew that the hospitalization had been hard on Francis and had surely made him reflect.
“I think a new stage is opening for him. He is a man of surprises, who will surely have learned so many things in this month and he’ll pull who knows what out of the hat,” he said. “So even knowing that this has been a very heavy effort for him, a difficult time, I know it will be fruitful for the church and for the world.”
Francis hit the five-week mark in his hospitalization Friday. He was admitted Feb. 14 with a bad case of bronchitis that developed into a complex lung infection and double pneumonia. He has long battled respiratory illnesses and had part of one lung removed when he was a young man. He has admitted to being a bad patient and is a known workaholic.
“He wants to spend what little time he has left and says ‘I want to use it and not to take care of myself,’” Fernández said. “And then what happens? He comes back here and it’s not easy for him to follow the advice” of doctors.
That might change after this experience, he said.
“He has to certainly change, but I can’t say what those details might be,” he said.
Pope Francis advisers say he’ll recover from pneumonia and a ‘new stage’ is opening for him
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Pope Francis advisers say he’ll recover from pneumonia and a ‘new stage’ is opening for him
- Archbishop Edgar Peña Parra told AP that he had found Francis in good humor
- “The pope is recovering well. The doctors say that he needs some time, but it’s going well progressively“
UK govt sent police details to Israeli Embassy amid Gaza protest probe
- Redacted emails show communication between Attorney General’s Office, deputy ambassador
- Solicitor: This ‘clearly raises questions and needs further investigation’
LONDON: The UK government sent the contact details of counterterrorism officials to the Israeli Embassy amid an investigation into a pro-Palestine demonstration, The Guardian reported on Tuesday.
This has raised concerns about foreign interference in the UK’s justice system, with legal experts questioning the involvement of Israeli officials in a British legal matter.
On Sept. 9 last year, an email was sent by the Attorney General’s Office to Israeli Deputy Ambassador to the UK Daniela Grudsky Ekstein.
The email carried the subject line “CPS/SO15 (Crown Prosecution Service/counterterrorism police) contact details.”
It followed the arrest, under the UK’s Terrorism Act, of 10 Palestine Action demonstrators a month earlier.
The demonstrators were arrested after protesting at an Israeli weapons factory based in the UK, with a further eight being arrested in November in relation to the same incident.
The email was sent by Nicola Smith, the AGO’s head of international law. It was obtained through a Freedom of Information request by The Guardian and came 11 days after Smith had met Grudsky Ekstein on Aug. 28.
Aside from the subject line, the content of the email was redacted. Minutes of the meeting between the two officials are available but heavily redacted.
Past disclosures of requests by the Israeli Embassy to the AGO show repeated attempts to intervene in individual British legal cases. The AGO has rejected intervention attempts by the embassy in the past.
In 2023, Douglas Wilson, AGO director general, said in a response to a redacted request from the embassy: “As we noted … the Crown Prosecution Service makes its prosecution decisions and manages its casework independently.
“The law officers are unable to intervene on an individual case or comment on issues related to active proceedings.”
Lydia Dagostino from Kellys Solicitors, which is representing several Palestine Action activists, said: “The information disclosed in response to a FoI request clearly raises questions and needs further investigation.
“Why, for example, did the Attorney General’s Office provide the contact details for the Crown Prosecution Service, an independent body, to the Israelis?
“What further exchanges followed and was there discussions about ongoing criminal prosecutions?”
International lawyer and academic Dr. Shahd Hammouri raised concerns about the evidence obtained by The Guardian “which indicates foreign influence.”
The use of anti-terror legislation by the UK government against the protesters has also caused alarm.
In November, four UN special rapporteurs wrote to the government and expressed concern over the “apparently unjustified use” of terrorism laws against the demonstrators.
The UK’s Terrorism Act 2000 allows people arrested under the act to be detained for up to 14 days without charge.
Those arrested in August were initially held for 36 hours without access to legal representation, the four experts warned. The protesters were then detained for a further seven days.
