by tyler | Mar 30, 2023 | CNN, europe
Pope Francis has acknowledged the many well-wishes the 86-year-old has received while he’s being treated in a Rome hospital for a respiratory infection.
In his first tweet acknowledging his illness, Francis said: “I am touched by the many messages received in these hours and I express my gratitude for the closeness and prayer.”
The pontiff’s health is “progressively improving” and he is working from the hospital, the Vatican said on Thursday. “His Holiness Pope Francis rested well during the night. The clinical picture is progressively improving and the planned treatments continue. This morning after breakfast, he read some newspapers and went back to work,” Vatican spokesperson Matteo Bruni said on a statement.
“Before lunch he went to the little chapel of the private apartment, where he gathered in prayer and received the Eucharist.”
After his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday, the pontiff was taken to the hospital to undergo a number of tests. Earlier in the day, the Vatican had said that the visit and tests were planned.
“The Holy Father has been at Gemelli since this afternoon for some previously scheduled tests,” Bruni had said.
Shortly after, he said that Francis’ schedule for Thursday had been cleared “to make space for the continuation of tests should that be necessary.”
Vatican sources told CNN Thursday that Pope Francis “slept well” during his first night in the hospital.
The Church of Rome also expressed “all its closeness and affection to its Bishop Pope Francis, and ensures its unceasing prayers, wishing him a speedy recovery,” it said in a statement on Thursday.
Bishops in churches across Italy are praying for Francis’ speedy recovery, the Presidency of the Italian Episcopal Conference, on behalf of the Italian bishops, said in a statement on Wednesday.
“In wishing the Holy Father a speedy recovery, the Presidency entrusts to the Lord the doctors and medical staff who, with professionalism and dedication, care for him and all patients,” it added.
The pontiff – who as a young man suffered from severe pneumonia and had part of a lung removed – has had a recent history of medical issues.
He has often been seen with a walking stick and sometimes uses a wheelchair due to pain in his right knee. Last year, he canceled a trip to Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan after doctors said he might also have to miss a later trip to Canada unless he agreed to have 20 more days of therapy and rest for his knee. He ultimately went to the DRC and South Sudan in February.
Francis also suffers from diverticulitis, a common condition that can cause the inflammation or infection of the colon. In 2021, he had surgery to remove part of his colon.
In December, Francis revealed that he had already signed his resignation letter to be used in the event of him becoming “impaired.” Francis made the comment in an interview with Spanish news outlet ABC when asked what would happen if a pope is suddenly rendered unable to perform his duties due to health issues or an accident.
Francis said he wrote the letter several years ago and gave it to then-Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, who resigned in 2013.
“I have already signed my renunciation. The Secretary of State at the time was Tarcisio Bertone. I signed it and said: ‘If I should become impaired for medical reasons or whatever, here is my renunciation,’” Francis was quoted as saying, adding that this was the first time he had spoken publicly about the letter’s existence.
Francis said past pontiffs Paul VI and Pious XII had also drafted their letters of renunciation in the event of a permanent impairment.
In 2013, Francis’ immediate predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, made the almost unprecedented decision to resign from his position, citing “advanced age” as the reason and startling the Catholic world.
It marked the first time a pope had stepped down in nearly 600 years. The last pope to step down before his death was Gregory XII, who in 1415 quit to end a civil war within the church in which more than one man claimed to be pope.
by tyler | Mar 29, 2023 | CNN, europe
An ultramassive black hole, understood to be one of the largest ever detected, has been discovered by astronomers using a new technique.
The findings, published by the Royal Astronomical Society, show that the black hole is more than 30 billion times the mass of the sun – a scale rarely seen by astronomers.
The researchers described it as an “extremely exciting” discovery that opens up “tantalizing” possibilities for detecting further black holes.
The team, led by Durham University in the United Kingdom, used a technique known as gravitational lensing – whereby a nearby galaxy is used as a giant magnifying glass to bend the light from a more distant object. This enabled them to closely examine how light is bent by a black hole inside a galaxy hundreds of millions of light years from Earth.
Supercomputer simulations and images captured by the Hubble Space Telescope were also used to confirm the size of the black hole.
This is the first black hole found using gravitational lensing, with the team simulating light traveling through the universe hundreds of thousands of times, according to a news release from the Royal Astronomical Society.
