VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis was taken to the Gemelli hospital in Rome on Wednesday for a CAT scan of his lungs, the Vatican said.
The pontiff cancelled several engagements last week due to a “mild bout” of the flu, but carried out his usual general audience on Wednesday morning in which he apologised for still having a slight cold and was aided by Monsignor Filippo Ciampanelli who read the catechesis.
ROME – Three Italians who were kidnapped in Mali in 2022 have been released and returned to Italy, Palazzo Chigi said in a statement.
Rocco Langone, 64, Maria Donata Caivano, 62, and their son Giovanni Langone, 43, were kidnapped from their house May 19, 2022, in Mali. They lived in the suburbs of Koutiala, a city around 170 miles south-east of Mali’s capital city Bamako, near the border with Burkina Faso.
ROME – Alessandra Todde of the 5 Star Movement was elected as president of Sardinia, after the island held a regional election on Sunday.
Todde won with 45.4 percent of the vote, representing a centre-left coalition of the 5 Star Movement, the Democratic Party and other smaller left leaning parties. She has become the first female president of Sardinia and the first to stand for the 5 Star Movement.
ROME – A 37-year-old was shot and killed in the Sperone neighbourhood of Palermo, while another man remains in a critical conditions, police said.
The shooting took place on Monday night. The victim was identified as Giancarlo Romano, and the wounded man was named as Salvo Alessio Caruso.
Investigators said both men had been shot several times, with Caruso receiving multiple injuries to his abdomen.
It is also believed that the two men were shot at by two different guns, as examination of bullet casing revealed four of the same calibre and two others.
ROME — A Calabrian parish priest who has criticized the 'Ndrangheta in his sermons survived an attempt to poison him by diluting his sacramental wine with bleach, the Corriere della Sera reported.
Father Felice Palamara consecrated the Eucharist as normal during services at San Nicola di Pannaconi, his hamlet church in the province of Vibo Valentia. But when he moved to drink from his chalice of transubstantiated, sacramental wine, a strange smell made Palamara suddenly feel ill, he said.
ROME – Italy’s organised tourism businesses have lost 300 million euros in revenue in the last year and a half, due to the inability to obtain or renew passports quickly, the president of Confcommercio’s Federation of Organised Tourism claimed.
ROME – Italian tennis player Jasmine Paolini won the WTA 1000 in Dubai, beating Russian Anna Kalinskaya to rise to 14th in the world rankings.
Maintaining Italy’s success in the tennis world, Paolini fought back from a first set loss to beat Kalinskaya 4-6, 7-5, 7-5.
Kalinskaya previously knocked Paolini out of the Australian Open in January.
Paolini is the third Italian woman to win a WTA and eighth Italian woman to be in the top 15.
Speaking after her victory, she said was “very happy” and “proud.”
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ROME – Giorgia Meloni visited Kiev, Ukraine, on Saturday where she met with Ukrainian president Zelensky on behalf of the G7 and the EU.
Meloni and Zelensky held a joint press conference where they reiterated the need for a “Ukrainian victory” against Russia. Meloni's first words on Ukrainian soil affirmed that Ukraine is “a part of our home and we will defend it" as she attended a ceremony for soldiers who had defended Kiev's airport during the battle of Hostomel.
VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis cancelled all engagements on Saturday after the Vatican said he was suffering from a mild flu.
The pope had not partaken in any engagements from Feb. 18 to Feb 23, as he was engaged in “spiritual practices for Lent” including prayer, reflection and fasting.
The pontiff and the rest of the Roman Curia had wanted to experience this time of year “on a personal level.”
He was expected to resume his engagements on Saturday, however this has been postponed while he recovers from a “mild” bout of the flu.
