Pope pens letter to the editor while in hospital as Buckingham Palace announces King Charles’ visit

Pope pens letter to the editor while in hospital as Buckingham Palace announces King Charles’ visit
Italian and pope-themed items are displayed in a gift shop as Pope Francis continues treatment at Gemelli hospital in Rome, Italy . (REUTERS)
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Updated 19 March 2025
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Pope pens letter to the editor while in hospital as Buckingham Palace announces King Charles’ visit

Pope pens letter to the editor while in hospital as Buckingham Palace announces King Charles’ visit
  • Italian daily Corriere della Sera published a letter to the editor from Francis, signed and dated March 14 from Rome’s Gemelli hospital

ROME: Pope Francis said in a letter published Tuesday that his lengthy illness has helped make “more lucid” to him the absurdity of war, as his top deputy rejected any suggestion of resignation and Buckingham Palace announced plans for an upcoming audience with Britain’s King Charles III.
Italian daily Corriere della Sera published a letter to the editor from Francis, signed and dated March 14 from Rome’s Gemelli hospital where the 88-year-old pontiff has been treated since Feb. 14 for a complex lung infection and double pneumonia.
In it, Francis renewed his call for diplomacy and international organizations to find a “new vitality and credibility.” And he said that his own illness had also helped make some things clearer to him, including the “absurdity of war.”
“Human fragility has the power to make us more lucid about what endures and what passes, what brings life and what kills,” he wrote.
Responding to a letter from the newspaper’s editor-in-chief, Luciano Fontana, Francis also urged him and all those in the media to “feel the full importance of words.”
“They are never just words: they are facts that shape human environments. They can connect or divide, serve the truth or use it for other ends,” he wrote. “We must disarm words, to disarm minds and disarm the Earth.”
The letter was published as Francis registered slight improvements in his treatment and as the Vatican No. 2, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, shot down any suggestion the pope might resign.
“Absolutely no,” Parolin told journalists on Monday when asked if he and the pope had discussed a resignation. Parolin has visited Francis twice during his hospitalization, most recently on March 2, and said he found Francis better than during his first Feb. 25 visit.
Also on Tuesday, Francis received a standing ovation from the Italian Senate, after Premier Giorgia Meloni sent her greetings and said “not just this chamber, but all of the Italian people″ wish the pope a full recovery “as soon as possible.”
Meloni, who was the first outsider to visit the pope after he was hospitalized, said that “even in a trying moment, his strength and guidance have been felt.”
Francis for the second day spent some time off high flows of oxygen and used just ordinary supplemental oxygen delivered by a nasal tube, the Holy See press office said Tuesday. In addition, for the first time in several weeks he didn’t use the noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask at night at all, to force his lungs to work more.
While those amount to “slight improvements,” the Vatican isn’t yet providing any timetable on when he might be released. That said, Buckingham Palace announced Monday that King Charles III was scheduled to meet with Francis on April 8 at the Vatican, assuming he is back and well enough.
Such state visits are always closely organized with Parolin’s office. However, the Vatican press office on Tuesday declined to confirm the visit, noting that the Holy See only confirms papal audiences shortly before they happen.
The developments came as the Vatican released some details on the first photograph of Francis released since his hospitalization. The image, taken Sunday from behind, showed Francis sitting in his wheelchair in his private chapel in prayer without any sign of nasal tubes.
The photo, showing Francis wearing a Lenten purple stole, followed an audio message the pope recorded March 6 in which he thanked people for their prayers, his voice soft and labored.
Together, they suggested Francis is very much controlling how the public follows his illness to prevent it from turning into a spectacle. While many in the Vatican have held up St. John Paul II’s long and public battle with Parkinson’s disease and other ailments as a humble sign of his willingness to show his frailties, others criticized it as excessive and glorifying sickness.
The image certainly reassured some well-wishers who came to Gemelli to pray for Francis, who is recovering in the 10th-floor papal suite reserved for popes.
“After a month of hospitalization, finally a photo that can assure us that his health conditions are better,” said the Rev. Enrico Antonio, a priest from Pescara.
But Benedetta Flagiello of Naples, who was visiting her sister at Gemelli, wondered if the photo was even real.
“Because if the pope can sit for a moment without a mask, without anything, why didn’t he look out the window on the 10th floor to be seen by everyone?” she asked. “If you remember our old pope (John Paul II), he couldn’t speak up, but he showed up.”


