Author: Daily Sabah With Reuters
Pope Francis has shown the onset of bilaterial pneumonia and his respiratory infection “continues to present a complex picture”, the Vatican said on Tuesday. The 88-year-old pontiff has been suffering from a respiratory infection for more than a week and was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on February 14.
The European Union must be involved in negotiations with Russia over the end of the Ukraine war in order to map out Europe’s ‘future security architecture’, EU Council President Antonio Costa told the Financial Times in an interview published on Monday.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio arrives in Saudi Arabia on Monday ahead of expected talks with Russian officials aimed at ending Moscow’s nearly three-year war in Ukraine. The talks come after President Donald Trump last week spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone and ordered top officials to begin negotiations on the war, which he repeatedly vowed to end during his presidential campaign. Riyadh, which is also involved in talks with Washington over the future of the Gaza Strip, has played a role in early contacts between the Trump administration, which took office on January 20, and Moscow,…
Pope Francis, who is being treated for a respiratory infection, had a peaceful night, Italian news agency ANSA reported on Monday, citing sources close to the hospital. The pontiff, 88, has been suffering from bronchitis for more than a week and was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Friday morning. The Vatican said on Saturday that the Pope would remain in hospital for as long as his treatment required. Francis is not expected to be discharged until the middle of the week, according to ANSA The Pope was unable to deliver his regular prayer to pilgrims in St Peter’s Square…
A Russian court has fined Alphabet’s Google 3.8 million roubles ($41,530) for hosting content on YouTube that included videos instructing Russian soldiers how to surrender, Russia’s TASS news agency reported on Monday. Russia has for several years ordered foreign technology platforms to remove content it deems illegal, such as what it calls “fakes” about the war in Ukraine, issuing small but persistent fines when it sees failures to comply. Google did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. Critics accuse the Russian authorities of deliberately disrupting YouTube’s download speeds to prevent Russians from viewing content on it which…
Palestinian medic and ambulance worker Tarek Rabie Safi, freed from an Israeli jail as part of a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, said he was underfed and abused during almost a year in captivity. Safi, a 39-year-old father of two, was released along with 368 other Palestinian detainees on Saturday, after Hamas freed three Israeli hostages from Gaza. Palestinian prisoners and Israeli hostages have both complained of harsh treatment in the hands of their captors. “I was held by the Israeli army in the Gaza ‘envelop’, which is Sde Teiman where I stayed for four months (and I was…
A Florida man was arrested and charged with two counts of attempted murder after shooting at a vehicle with two men who he thought were Palestinians but turned out to be Israeli visitors, local authorities and media reports said. The website of Miami-Dade County Corrections says the suspect, 27-year-old Mordechai Brafman, was charged with two counts of attempted murder and booked on Sunday for the shooting on Saturday. A police official confirmed earlier reports from local media that Brafman said in an interview with police that while he was driving his truck in Miami Beach, he saw two people he…
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed plans for Gaza during a meeting on Monday, State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said. Rubio is visiting the Middle East after President Donald Trump infuriated the Arab world with a proposal for the Palestinian residents of the war-torn strip to be resettled in other Arab nations and for the U.S. to lead reconstruction of the enclave. “The Secretary underscored the importance of an arrangement for Gaza that contributes to regional security,” State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said in a readout of the meeting between Rubio and…
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said on Monday that a U.S. security commitment was the only way to ensure lasting peace in Ukraine and it was too early to say how many British peacekeeping troops he would be willing to deploy. When asked what a U.S. security guarantee would mean and what role any peacekeeping troops would have, Starmer said discussions were still at an early stage. But Starmer said that it was clear after an emergency meeting of European leaders in Paris that leaders would need to raise defence spending and take more responsibility for security on the continent.…
Russia’s air defence units intercepted and destroyed 90 Ukrainian drones overnight, the Russian defence ministry said on Monday. Thirty-eight of the drones were downed over the Sea of Azov, 24 over the southern Russia region of Krasnodar, and the rest over several other regions in the south and west of the country, as well as over the Crimean Peninsula, the ministry said in a post on the Telegram messaging app. The ministry said that its defence units also destroyed a guided missile over the Sea of Azov.