“Counterterrorism legislation, including the Terrorism Act 2000 and the Terrorism Act 2006, appears to have been increasingly used in the context of domestic support for Palestinian self-determination and political activism against the UK’s foreign policy on the conflict in the occupied Palestinian territory of Gaza,” the letter by the four human rights experts said.
“In particular, members of Palestine Action — a grassroots movement that organizes direct actions against Israeli weapons factories in the United Kingdom — have reportedly been arrested under counterterrorism legislation for conduct that appears to be in the nature of ordinary criminal offenses and does not appear to be genuinely ‘terrorist’ according to international standards.”
The 10 protesters arrested in August have had limited legal support, family visits, healthcare and religious rights while awaiting trial in prison, the letter added.
In response to the communication between the AGO and Israeli Embassy, Huda Ammori, co-founder of Palestine Action, said: “The timing of this correspondence coincides with the ongoing investigation into Palestine Action activists accused of dismantling the … site of Israel’s biggest arms producer.
“It seems apparent that the Attorney General’s Office has facilitated foreign interference in this case and potentially other ongoing criminal cases.”
A government source told The Guardian: “It has been routine under successive governments for AGO to help embassies get in contact with the relevant authorities purely for purposes of sharing information that could be relevant to a case.
“Decisions to prosecute, convict and sentence are, rightly, made independently of government by the Crown Prosecution Service, juries and judges respectively.”
Chinese astronauts’ return to earth delayed owing to weather
- The astronauts, Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze, were originally due to land Tuesday in Dongfeng
- The three were sent up to China's Tiangong space station in October last year
BEIJING: Three Chinese astronauts’ return to Earth has been postponed owing to weather conditions.
The astronauts, Cai Xuzhe, Song Lingdong and Wang Haoze, were originally due to land Tuesday in Dongfeng, in China’s northern Inner Mongolia region, after spending six months in space. The landing was postponed to “guarantee the health and safety of the astronauts” because weather conditions were not optimal, according to the official Xinhua news agency.
The three were sent up to China’s Tiangong space station in October last year, and a new crew of astronauts recently arrived to replace them.
The three Chinese astronauts have carried out experiments and improvements to the space station during their time on board. Two of the astronauts, Cai and Song, conducted a nine-hour space walk, the world’s longest, during their mission, the Manned Space Agency said.
China built its own space station after it was excluded from the International Space Station owing to U.S. national security concerns over the control of the country’s space program by the People’s Liberation Army, the military branch of the ruling Communist Party.
The country’s space program has grown rapidly in recent years. The space agency has landed an explorer on Mars and a rover on the far side of the moon. It aims to put a person on the moon before 2030.
Last year, two American astronauts wound up stuck in space for nine months after a test flight with Boeing ran into problems and NASA determined it was too risky for the astronauts to come back to Earth in the same capsule.
Spain’s power supply is almost fully restored after one of Europe’s most severe blackouts
- Many questions remained about what caused one of Europe’s most severe blackouts
- By 7:00 a.m. local time, more than 99 percent of energy demand in Spain had been restored
MADRID: Power had almost fully returned to Spain early Tuesday morning as many questions remained about what caused one of Europe’s most severe blackouts that grounded flights, paralyzed metro systems, disrupted mobile communications and shut down ATMs across Spain and Portugal.
By 7:00 a.m. local time, more than 99 percent of energy demand in Spain had been restored, the country’s electricity operator Red Electrica said. Portuguese grid operator REN said Tuesday morning all of the 89 power substations were back online since late last night after an “absolutely unusual” blackout and power was restored to all 6.4 million customers.
On Tuesday morning, as life slowly returned to normal on the Iberian Peninsula, outside Atocha station, one of the busiest in the Spanish capital, people were once again crossing the street while looking at their cell phones, despite the Internet connection being intermittent at times.
Inside, hundreds of people waited to board trains or rebook those that had been canceled the previous day. Large groups of people milled around the screens, waiting for updates. Still, several people slept on the floor with blankets provided by the Red Cross for those who waited overnight at the station. The same scenes were replicated at Sants station in Barcelona. Classes were suspended in several regions.