EU needs to decide on possible Iran sanctions, Rubio says

EU needs to decide on possible Iran sanctions, Rubio says
Updated 16 sec ago
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EU needs to decide on possible Iran sanctions, Rubio says

EU needs to decide on possible Iran sanctions, Rubio says
  • Rubio said the US administration is looking for a peaceful solution with Iran
PARIS: Europe needs to decide if it is willing to reimpose sanctions on Iran when it becomes clear it is close to developing a nuclear weapon, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday.
“The Europeans have a decision to make, because I believe we should all anticipate that they’re about to get a report from the IAEA that says not just Iran is out of compliance, but Iran is dangerously close to a weapon, closer than they’ve ever been,” Rubio said in Paris after meeting with European leaders.
Rubio said the US administration is looking for a peaceful solution with Iran, but will never tolerate the country developing a nuclear weapon.
“It has to be something that not just prevents Iran from having a nuclear weapon now,” he said about a possible agreement.
“But in the future as well, not just for ten years with some sort of sunset provision or the like.”

Two killed as police officer’s son opens fire at US university

Two killed as police officer’s son opens fire at US university
Updated 4 min 37 sec ago
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Two killed as police officer’s son opens fire at US university

Two killed as police officer’s son opens fire at US university
  • Five people were wounded when the gunman — identified as Phoenix Ikner — rampaged through Florida State University
  • Footage on social media showed a stream of young adults walking through corridors with their hands in the air as they evacuated the building

Miami: Two men were killed in a mass shooting at a university in Florida allegedly carried out by the son of a local deputy sheriff with her old service weapon, police in the southeastern US state said Thursday.
Five people were wounded when the gunman — identified as Phoenix Ikner — rampaged through Florida State University, shooting at students, before he was shot by local law enforcement.
A sixth person was hurt trying to run away from the shooting, Chief Lawrence Revell of the Tallahassee Police Department said in a statement.
The campus was locked down as gunfire erupted, with students ordered to shelter in place as first responders swarmed the site moments after the lunchtime shootings.
Ikner, 20, has been hospitalized with “serious but non-life-threatening injuries,” Revell added.
Leon County Sheriff Walt McNeil told reporters Ikner was a student at the university and the son of a an “exceptional” 18-year member of his staff.
“Unfortunately, her son had access to one of her weapons, and that was one of the weapons that was found at the scene.
He added that the suspect was part of Sheriff’s Office training programs, meaning “it’s not a surprise to us that he had access to weapons.”
Bystander footage aired by CNN appeared to show a young man walking on a lawn and shooting at people who were trying to get away.
Witnesses spoke of chaos as people began running through the sprawling campus as shots rang out near the student union.
“Everyone just started running out of the student union,” a witness named Wayne told local news station WCTV.
“About a minute later, we heard about eight to 10 gunshots.”
The witness said he saw one man who appeared to have been shot in the midsection.
“The whole entire thing was just surreal. I just couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
“Everything was really quiet, then all chaotic.”
'Make them take time'
The two people who died were “adult males” who were not students, police said.
The university, a public institution with more than 40,000 students, canceled all classes and told students who did not live on campus to leave.
FSU President Richard McCullough said the university was working to support those affected by the attack.
“This is a tragic day for Florida State University,” he said.
“We’re absolutely heartbroken by the violence that occurred on our campus earlier today.”
Student Sam Swartz told the Tallahassee Democrat he had been in the basement of the student union when shooting started.
“Everyone started freaking out,” Swartz said, adding he had heard around 10 shots.
A group of eight people huddled in a hallway and barricaded themselves with trash cans and plywood.
“I remember learning to do the best you can to make them take time,” Swartz said, adding that mass shooters are “just trying to get as many people” as they can.
Footage on social media showed a stream of young adults walking through corridors with their hands in the air as they evacuated the building.
Mass shootings are common in the United States, where a constitutional right to bear arms trumps demands for stricter rules.
That is despite widespread public support for tighter control on firearms, including restricting the sale of high-capacity clips and limiting the availability of automatic weapons of war.
President Donald Trump called the shooting “a shame, a horrible thing,” but insisted that Americans should retain unfettered access to guns.
“I’m a big advocate of the Second Amendment. I have been from the beginning. I protected it,” he said, referring to the part of the US Constitution gun advocates say protects firearm ownership.
“These things are terrible, but the gun doesn’t do the shooting — the people do.”
A tally by the non-profit Gun Violence Archive shows there have been at least 81 mass shootings — which it defines as four or more people shot — in the United States so far this year.