“This particular black hole, which is roughly 30 billion times the mass of our Sun, is one of the biggest ever detected and on the upper limit of how large we believe black holes can theoretically become, so it is an extremely exciting discovery,” lead study author James Nightingale, an observational cosmologist from the Department of Physics at Durham University, said.
“Most of the biggest black holes that we know about are in an active state, where matter pulled in close to the black hole heats up and releases energy in the form of light, X-rays, and other radiation,” Nightingale added.
“However, gravitational lensing makes it possible to study inactive black holes, something not currently possible in distant galaxies. This approach could let us detect many more black holes beyond our local universe and reveal how these exotic objects evolved further back in cosmic time.”
Researchers believe the finding is significant as it “opens up the tantalising possibility that astronomers can discover far more inactive and ultramassive black holes than previously thought” and “investigate how they grew so large,” according to the news release.
The story of this particular discovery started back in 2004 when fellow Durham University astronomer, Alastair Edge, a research fellow, noticed a giant arc of a gravitational lens when reviewing images of a galaxy survey, according to the news release.
The team has now revisited the discovery and explored it further with the help of NASA’s Hubble telescope and the DiRAC COSMA8 supercomputer.
Ultramassive black holes are the most massive objects in the universe and a rare find for astronomers.
Their origins are unclear, with some believing they were formed from the merging of galaxies billions of years ago.
Each time a galaxy merges with another one, stars are lost and a black hole gains mass – which accounts for the incredibly high mass of some black holes.
by tyler | Mar 29, 2023 | CNN, europe
King Charles III arrived in Germany with the Queen Consort on Wednesday for his first overseas state visit as monarch, after the first part of the trip to France was postponed.
Landing at Berlin Brandenburg Airport on Wednesday afternoon local time for the start of their three-day visit, they were welcomed with a gun salute as two military jets carried out a fly past. German officials greeted the King and Queen Consort when they stepped off the plane.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife, Elke Budenbender, rolled out the red carpet for the visiting monarch. They greeted Charles and Camilla at Pariser Platz with a full ceremonial welcome.
It’s the first time a head of state has been officially welcomed at Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate rather than at Schloss Bellevue, the official residence of the German president. As the royals stepped out of the car, the crowd cheered, with supporters eagerly waving German and Union Jack flags above their heads.
The national anthems of both nations played, after which the King, accompanied by the president, inspected the honor guard before delighting crowds by making their way over to greet members of the public.
Camilla — wearing a turquoise dress and coat with a hat by Irish milliner Philip Treacy — and accompanied by Budenbender, did the same on the other side of Pariser Platz.
There was a noticeable security presence in central Berlin, with around 900 police officers deployed Wednesday, according to CNN’s German affiliate n-tv.
Crowds gathered at Brandenburg Gate were made up of general public, school groups, members of the Royal British Legion, as well as British Embassy employees and their families.
Among the crowd was Alexander Woskanjan, from Berlin. The 35-year-old told CNN that he was happy Charles’ first foreign trip of his reign was to Germany.
“After the Second World War, we couldn’t wish that the first destination … [would be] Germany. And now, so many things have normalized and both armies are working together.” Woskanjan added: “It’s good, good vibes. And I think that the [German] President Frank-Walter Steinmeier really will be smiling all the time.”
For 59-year-old Christophe, who didn’t give his surname, this wasn’t his first royal event. Having been a fan of the British monarchy for two decades, he visited London last year for the late Queen’s state funeral and platinum jubilee celebrations. He told CNN he’d traveled from Hamburg to welcome the King to Berlin on Wednesday.
“I’m really hoping that [the visit] will heal the wounds that Brexit has done to the European countries,” he said. “I hope it will strengthen the relationship between Germany and the United Kingdom.”
And Jürg, 51, was one of the lucky few in the crowd to get a few moments to speak with the King. He told CNN: “The King was one of the first people ever talking about pollution and climate change and things like that … I think maybe he’s the right person for this moment to be King.”
The royal couple later traveled to the presidential palace for a state banquet.
“To him and obviously all Britons, I want to say that we in Germany, in Europe, wish for close and friendly relations with the United Kingdom even after Brexit,” Steinmeier said in a video message ahead of the trip, according to Reuters.
