Headline

Pope Waves, Says ‘Thank You’ After Returning Home From Hospital

Published

1 year ago

March 23, 2025

Pope Francis returned to the Vatican on Sunday after being discharged from the hospital where he spent more than five weeks being treated for breathing difficulties, but took time before leaving to thank well-wishers for their support.

Looking tired and worn, the pontiff sat in a wheelchair on one of the hospital balconies to say goodbye, waving softly to hundreds of people who had gathered below to wish the head of the Catholic Church a full recovery.

Pilgrims chanted his name at the first public sighting of Francis since February 14, when he was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital with breathing difficulties and a respiratory illness which developed into pneumonia.

“Thank you, everyone,” a weak-sounding Francis said into a microphone, as he waved his hands from his lap, doing an occasional thumbs-up sign.

“I can see that woman with yellow flowers, well done,” he said with a small smile, to laughter from the crowd.

Francis, who had bags under his eyes, was on the balcony for two minutes before being discharged from the hospital immediately afterwards.

He left by car wearing a cannula — a plastic tube tucked into his nostrils which delivers oxygen.

– ‘Joy’ –
Seeing Francis “just filled me and I think many of the people who are here with a great sense of joy,” Larry James Kulick, a bishop from Pennsylvania in the United States, told AFP.

“It was just a wonderful opportunity to see him and I think he responded so much to the people’s prayers and to all of the chanting,” he said at the Gemelli.

“I hope it lifted his spirits, I think it did.”

Domenico Papisca Marra, a 69-year-old Catholic from Reggio Calabria in southern Italy, said he had come as soon as he heard Francis would be appearing.

“I am really happy to have seen him… I am in really love with Pope Francis,” he said.

The pope, in a white Fiat 500 L, was driven past the Vatican and on to Santa Maria Maggiore, the Rome church where he stops to pray before and after trips.

He was then seen arriving back at the Vatican.

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on X, formerly Twitter, that she was “happy” that Francis had returned home. She expressed her “affection and gratitude for his tireless commitment and his precious guidance”.

This was the pope’s fourth and longest hospital stay since his 2013 election.

Francis, who had part of one lung removed as a young man and lost weight in hospital, still faces a long recovery of at least two months.

READ: ‘A Priest Cannot Look At Such Things’ – Pope Francis Imposed TV Ban On Himself

The increasingly fragile state of Francis’s health has spurred speculation as to whether he could opt to step down and make way for a successor, as his predecessor Benedict XVI had done.

– ‘A period of rest’ –
The pope suffered repeat respiratory crises during his stay, leading doctors to perform bronchoscopies to remove secretions from his lungs and carry out a blood transfusion.

The seriousness of his condition was underlined by the release on March 6 of an audio recording of the pope in which — speaking in a weak and very breathless voice — he thanked the faithful praying for him.

Francis continued to do bits of work in hospital when possible, but his medical team has made it clear he will not be mingling with crowds or kissing babies soon.

“Further progress will take place at his home, because a hospital — even if this seems strange — is the worst place to recover because it’s where you can contract more infections,” one of his doctors, Sergio Alfieri, told reporters on Saturday.

“During the convalescence period he will not be able to take on his usual daily appointments,” he said.

– Questions over Easter –
Such restrictions are not expected to be easily borne by the Argentine pope, who previously carried out a packed schedule and took evident pleasure interacting with his flock.

Questions also remain over who might lead the busy schedule of religious events leading up to Easter — the holiest period in the Christian calendar.

Asked by reporters on Monday about speculation the pope could resign, Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin replied: “No, no, no. Absolutely not.”

At the most concerning stage of the pope’s hospitalisation, Francis spent several weeks on assisted breathing, with nasal tubes and an oxygen mask.

He twice suffered “very critical” moments during which his life was in danger but he remained conscious, his doctors said.

He was only declared out of danger after a month of treatment in Gemelli Hospital.

The pneumonia he suffered means that Francis will require physiotherapy to recover use of his voice.

“When you suffer bilateral pneumonia, your lungs are damaged and your respiratory muscles are also strained,” Alfieri said.

“It takes time for the voice to get back to normal.”

Headline

Woman Passes Out After Receiving 100 Strokes Of Cane

Published

4 days ago

May 24, 2026

Editor

A woman has passed out after she and her partner were each flogged 100 times in public for engaging in sex outside marriage under strict Sharia laws in Indonesia’s Aceh province.

The woman, whose identity was not disclosed, was later carried away after the punishment was carried out in Banda Aceh, located at the northern tip of Sumatra island on Thursday.

A masked official dressed in brown robes administered the caning before members of the public who gathered to witness the punishment.

Her partner was also seen wincing in pain while receiving the lashes.

The pair were among several individuals punished for violating Sharia regulations in the province.

Authorities from the Banda Aceh Sharia Court and the Prosecutor’s Office handed down punishments ranging from 25 to 100 lashes for offences including extramarital sex allegedly arranged through online applications.