US will walk away from Russia-Ukraine peace deal if no progress made soon, Rubio says

US will walk away from Russia-Ukraine peace deal if no progress made soon, Rubio says
Updated 1 min 44 sec ago
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US will walk away from Russia-Ukraine peace deal if no progress made soon, Rubio says

US will walk away from Russia-Ukraine peace deal if no progress made soon, Rubio says
  • Trump was still interested in a deal but had many other priorities around the world

Paris: U.S. President Donald Trump will walk away from trying to broker a Russia-Ukraine peace deal within days unless there are clear signs that a deal can be done, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday.
"We're not going to continue with this endeavour for weeks and months on end. So we need to determine very quickly now, and I'm talking about a matter of days whether or not this is doable in the next few weeks. If it is we're in. If it's not, then we have other priorities to focus on as well," Rubio said in Paris, after meeting European and Ukrainian leaders.
Rubio said Trump was still interested in a deal but was willing to move on if there were no immediate signs of progress.
Trump promised during his election campaign to end the war within his first 24 hours in the White House. He moderated that claim on taking office, suggesting a deal by April or May, as obstacles mounted.
Rubio's comments underline the mounting frustrations over a lack of progress in pushes to settle
a growing list of geopolitical challenges.


Over 170 arrested for attacks on Pakistan KFC outlets in Gaza war protests

Over 170 arrested for attacks on Pakistan KFC outlets in Gaza war protests
Updated 53 min 26 sec ago
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Over 170 arrested for attacks on Pakistan KFC outlets in Gaza war protests

Over 170 arrested for attacks on Pakistan KFC outlets in Gaza war protests
  • Attacks sparked by anti-US, anti-Israel sentiment
  • Several Western brands face boycotts in Pakistan over Israel-Palestine conflict

KARACHI: Police have arrested scores of people in Pakistan in recent weeks after more than 10 mob attacks on outlets of US fast-food chain KFC, sparked by anti-United States sentiment and opposition to its ally Israel’s war in Gaza, officials said.
Police in major cities in the Islamic nation, including the southern port city of Karachi, the eastern city of Lahore and the capital Islamabad, confirmed at least 11 incidents in which KFC outlets were attacked by protesters armed with sticks and vandalized. At least 178 people were arrested, the officials said this week.
KFC and its parent Yum Brands, both US-based, did not respond to requests for comment.
A police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said one KFC employee was shot and killed this week in a store on the outskirts of Lahore by unknown gunmen. The official added there was no protest at the time and they were investigating whether the killing was motivated by political sentiment or some other reason.
In Lahore, police said they were ramping up security at 27 KFC outlets around the city after two attacks took place and five others were prevented.
“We are investigating the role of different individuals and groups in these attacks,” said Faisal Kamran, a senior Lahore police officer, adding that 11 people, including a member of the Islamist religious party Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), were arrested in the city. He added the protests were not officially organized by TLP.
TLP spokesman Rehan Mohsin Khan said the group “has urged Muslims to boycott Israeli products, but it has not given any call for protest outside KFC.”
“If any other person claiming to be a TLP leader or activist has indulged in such activity, it should be taken as his personal act which has nothing to do with the party’s policy,” said Khan.
KFC has long been viewed as a symbol of the United States in Pakistan and borne the brunt of anti-American sentiment in recent decades with protests and attacks.
Western brands have been hit by boycotts and other forms of protests in Pakistan and other Muslim-majority countries in recent months over Israel’s military offensive in the Gaza Strip.
The war was triggered by the Palestinian militant group Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 taken hostage to Gaza, according to Israeli tallies.
Since then, more than 51,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli offensive, according to local health authorities.
Yum Brands has said one of its other brands, Pizza Hut, has faced a protracted impact from boycotts related to Israel’s war in Gaza.
In Pakistan, local brands have made inroads into its fast-growing cola market as some consumers avoid US brands. In 2023, Coca-Cola’s market share in the consumer sector in Pakistan fell to 5.7 percent from 6.3 percent in 2022, according to GlobalData, while PepsiCo’s fell to 10.4 percent from 10.8 percent.
Earlier this month, religious clerics in Pakistan called for a boycott of any products or brands that they say support Israel or the American economy, but asked people to stay peaceful and not destroy property. 


Chinese foreign minister calls on Global South to safeguard multilateral trade

Chinese foreign minister calls on Global South to safeguard multilateral trade
Updated 43 min 55 sec ago
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Chinese foreign minister calls on Global South to safeguard multilateral trade

Chinese foreign minister calls on Global South to safeguard multilateral trade
  • Wang said the world is again at a critical crossroads

BEIJING: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi called on Global South countries to safeguard multilateral trading systems, warning that power politics and “unilateral bullying” are creating divisions, in a statement his ministry released on Friday.
In a written speech to a roundtable meeting in Beijing on Thursday and referred to in the statement, Wang said the world is again at a critical crossroads, urging countries to oppose “unilateral protectionism” and build an open world economy.