Pope Francis meets privately with King Charles and Queen Camilla during his Vatican convalescence

Pope Francis meets privately with King Charles and Queen Camilla during his Vatican convalescence
Pope Francis meets with Britain’s King Charles and Queen Camilla during a private audience at the Vatican on April 9, 2025. (Vatican Media via Reuters)
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Updated 10 April 2025
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Pope Francis meets privately with King Charles and Queen Camilla during his Vatican convalescence

Pope Francis meets privately with King Charles and Queen Camilla during his Vatican convalescence
  • Meeting with the pontiff during the royal couple’s four-day state visit to Italy
  • It was the first known meeting since the pope’s return to the Vatican after weeks on the hospital

ROME: Pope Francis met privately with King Charles III and Queen Camilla on Wednesday at the Vatican during the royal couple’s four-day state visit to Italy and on the occasion of their 20th wedding anniversary, the Vatican announced.
It was the first known meeting since the pope’s return to the Vatican after five weeks in the hospital for life-threatening double pneumonia. Francis had planned to have an audience with Charles, but the official state visit to the Vatican was postponed due to the pope’s health.
The pope issued a new invitation for a private audience, but it was subject to his health and only confirmed Wednesday morning. The mid-afternoon visit lasted about 20 minutes and included a private exchange of gifts. Discussions continue about a future visit by the monarch to the Vatican.
The Vatican statement said the pope wished Charles and Camilla a happy anniversary, and the king and queen in return wished the pope a speedy recovery. Buckingham Palace said “their majesties were delighted the pope was well enough to host them, and to have had the opportunity to share their best wishes in person.”
The royal couple previously saw Francis during an April 2017 visit to the Vatican. King Charles, then Prince of Wales, also met Pope Francis during the 2019 canonization of St. John Henry Newman.
The pope has been convalescing at the Vatican since March 23 and made an appearance to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday. He was pushed in a wheelchair, wearing nasal tubes for supplemental oxygen, and wished the crowd a good Sunday from the front of the altar before being greeted by participants in the Mass, some of whom leaned to kiss his hands.
Charles addresses Parliament
Earlier on Wednesday, Charles stressed the need for close ties between Italy and the UK in a historic speech in the Italian parliament, calling for unity in defense of common values at a time of war in Europe.
Charles, the first British monarch and fourth foreign leader to address a joint session of the Italian parliament, highlighted the long history between the UK and Italy and their shared culture, going back to the ancient Romans.
“Our younger generations can see in the news every day on their smartphones and tablets that peace is never to be taken for granted,” Charles said.
The British king was on the third day of his visit to Italy, seen as part of an ongoing effort by London to strengthen ties with its European allies amid global turbulence and rising instability.
“Our countries have both stood by Ukraine in her hour of need and welcomed many thousands of Ukrainians requiring shelter,” he said in his speech, warning that images of wars were now reverberating again across the continent.
Charles added that Italian and British armed forces “stand side by side” as part of the NATO alliance, noting the two countries’ joint plans to develop with Japan a new fighter jet.
“It will generate thousands of jobs in our countries and speaks volumes about the trust we place in each other,” he said.
During the Italian trip, King Charles and Queen Camilla also marked their 20th wedding anniversary, which was to include a state dinner later Wednesday hosted by President Sergio Mattarella at the Quirinale palace.
The queen marked her anniversary by wearing her wedding dress, which had been modified by its designer Anne Valentine, with additional embroidery by King’s Foundation artisan Beth Somerville. The garment was originally worn for the civil ceremony, when Camilla paired the outfit with a hat made of natural straw, overlaid with ivory French lace designed by Philip Treacy.
On her wedding day, Camilla later wore a separate chiffon dress embroidered pale blue and gold coat for the wedding blessing at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor.
Earlier on Wednesday, Charles met Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni at Rome’s Villa Doria Pamphili, enjoying a walk in the 17th Century palace’s gardens.
In a few weeks, he will mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe together with Mattarella.
Climate change warnings
Charles also spoke passionately in his address about threats facing the planet, recalling another speech he gave in Italy 16 years ago and how the “warnings” he made at the time about the urgency of the climate challenge were “depressingly being borne out by events.”
He noted extreme storms “normally seen once in a generation” are now an issue every year, and “countless precious plant and animal species face extinction in our lifetimes”.
Sections of the speech were delivered in Italian, with the King prompting the applause of Italian lawmakers when he noted: “And by the way, I hope I’m not ruining Dante’s language so much that I’m no never invited to Italy again.”
Charles was on his first trip abroad this year after being taken to hospital over side effects related to his ongoing cancer treatment.