The Madrid Open, the tennis tournament being held this week, was still affected by the power outage after its cancelation the previous day and delayed the opening of its doors.
Power had gradually returned to several regions across Spain and Portugal as the nations reeled from the still-unexplained widespread blackout that had turned airports and train stations into campgrounds for stranded travelers.
Monday night, many city residents, including in Spain’s capital of Madrid, went to sleep in total darkness. The normally illuminated cathedral spires of Barcelona’s Sagrada Familia Basilica became indistinguishable from the night sky. Streets remained deserted even in neighborhoods where lights flickered back on, as people stayed home after a day of chaos.
“We have a long night ahead,” Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said when he addressed the European nation late Monday. “We are working with the goal of having power restored to the entire country.”
In Madrid, cheers erupted from balconies where the electricity had returned.
Subway service returning on Tuesday morning
On Tuesday morning, Madrid’s metro system was restored on all but one line, meaning that 80 percent of trains operated during rush hour.
In Barcelona, the metro was also operating normally, but commuter trains were suspended due to “electrical instability,” the company that runs the service, Rodalies Catalunya, said on X. In other parts of the country, commuter and mid-distance services were also suspended or running at reduced capacity.
As metro service stopped on Monday, train stations cleared out and shops and offices closed, and thousands of people spilled onto the streets of Madrid.
Emergency workers in Spain said they rescued some 35,000 passengers stranded along railways and underground.
The blackout turned sports centers, train stations and airports into makeshift refuges late Monday.
“We were in the north of Portugal and did get any notifications until we got here because of Internet outage,” said Ian Cannons, a British tourist trying to get home who was forced to spend the night in Lisbon’s airport. “We can’t book any hotels. Nothing.”
The Barcelona municipality distributed 1,200 cots to indoor recreation centers to host residents with no way to get home and international travelers left in limbo. All over Barcelona and Madrid, people were sleeping on train station benches and floors.
Cash and radios in high demand
As Internet and mobile phone services blinkered offline across Spain and Portugal, battery-powered radios flew off the shelves. Those fortunate enough to find service shared whatever news updates they could with strangers on the street.
Lines snaked out of the few supermarkets running on backup generators in Barcelona and Lisbon as people stocked up on dried goods, water and battery-powered flashlights and candles. Clerks counted euros by hand, since many cash registers had stopped working.
Hector Emperador, picking his kids up from school in Barcelona, said he resorted to raiding his sons’ piggybank to ensure he had cash on hand after ATMs and some online-banking services shut down. “The coronavirus pandemic will be nothing compared to this,” he said.
Few gas stations were operating, sending the drivers who dared navigate without traffic lights scrambling for fuel. Residents with electric door keys found themselves locked out of their homes.
The many inconveniences became a threat to survival for those with medical needs like refrigeration for insulin or power for dialysis machines and oxygen concentrators. Some hospitals – but not all – stayed open with the help of generators.
Cause remains a mystery
Officials did not say what caused the blackout, the second such serious European power outage in as many months after a fire at Heathrow Airport shut down Britain’s busiest travel hub on March 20.
They said there was little precedent for this kind of widespread electric failure across all of the Iberian Peninsula, with a combined population of some 60 million. Across the Mediterranean Sea, Spain’s Balearic Islands and the territories of Ceuta and Melilla were spared. The Canary Islands off the northwest coast of Africa were also spared.
“We have never had a complete collapse of the system,” Sanchez said, explaining how Spain’s power grid lost 15 gigawatts, the equivalent of 60 percent of its national demand, in just five seconds.
In his televised address late Monday, Sanchez said that authorities were still investigating what happened. Portugal’s National Cybersecurity Center threw cold water on feverish speculation about foul play, saying there was no sign that the outage resulted from a cyberattack.
Speaking to reporters in Brussels, Teresa Ribera, an executive vice president of the European Commission, also ruled out sabotage. Nonetheless, the outage “is one of the most serious episodes recorded in Europe in recent times,” she said.