Before arriving in Germany, King Charles and Camilla said in a statement that they were “very much looking forward to meeting all of those who make this country so special.”
They added: “It is a great joy to be able to continue the deepening of the longstanding friendship between our two nations.”
The trip should have started on Sunday in France but the first leg was scrapped amid strikes and civil unrest in the country over President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms. The French leader said Friday his government would have lacked “common sense” to proceed amid the protests, before suggesting the trip could be rescheduled for the beginning of summer.
On Thursday, Charles will address the Bundestag, Germany’s lower house of parliament. He’ll then meet some Ukrainian refugees who have sought sanctuary in Germany from the Russian invasion back home.
The following day, the King and Queen Consort will travel to Hamburg, where they will visit St. Nikolai Memorial, a church that was heavily damaged by Allied bombing during World War II. While there, the King and German president will lay wreaths as part of a short remembrance ceremony.
Despite the delayed start, the trip’s goals remain the same. Traveling at the request of the British government and following an invitation from the German president, the King will be hoping to renew and strengthen ties after Britain’s exit from the European Union.
“It is also a chance to look forwards and show the many ways our countries are working in partnership, whether that be to tackle climate change; respond to the conflict in Ukraine; seize trade and investment opportunities or share the best of our arts and culture,” Buckingham Palace said in a statement announcing the state visit earlier this month.
Charles last visited Germany as Prince of Wales in 2020 to mark the country’s National Day of Mourning for victims of war.
by tyler | Mar 28, 2023 | CNN, europe
Protesters on the tracks at a Paris rail station. Smoke bombs let off at Biarritz airport. Anger at French President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms showed no sign of letting up on Tuesday as the nation saw for a 10th day of nationwide demonstrations.
Sweeping protests have paralyzed major services across the country in recent weeks over Macron’s proposal to raise the retirement age for most workers from 62 to 64, in a move that has riled opposition lawmakers and trade unions.
Up to 900,000 protesters were expected to join 240 rallies planned throughout France on Tuesday, with 100,000 protesters anticipated to fill the streets of the capital alone, according to CNN affiliate BFM. Demonstrators had started to fill the streets of Paris early in the afternoon.
Videos on social media verified by CNN showed smoke bombs being let off by protesters outside the entrance of Biarritz Airport, and the boarding area of the terminal, before an evacuation announcement sounded over the speakers. Further north, protesters walked on the train tracks at Paris’ Gare de Lyon railway station, according to CNN affiliate BFM.
Earlier this month, scenes emerged of waste piles littering Parisian neighborhoods, as massive strikes against the reforms affected the city’s trash pickup services. However, the CGT union said earlier that trash collectors will suspend their strike from Wednesday.
Meanwhile, Buckingham Palace on Friday confirmed that King Charles III and the Queen Consort’s state visit to France had been postponed as a result of the strikes.
The government pressed on with the hugely unpopular bill without a vote last week, after two failed no-confidence votes cleared the way for the pension reforms. It says that relying on the working population to pay for a growing age group of retirees is no longer fit for purpose.
Blocking airports has been a tactic used by anti-pension reform protesters nationwide, with terminal 1 at Charles de Gaulle airport, just north of Paris, also being cut off on Thursday morning.
At least four groups can be identified in the footage based on their insignia, including a local Basque trade union and two national associations – the CGT Departmental Union of Pyrénées-Atlantiques and the Fédération syndicale unitaire (FSU).
The FSU – which streamed a live video from Tuesday’s protest inside the airport – is one of France’s main trade unions in its education sector, representing “162,000 members, of whom 88% are teachers,” according to its website.
The CGT is one of five major trade unions nationwide, with branches across the country.
CNN has attempted to contact both the FSU and CGT and cannot independently confirm how many people were present at the airport protest or how the event unfolded.
Union leaders called on President Macron to put the controversial pension reform on hold, as clashes between police and protesters ramped up against a backdrop of rising street violence.
Philippe Martinez, the head of the CGT union, told CNN affiliate BFM-TV on Tuesday that Macron should “suspend his project and appoint a mediator.”
A senior official at CFDT, one of the unions leading the protests, told CNN he is “in favor of dialogue.”
Speaking about the widespread protests in France, Maher Tekaya said: “We don’t believe that it’s a matter of revolution, but there is a kind of democratic problem and the only solution is to sit around the table and to have a constructive dialogue on how to find a way out of the situation.”