Single UK Special Forces officer rejected 1,585 Afghan resettlement applications

Single UK Special Forces officer rejected 1,585 Afghan resettlement applications
Updated 19 sec ago
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Single UK Special Forces officer rejected 1,585 Afghan resettlement applications

Single UK Special Forces officer rejected 1,585 Afghan resettlement applications
  • UKSF member blocked numerous former Triples soldiers and their families from being resettled despite threats from Taliban
  • Some may have been eyewitnesses to alleged war crimes in Afghanistan; more than 600 cases since overturned

LONDON: A court has been told a UK Special Forces officer personally rejected 1,585 applications from Afghans for resettlement in Britain.

The applications were all from people with credible links to UKSF personnel, the Ministry of Defense told the court, amid an ongoing investigation into alleged war crimes by the Special Air Service in Afghanistan.

The BBC revealed last week that the individual in question may have rejected applications from people with eye-witness testimony relating to the allegations.

Numerous former Afghan special forces soldiers, known as Triples due to their regiment numbers, served alongside UK forces until the fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban in 2021. 

Thousands of them and their relatives have subsequently struggled to obtain permission to travel to the UK.

The public inquiry into the conduct of UKSF soldiers in Afghanistan, meanwhile, lacks the power to compel former Triples soldiers to testify unless they are in the UK.

In October 2022 Natalie Moore, the head of the Ministry of Defense’s Afghan resettlement team, voiced concern that UKSF involved in applications for resettlement were giving the “appearance of an unpublished mass rejection policy.”

In January last year, former Veterans Minister Johnny Mercer told senior government officials there was a “significant conflict of interest that should be obvious to all” in the processing of resettlement applications by UKSF personnel.

“Decision-making power,” Mercer claimed, over “potential witnesses to the inquiry,” was “deeply inappropriate.”

Mercer also noted that a number of former Triples soldiers had been killed by the Taliban after being left to wait in Afghanistan, including one whose application was rejected having “previously confronted UKSF leadership about EJKs (extrajudicial killings) in Afghanistan.”

The MoD initially denied UKSF personnel had a veto over the applications of former Triples soldiers, who having been armed, trained and funded by the UK, were deemed at risk of reprisals if left in Afghanistan after the withdrawal of coalition forces.

However, more than 2,000 applications deemed credible by caseworkers have been rejected by the UKSF. The MoD subsequently announced a review of the applications over fears the process was not “robust.”

An additional 2,500 rejected applications were placed under review this week by the government. So far, more than 600 of the 1,585 rejections attributed to the single UKSF officer have been overturned.

The revelations about the UKSF member who rejected the 1,585 applications were made at a judicial review hearing brought by former Triples soldiers over the conflict of interest in resettlement decision-making, which also heard the MoD had launched two investigations into UKSF practices.

One investigation, known as Operation X, said that it “did not obtain any evidence of hidden motives on the part of the UKSF liaison officer.”

It added it found “no evidence of automatic/instant/mass rejections,” but failed to provide evidence in its conclusion, instead suggesting the decisions were made as a result of “slack and unprofessional verification processes” by the UKSF officer and “lax procedures followed by the officer in not following up on all lines of enquiry before issuing rejections.”

Tom de la Mare KC, representing the Afghan Triple soldier who brought the case, accused the MoD of failing to disclose evidence of blanket application rejections, and of “providing misleading responses to requests for information,” the BBC said.

Cathryn McGahey KC, acting for the MoD, said “there might have been a better way of doing (the applications process), but that doesn’t make it unlawful.”

Daniel Carey, partner at law firm DPG, acting for the former Triples soldier, told the BBC: “My client spent years asking the MoD to rectify the blanket refusals of Triples personnel and has seen many killed and harmed by the Taliban in that time.

“He is pleased that the MoD have agreed to inform everyone of the decisions in their cases and to tell the persons affected whether their cases are under review or not, but it should not have required litigation to achieve basic fairness.”