Aceh remains the only province in Muslim-majority Indonesia operating under Sharia law, where unmarried couples are prohibited from having sexual relations.

Caning is commonly used in the province as punishment for offences such as gambling, alcohol consumption, same-sex relations and sex outside marriage.

Under Aceh’s Sharia regulations, child rape offenders face some of the harshest penalties, including up to 200 strokes of the cane, a prison sentence of as long as 200 months or fines equivalent to two kilograms of gold.

The punishments are usually carried out publicly as a way of shaming offenders in addition to inflicting physical pain.

Such canings are often conducted outside mosques or in open public spaces, with residents watching and taking photographs during the exercise.

Human rights organisations have continued to condemn the practice, arguing that it causes emotional trauma and violates international human rights standards.

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly criticised the punishments, saying they conflict with Indonesia’s constitution and global legal obligations.

Amnesty said in a statement: “Caning contravenes Indonesia’s constitution and is in clear violation of international human rights law and standards.

‘It constitutes a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment and can amount to torture in violation of the UN Convention against Torture and other international covenants, to which Indonesia is a State Party.’”

Despite the criticism, local authorities have defended the punishments as part of Aceh’s religious and cultural identity, insisting they serve as a deterrent against immoral behaviour.

Earlier in January, another couple in the province reportedly received 140 lashes each after being found guilty of drinking alcohol and engaging in sex outside marriage.

(Daily Mail)

Headline

Senegal’s President Sacks Prime Minister After Months-long Feud

Published

4 days ago

May 24, 2026

Editor

Senegal’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has sacked Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko and dissolved the government following months of rising political tension between the two former allies.

The decision was announced in a surprise decree read on national television by a presidential aide, stating that Faye had “ended the duties” of Sonko and “consequently those of the ministers and secretaries of state who are members of the government”.

Sonko, who remains a highly influential figure among Senegal’s youth, responded on social media, saying he would “sleep with a light heart”.

The political fallout comes at a time of growing economic strain in the country, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) putting Senegal’s public debt at 132% of its GDP.

His removal followed a tense parliamentary session on Tuesday, where Sonko openly criticised President Faye’s handling of the debt situation.

The development is striking given that Faye’s rise to power was largely tied to Sonko’s popularity and political backing.

Sonko would almost certainly have contested the presidency himself in 2024, but was barred from the race due to a defamation conviction. Instead, he threw his support behind Faye, rallying voters with the slogan “Diomaye is Sonko, Sonko is Diomaye”.

The alliance helped unseat former President Macky Sall in a dramatic electoral victory, despite both men having been released from prison only days before the vote.

Tensions between the two leaders had been building for months, with Faye reportedly accusing Sonko of excessive dominance within the ruling Pastef party, while Sonko accused the president of weak leadership and failing to defend him against critics.

(BBC News)

Headline

Six Nigerians Arrested In Thailand Over AI-Powered Romance Scam

Published

4 days ago

May 24, 2026

Editor

Six Nigerian nationals have been arrested by the Thailand Police Force for allegedly operating an AI-powered deepfake romance scam syndicate from a luxury condominium along the Chao Phraya River in Nonthaburi Province, following a cocaine trafficking investigation that exposed their activities.

Thai authorities said the operation began after police arrested a Nigerian suspect identified as Patrick and three associates in April over alleged drug trafficking offences. During the raid, officers reportedly seized assets valued at about 2.5 million baht.

Investigators said financial transactions linked to the suspects led them to several foreign nationals living in a high-end riverside condominium near Phra Nangklao Bridge in Nonthaburi. Police discovered that many of the occupants were staying in groups of five or six per apartment under student visas despite not being enrolled in any educational institution or engaged in lawful employment.

According to Thai police, officers executed search warrants on three condominium units on May 22. The suspects allegedly refused to open their doors, forcing authorities to break into the apartments.

Videos circulating on X captured the moment police officers forcefully gained entry into one of the apartments before arresting the suspects.

During the operation, one suspect reportedly attempted to escape by climbing over a balcony, while another was found hiding on the bathroom floor while allegedly sending warning messages to occupants in neighbouring units.

Police recovered 18 mobile phones, three laptop computers and three bank passbooks from the apartments. Authorities said some of the phones were still logged into active conversations with victims at the time of the raid.

Investigators alleged that the syndicate specialised in romance scams targeting older Thai women by using AI-generated faces and manipulated video calls to create fake online identities.

The suspects allegedly posed as pilots, United States military officers, doctors and engineers to gain the trust of victims before requesting money under false pretences.

Police said the fraudsters typically claimed that valuable packages or gifts sent to victims had been withheld by customs officials and required payment of clearance fees before release.

Authorities also said they recovered scripts for sexually explicit conversations allegedly used to emotionally manipulate victims into transferring funds. Investigators claimed the group relied heavily on artificial intelligence technology to generate realistic Western faces for fake video interactions.

Thai police said all six suspects are currently facing preliminary charges bordering on illegal association and immigration overstay, while additional fraud and romance scam charges are expected to follow as investigations continue.