Protests have become more violent since Macron rammed the legislation through the French National Assembly, using a constitutional clause that allows the government to bypass a vote.
Security forces threw stun grenades in an effort to disperse protests in Paris on Tuesday, as demonstrators retaliated with fireworks.
“It has also … touched off a lot more anger on the streets of Paris, and elsewhere in the country,” CNN’s Sam Kiley told Becky Anderson on Connect the World.
“The unions are worried about the increasing levels and potential for violence here. They call for dialogue with the government. The government has agreed on dialogue but no dialogue over changing the direction in terms of their policy, but they are, I think, both sides trying to de-escalate.”
In the last fortnight there have been hundreds of acts of vandalism against public buildings and political offices, as well as over 2,000 incidents of arson, according to Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin. He said that there are currently 17 investigations by the General Inspectorate of the National Police that concern the pension reform demonstrations.
Darmanin said French authorities deployed an unprecedented 13,000 police officers across the country on Tuesday, including 5,500 officers in the capital Paris, adding that his ministry “anticipates high risks to the public order” during the protests. He said that “more than 1,000 radical individuals” will possibly join the marches organized in the capital and in other cities.
The French Defender of Rights – an independent government administrative authority to defend individual rights – called for a “de-escalation” in the violence on the part of police and protesters.
“I condemn any act of violence, and I have a thought for all the victims, whether they are the demonstrators or the security forces,” said Claire Hédon, the Defender of Rights, said in an interview with Le Monde on Tuesday.
“It is also important to say that the freedom to demonstrate is a fundamental principle of our rule of law. The first objective of policing is also this respect for the freedom to demonstrate with, as a corollary, the protection and safety of people.
“The testimonies and images that reach us show unacceptable situations.”
“The use of force can only be done if necessary, and in a proportionate manner. I am very worried about what I observe in the escalation of violence. And we will need a de-escalation. It is the responsibility of the state,” she added.
by tyler | Mar 28, 2023 | CNN, europe
A Russian man whose 12-year-old daughter drew an anti-war picture at school has been sentenced to two years in prison by a court for his own online posts critical of the invasion of Ukraine.
Alexey Moskalyov had been charged with “discrediting the Russian military” and was under house arrest in the Tula region after being accused of repeatedly publishing anti-war posts.
According to the indictment, Moskalyov, “using his personal computer, posted on his page in social networks statements in the form of text-graphic publications discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation,” reported Russian state news agency RIA Novosti.
One of Moskalyov’s posts read: “Army of Russia. The oppressors around us,” according to the court, as quoted by Russian independent news site Mediazona.
In April last year, Moskalyov’s 12-year-old daughter Maria drew a picture of Russian missiles being fired at a Ukrainian family and wrote “No to war” and “Glory to Ukraine” during her art class, according to Mediazona.
The school subsequently called the police.
On December 30, Moskalyov’s house was searched in connection with repeated “discrediting” of the Russian army based on his comments on social media.
Prosecutors had requested two years in prison for Moskalyov, according to RIA Novosti. Moskalyov pleaded not guilty but failed to turn up to his hearing in the city of Yefremov on Tuesday.
After Moskalyov was placed under house arrest at the beginning of this month, Maria – who he was raising alone – was placed in an orphanage. RIA Novosti said the whereabouts of Maria’s mother were unknown.
In a video published by the independent Russian Telegram channel SOTA, lawyer Vladimir Bilienko displayed some of Maria’s drawings for her father.
“[There was] a letter for Dad. There is a big heart at the end [and an inscription] ‘Dad, you are my hero,’” Bilienko said.
According to the chairman of the commission for minors in Yefremov, Svetlana Davydova, the family had been “on a preventive list of families in a socially dangerous situation” since May last year.
Alexander Brod, a member of the Human Rights Council, said Moskalyov did not fulfil his obligations as a father, according to RIA Novosti, adding that Maria had not attended school for a year.
Court spokeswoman Olga Dyachuk said that Moskalyov was given two years in a penal colony, reported RIA Novosti.
“Moskalyov was supposed to be taken into custody in the courtroom, but that didn’t happen, because he escaped from house arrest at night, the court announced the decision in his absence,” said Dyachuk.
