Headline

Pope Francis To Miss Weekly Sunday Blessing After Surgery

Published

3 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

Indian Court Denies Bail To Nigerian Man Over Drug Charges

Published

29 minutes ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

A court in India has denied bail to a 44-year-old Nigerian national, Cristian Soporuchukwu, who is currently facing drug trafficking charges in the country.

Cristian Soporuchukwu initially entered India on a business visa but was later arrested over allegations of involvement in the sale of hard drugs.

Reports indicated that after arriving in India, Soporuchukwu travelled through Goa, Delhi, and Mumbai, where he allegedly established links with suspected drug traffickers.

He was accused of purchasing MDMA crystals and distributing them to college students and information technology workers.

According to reports, operatives of the Beguru Police arrested Cristian Soporuchukwu in April 2025 for allegedly selling MDMA crystals around Begur Lake and the AECS Layout Road area.

The New Indian Express reported that the High Court of Karnataka subsequently dismissed the Nigerian’s bail application.

“The anti-narcotics wing seized about 1 kg of MDMA crystals, a pocket weighing machine, 10 zip-lock covers, a mobile phone and a scooter from him,” the report stated.

Justice V. Srishananda, while ruling on the bail application, reportedly held that errors relating to the grounds of arrest could not automatically justify bail in serious narcotics-related offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances, NDPS, Act.

The court further noted that Cristian Soporuchukwu had allegedly overstayed his visa in India, according to the report.

Headline

Strait Of Hormuz: US Announces Sanctions Against Iran

Published

59 minutes ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The United States Treasury has announced sanctions against Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority.

Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, said this in a statement on Wednesday.

The statement extended the threat of sanctions to anyone paying the fees, saying they may be providing support to and receiving services from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, and therefore may be exposed to sanctions risk.

“The Iranian military’s latest attempt to extort global maritime trade is proof that Economic Fury has left the regime desperate for cash.

“Treasury has deprived the Iranian regime of revenue for their weapons programs, terrorist proxies, and nuclear ambitions,” Bessent said.

Bessent added that the US has succeeded in disrupting tens of billions of dollars’ worth of revenue from being accessible to Tehran.

Headline

US Launches New Airstrikes On Iran

Published

1 hour ago

May 28, 2026

Editor

The United States has launched new airstrikes in southern Iran.

The strike shot down four one-way attack drones that posed a threat around the Strait of Hormuz and then a ground control site.

A US official revealed that American forces struck an Iranian ground control station in Bandar Abbas that was about to launch a fifth drone.

The official described the strikes as purely defensive, saying the US intended to maintain the ceasefire.

Report says this is the second time in three days that the US has carried out self-defense strikes against Iranian military targets in southern Iran.

Recall that on Monday the US carried out airstrikes against Iranian missile locations and boats that US Central Command said were preparing to launch mines in the Strait of Hormuz.