Headline

Pope Francis To Miss Weekly Sunday Blessing After Surgery

Published

2 years ago

June 11, 2023

Doctors have asked Pope Francis not to deliver his Sunday blessing from a hospital balcony.

They said the pontiff is recovering well from a three-hour surgical operation he underwent to repair an abdominal hernia in Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Wednesday.

Briefing reporters on Saturday, surgeon Sergio Alfieri said the 86-year-old would not perform the weekly blessing to avoid strain on his abdomen.

He added the Pope would stay in hospital for all of next week, according to BBC.

Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said the Pope would instead say the traditional noon Angelus prayer from his hospital suite and urged the world’s Catholics to join him.

“Only three days have passed. We asked the Holy Father to be prudent and avoid the strain [of standing at the balcony]”, Dr Alfieri told reporters.

He added that the Pope had a mesh prosthetic inserted into his abdominal wall to help it heal and doctors want it to settle and attach properly to avoid another operation if it breaks.

“You can understand how that would not be pleasing for him, and for me,” Dr Alfieri joked. “Each time he gets out of bed and sits in an armchair puts stress on the abdominal walls.”

But he insisted that Pope Francis remained in good spirits, and had started eating a diet of semi-solid foods again.

BBC said the pontiff did not have a fever, the doctor said, adding that his heart rate and blood pressure were stable.

Pope Francis, who was chosen by cardinals to lead the Catholic Church after his predecessor Pope Benedict resigned in 2013, has faced a host of health issues in recent years.

Due to knee pain, he regularly uses a cane and wheelchair to get around, and in March he spent three days in hospital to treat a lung infection.

In 2021, he spent 10 days in hospital after having a part of his colon removed, while last month he pulled out of his Friday audiences due to a fever.

But while his predecessor Benedict XVI quit the role citing health issues – becoming the first Pontiff to resign in nearly 600 years – Pope Francis has dismissed the possibility of leaving office too.

“You don’t run the Church with a knee but with a head,” he is said to have told an aide last year.

The Pope is considered to have been in general good health during his decade leading the Catholic Church

He continues to maintain a busy schedule and is due to visit Portugal and Mongolia from August.

Headline

Again, Russia Claims Another Village In Ukraine’s Region

Published

1 day ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

The Russian army Monday claimed to have captured another village in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, moving deeper into Ukrainian territory as peace efforts stall.

Russian forces are slowly but steadily gaining ground in costly battles for largely devastated areas in eastern and central Ukraine, normally with few inhabitants or intact buildings left.

Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had seized the settlement of Zaporizke in the region, which Russian troops recently advanced into for the first time in the three-and-a-half-year offensive.

Kyiv denies that Russian troops have gained a foothold in the Dnipropetrovsk region, an important industrial hub.

After another push by US President Donald Trump to broker a Ukraine-Russia summit, hopes for peace dimmed when Russia last week ruled out any immediate meeting between presidents Vladimir Putin and Volodymyr Zelensky.

The central region of Dnipropetrovsk has previously been largely spared from fighting that has ravaged swathes of eastern and southern Ukraine, until Russia said its forces broke through in July.

Dnipropetrovsk is not one of the five Ukrainian regions — Donetsk, Kherson, Lugansk, Zaporizhzhia and Crimea — that Moscow has publicly claimed as Russian territory.

Ukraine said Russia had launched over 100 drones Monday, killing a 37-year old civilian driver and wounding two people in the northeastern Sumy region.

Moscow said Kyiv had launched about two dozen drones targeting western Russia

Headline

US Comedian Reggie Carroll Shot Dead In Mississippi

Published

1 day ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

A United States comedian, Reginald “Reggie” Carroll, has been shot dead in Southaven, Mississippi.

The 52-year-old Carroll, widely known as the Knockout King of Comedy, was reportedly killed on Wednesday, August 20, 2025, after sustaining multiple gunshot wounds.

The Southaven Police Department confirmed the incident in a Facebook statement on Saturday.

“Southaven officers located one male victim suffering from gunshot wounds.

“The officers and medical personnel provided life saving techniques but the individual succumbed to his injuries,” the statement partly read.

The victim was later identified as Carroll, a Baltimore native.

Police said one suspect was arrested and charged with his murder.

“One male is in custody and has been charged with the murder of Reginald Carroll.

“Our thoughts are with the family of Mr. Carroll.

“Thank you to the community for their patience and understanding,” the department added.

The police further assured that there was no ongoing threat to residents, describing the case as “an isolated shooting.”

Carroll, who built his career in stand-up comedy, gained national recognition touring with Katt Williams and headlining his own showcase, Knockout Kings of Comedy.

He also featured in the 2000 edition of Showtime at the Apollo, appeared on the UPN sitcom The Parkers alongside Mo’Nique and Countess Vaughn, and starred in the 2022 television film Rent & Go.

In 2023, he produced the stand-up special Knockout Kings of Comedy.

The Southaven Police Department disclosed that an investigation into his death is ongoing.

Headline

US Defends New Social Media Vetting For Nigerian Visa Applicants

Published

1 day ago

August 25, 2025

Editor

The U.S. Mission in Nigeria on Monday reaffirmed that the safety and security of the United States remain the cornerstone of its visa application and decision-making process.

The US said this following its directive last week that mandates Nigerians to disclose all social media usernames and handles used over the past five years as part of the visa application process.

US Mission said Nigerian visa applicants must provide a comprehensive list of their social media profiles on the DS-160 visa application form, and warned that omitting the information could lead to visa denials.

Reacting to the development, the Federal Government said US citizens intending to visit Nigeria will be subjected to the same measures.

“The best we can do is to carry out reciprocal action. Some people from the US might want to apply for a visa, and we will adopt the same measures,” spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa, said last Monday.

However, in a statement released Monday on X, the US Mission said prospective visa applicants undergo careful vetting to maintain a safe and welcoming environment in the US.

It said, “The safety and security of the United States is at the heart of every #USVisa application and decision process.

“That’s why prospective applicants undergo careful screening to ensure a safe and welcoming environment for all.”

The Mission added, “These measures help protect American citizens and communities while supporting secure and responsible travel.”