The court acknowledged that Moskalyov had a daughter under the age of 18 as mitigation, but the prosecutor argued that the offense was committed during the “special military operation” in Ukraine.
The Russian human rights group Memorial said that “the criminal prosecution of Moskalyov is motivated by his political views and is aimed at the involuntary termination of civil activity of critics of the authorities and intimidation of the society as a whole.”
by tyler | Mar 28, 2023 | CNN, europe
Protesters on the tracks at a Paris rail station. Smoke bombs let off at Biarritz airport. Anger at French President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms showed no sign of letting up on Tuesday as the nation prepared for a 10th day of nationwide demonstrations.
Sweeping protests have paralyzed major services across the country in recent weeks over Macron’s proposal to raise the retirement age for most workers from 62 to 64, in a move that as riled opposition lawmakers and trade unions.
Up to 900,000 protesters were expected to join 240 rallies planned throughout France on Tuesday, with 100,000 protesters anticipated to fill the streets of the capital alone, according to CNN affiliate BFM. Demonstators had started to fill the streets of Paris early in the afternoon.
Videos on social media verified by CNN showed smoke bombs being let off by protesters outside the entrance of Biarritz Airport, and the boarding area of the terminal, before an evacuation announcement sounded over the speakers. Further north, protesters walked on the train tracks at Paris’ Gare de Lyon railway station, according to CNN affiliate BFM.
Earlier this month, scenes emerged of waste piles littering Parisian neighborhoods, as massive strikes against the reforms affected the city’s trash pickup services. However, the CGT union said earlier that trash collectors will suspend their strike from Wednesday.
The government pressed on with the hugely unpopular bill without a vote last week, after two failed no-confidence votes cleared the way for the pension reforms. It says that relying on the working population to pay for a growing age group of retirees is no longer fit for purpose.
Blocking airports has been a tactic used by anti-pension reform protesters nationwide, with terminal 1 at Charles de Gaulle airport, just north of Paris, also being cut off on Thursday morning.
At least four groups can be identified in the footage based on their insignia, including a local Basque trade union and two national associations – the CGT Departmental Union of Pyrénées-Atlantiques and the Fédération syndicale unitaire (FSU).
The FSU – which streamed a live video from Tuesday’s protest inside the airport – is one of France’s main trade unions in its education sector, representing “162,000 members, of whom 88% are teachers,” according to its website.
The CGT is one of five major trade unions nationwide, with branches across the country.
CNN has attempted to contact both the FSU and CGT and cannot independently confirm how many people were present at the airport protest or how the event unfolded.
Unions leaders called on President Macron to put the controversial pension reform on hold, as clashes between police and protesters ramped up against a backdrop of rising street violence.
Philippe Martinez, the head of the CGT union, told CNN affiliate BFM-TV on Tuesday that Macron should “suspend his project and appoint a mediator.”
Protests have become more violent since Macron rammed the legislation through the French National Assembly, using a constitutional clause that allows the government to bypass a vote.
In the last fortnight there have been hundreds of acts of vandalism against public buildings and political offices, as well as over 2,000 incidents of arson, according to Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin. He said that there are currently 17 investigations by the General Inspectorate of the National Police that concern the pension reform demonstrations.
Darmanin said French authorities deployed an unprecedented 13,000 police officers across the country on Tuesday, including 5,500 officers in the capital Paris, adding that his ministry “anticipates high risks to the public order” during the protests. He said that “more than 1,000 radical individuals” will possibly join the marches organized in the capital and in other cities.
The French Defender of Rights – an independent government administrative authority to defend individual rights – called for a “de-escalation” in the violence on the part of police and protesters.
“I condemn any act of violence, and I have a thought for all the victims, whether they are the demonstrators or the security forces,” said Claire Hédon, the Defender of Rights, said in an interview with Le Monde on Tuesday.
“It is also important to say that the freedom to demonstrate is a fundamental principle of our rule of law. The first objective of policing is also this respect for the freedom to demonstrate with, as a corollary, the protection and safety of people.
“The testimonies and images that reach us show unacceptable situations.”
“The use of force can only be done if necessary, and in a proportionate manner. I am very worried about what I observe in the escalation of violence. And we will need a de-escalation. It is the responsibility of the state,” she added.