India shuts over half of Kashmir tourist spots in security review
- Tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors have increased since the attack on holiday-makers
- India’s Jammu and Kashmir territory has decided to shut 48 of the 87 tourist destinations in Kashmir
SRINAGAR, India: More than half of the tourist destinations in India’s insurgency-torn Kashmir region have been closed to the public from Tuesday, according to a government order reviewed by Reuters, in a bid to tighten security after last week’s attack on holiday-makers.
The assailants segregated men, asked their names and targeted Hindus before shooting them at close range in the Pahalgam area, killing 26 people, officials and survivors said.
India has identified two of the three attackers as “terrorists” from Pakistan waging a violent revolt in Muslim-majority Kashmir. Pakistan has denied any role and called for a neutral probe.
Hindu-majority India accuses Islamic Pakistan of funding and encouraging militancy in Kashmir, the Himalayan region both nations claim in full but rule in part. Islamabad says it only provides moral and diplomatic support to a Kashmiri demand for self-determination.
Tensions between the nuclear-armed neighbors have increased since the attack, along with calls in India for action against Pakistan.
Delhi and Islamabad have taken a raft of measures against each other since the Kashmir attack. India has suspended the Indus Waters Treaty – an important river-sharing pact. Pakistan has closed its airspace to Indian airlines.
The government of India’s Jammu and Kashmir territory has decided to shut 48 of the 87 tourist destinations in Kashmir and enhanced security at the remaining ones, according to a government document reviewed by Reuters.
No time period was given. Government officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Nestled in the Himalayas with lofty peaks, picturesque valleys and grand Mughal-era gardens, Kashmir has been emerging as India’s tourism hotspot as violence there has waned in recent years.
But the Pahalgam attack has left panic-stricken tourists seeking an early exit at the start of the busy summer season.
Firing has also increased along the 740-km de facto border separating the Indian and Pakistani areas of Kashmir.
On Tuesday, for the fifth consecutive day, the Indian army said it had responded to “unprovoked” small arms fire from multiple Pakistan army posts around midnight.
It gave no further details and reported no casualties. The Pakistani military did not respond to a request for comment.
Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif told Reuters on Monday that a military incursion by India was imminent and it had reinforced its forces in preparation.
China blames US tariffs for halting Boeing plane deliveries
- Beijing spokesperson: The levies had ‘disrupted the international air transport market’
- Boeing’s CEO confirmed last week that China had stopped accepting new aircraft due to the trade war
BEIJING: China on Tuesday blamed US tariffs for Beijing’s decision to stop accepting new aircraft from aviation giant Boeing, saying the levies had “disrupted the international air transport market.”
“The United States’ wielding of tariffs has severely impacted the stability of the global industrial chain and supply chain,” China’s commerce ministry said in a statement.
“Relevant Chinese airlines and Boeing in the United States have suffered greatly,” a spokesperson said.
New US tariffs have reached 145 percent on many Chinese products, while Beijing has responded with fresh 125 percent duties on imports from the United States.
And Boeing’s CEO confirmed last week that China had stopped accepting new aircraft due to the trade war.
In a televised interview with CNBC, Boeing chief executive Kelly Ortberg said Chinese customers had “stopped taking delivery of aircraft due to the tariff environment,” adding that if the halt continued, the aviation giant would soon market the jets to other carriers.
Boeing had planned to deliver around 50 aircraft to China in 2025, said Ortberg, adding that the company wouldn’t “wait too long” to send the jets to other customers.
US President Donald Trump also criticized Beijing for backing out of the deal, saying Boeing should “default China for not taking the beautifully finished planes.”
Beijing’s commerce ministry on Tuesday hit back, saying “many companies have been unable to carry out normal trade and investment activities” due to Trump’s tariffs.
“China is willing to continue to support the normal business cooperation between the two countries’ enterprises,” its spokesperson said.
Beijing “hopes that the United States can listen to the voices of enterprises and create a stable and predictable environment for their normal trade and investment activities,” they added.