Harvard sues Trump over block on foreign students

Harvard sues Trump over block on foreign students
Updated 35 min 57 sec ago
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Harvard sues Trump over block on foreign students

Harvard sues Trump over block on foreign students
  • “It is the latest act by the government in clear retaliation for Harvard exercising its First Amendment rights,” said the lawsuit

NEW YORK: Harvard sued the Trump administration on Friday over its move to block the prestigious university from enrolling and hosting foreign students in a broadening dispute, a court filing showed.


“It is the latest act by the government in clear retaliation for Harvard exercising its First Amendment rights to reject the government’s demands to control Harvard’s governance, curriculum, and the ‘ideology’ of its faculty and students,” said the lawsuit filed in Massachusetts federal court.

 


Greek court charges 17 coast guard officers over 2023 migrant shipwreck, say sources

Greek court charges 17 coast guard officers over 2023 migrant shipwreck, say sources
Updated 23 May 2025
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Greek court charges 17 coast guard officers over 2023 migrant shipwreck, say sources

Greek court charges 17 coast guard officers over 2023 migrant shipwreck, say sources
  • The 17 coast guard officers would be summoned by a judge to respond to accusations
  • A Greek coast guard official said the service had not been officially informed about the charges

ATHENS: A Greek naval court has charged 17 coast guard officers over one of the Mediterranean’s worst shipwrecks two years ago, in which hundreds of people are believed to have drowned, three sources said on Friday.

The shipwreck of an overloaded migrant boat in international waters off the southwestern Greek town of Pylos on June 14, 2023, sent shockwaves across Europe and beyond. The naval court is still investigating the circumstances around the incident.

A coast guard vessel had been monitoring the boat, named Adriana, for 15 hours before it capsized and sank. It had left Libya for Italy with about 750 people on board. Only 104 of them are known to have survived.

Greek coast guard authorities have repeatedly denied any wrongdoing over the handling of the case.

Three legal sources said the 17 coast guard officers would be summoned by a judge to respond to accusations ranging from obstructing transport to causing or helping cause a shipwreck.

Contacted by Reuters, a Greek coast guard official said the service had not been officially informed about the charges and had asked to be briefed by the naval court.

Greece’s judicial system has several preparatory stages and the compilation of charges does not necessarily mean that an individual will face trial.

Human rights activists and other protesters plan rallies across Greece on June 21 to mark the second anniversary of the Pylos shipwreck.

In February, the Greek Ombudsman recommended disciplinary action against eight coast guard officers, the first national probe into the incident to conclude.

Greece says that the coast guard operates with respect to human rights and that it has rescued more than 250,000 people since 2015, when the country was at the frontline of Europe’s migration crisis.


Russia, Ukraine each free first 390 prisoners in start of war's biggest swap

Russia, Ukraine each free first 390 prisoners in start of war's biggest swap
Updated 59 min 6 sec ago
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Russia, Ukraine each free first 390 prisoners in start of war's biggest swap

Russia, Ukraine each free first 390 prisoners in start of war's biggest swap
  • Kyiv and Moscow are due to swap 1,000 people each in a deal agreed at talks in Istanbul
  • Trump said on his Truth Social platform that the swap had been “completed,” but an official said the exchange was ongoing

CHERNIHIV REGION, Ukraine: Russia and Ukraine each released 390 prisoners on Friday and said they would free more in the coming days, in what is expected to be the biggest prisoner swap of the war so far.

The agreement to exchange 1,000 prisoners each was the only concrete step toward peace to emerge last week from the first direct talks between the warring sides in more than three years, when they failed to agree a ceasefire.

Both sides said they had each released 270 soldiers and 120 civilians so far, with more due to be released on Saturday and Sunday.

The freed Russians are currently in Belarus, which neighbors Ukraine, receiving psychological and medical assistance before being moved to Russia for further care, the Russian Defense Ministry said. They include civilians captured inside Russia’s Kursk region during a Ukrainian incursion.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted photographs of released captives, all with shaven heads, celebrating their release and wrapped in Ukrainian flags.

Ukrainian media outlet Espreso TV published a video of the wife of a prisoner crying tears of joy, wrapped in a flag on Kyiv’s Independence Square. She said she had been waiting for her husband’s release since 2022, and had just received the call from Ukrainian authorities confirming the good news.

“We waited, hoped and fought,” said the woman, whose name was given as Victoria.

Earlier, Ukrainian authorities told reporters to assemble at a location in the northern Chernihiv region in anticipation that some freed prisoners could be brought there.

Referring to the prisoner swap earlier on Friday, US President Donald Trump, who had pressed the sides to meet last week, wrote on Truth Social: “Congratulations to both sides on this negotiation. This could lead to something big???“

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers on both sides are believed to have been wounded or killed in Europe’s deadliest war since World War Two, although neither side publishes accurate casualty figures. Tens of thousands of Ukrainian civilians have also died as Russian forces have besieged and bombarded Ukrainian cities.

CEASEFIRE?

Ukraine says it is ready for a 30-day ceasefire immediately.

Russia, which launched the war by invading its neighbor in 2022 and now occupies about a fifth of Ukraine, says it will not pause its assaults until conditions are met first. A member of the Ukrainian delegation called those conditions “non-starters.”

Trump, who has shifted US policy from supporting Ukraine toward accepting some of Russia’s account of the war, had said he could tighten sanctions on Moscow if it blocked peace. But after speaking to Putin on Monday he decided to take no action for now.

Moscow says it is ready for talks while the fighting goes on, and wants to discuss what it calls the war’s “root causes,” including its demands Ukraine cede more territory, and be disarmed and barred from military alliances with the West. Kyiv says that is tantamount to surrender and would leave it defenseless in the face of future Russian attacks.

Russia claimed on Friday to have captured a settlement called Rakivka in Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region.

The governor of Ukraine’s Odesa region, Oleh Kiper, said Russia had struck port infrastructure there with two missiles on Friday afternoon, killing one person and wounding eight.


Indonesian pilgrims embark on Hajj journey under Makkah Route expansion

Indonesian pilgrims embark on Hajj journey under Makkah Route expansion
Updated 23 May 2025
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Indonesian pilgrims embark on Hajj journey under Makkah Route expansion

Indonesian pilgrims embark on Hajj journey under Makkah Route expansion
  • Saudi Arabia’s Makkah Route initiative is facilitating travel for pilgrims in Jakarta, Surabaya and Solo
  • Over 125,000 Indonesian Hajj pilgrims have already arrived in the Kingdom as of Tuesday

JAKARTA: More than 120,000 Indonesian pilgrims are benefiting from the Makkah Route initiative this year, as they embark on Hajj after the flagship Saudi program was expanded to three cities across the country.

Indonesia, the world’s biggest Muslim-majority nation, sends the largest Hajj contingent of pilgrims every year to perform the spiritual journey that is one of the five pillars of Islam.

In 2025, Saudi Arabia granted Indonesia a quota of 221,000 pilgrims. With the Hajj expected to take place on June 4 and end on June 9, special pilgrimage flights from Indonesia started on May 2.

Over half of the pilgrims are departing under the pre-travel program, which was launched by the Kingdom in 2019 to help pilgrims meet all the visa, customs and health requirements at their airport of origin and save them long hours of waiting before and upon arrival in the Kingdom.

“In Indonesia, Makkah Route is implemented in three airports, Soekarno-Hatta in Jakarta, and then in the cities of Solo and Surabaya,” Mohammed Zain, director of domestic Hajj services at the Ministry of Religious Affairs, told Arab News.

The initiative was only expanded in 2024 to reach more Indonesian pilgrims in different parts of the country.

This year, a total of 122,156 Indonesian pilgrims, who are departing from the three selected cities, are benefiting from the program.

“This is very helpful in sorting all of the pilgrims’ document requirements, like visa and passport, so that when the pilgrims reach Saudi Arabia, they simply head to their buses and go on their spiritual journey safely and comfortably,” Zain said.

“We hope that for Hajj next year, the Makkah Route initiative will be further expanded in Indonesia, so that we can offer more high-quality Hajj service.”

In Jakarta, the program is implemented at the new Hajj and Umrah terminal in Soekarno-Hatta International Airport, which was inaugurated by President Prabowo Subianto earlier this month.

Over 125,000 pilgrims have arrived in the Kingdom as of Tuesday.

Indonesia is among seven Muslim-majority countries — including Pakistan, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Morocco, Turkiye and Cote d’Ivoire — where Saudi Arabia is operating its Makkah Route initiative.