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Pope Francis ‘alert’ after respiratory failure

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Pope Francis is alert after suffering two episodes of “acute respiratory failure” on Monday afternoon, the Vatican has said.

Doctors were forced to intervene to clear mucus from the Pope’s lungs, an update from the Holy See said, though it said he was alert throughout.

The 88-year-old pontiff has resumed the use of an oxygen mask and ventilator to assist his breathing, but remains “alert, focused and cooperative”, the Vatican said.

This is now the third serious downturn since the 88-year-old pontiff was admitted to hospital 18 days ago with pneumonia.

On Friday, Pope Francis suffered an “isolated” breathing crisis involving vomiting, the Vatican said.

Updates from the Holy See reported that he responded well to oxygen therapy, with Vatican officials saying on Sunday the Pope no longer required “non-invasive mechanical ventilation, only high-flow oxygen therapy”.

Following Monday’s episodes, Pope Francis has resumed that mechanical ventilation.

His illness has meant that Pope Francis has been unable to deliver his traditional Angelus prayer in person for three weeks in a row, with the Vatican publishing his written comments instead.

Officials said the text, sent from his hospital room in Rome, had been written “in the past few days”. In it, the Pope thanked people for their prayers and thanked his medical team for their care.

He will also miss the procession and mass this Wednesday that mark the first day of Lent, the six-week period leading to Easter.

Hundreds of Catholics gathered outside in St Peter’s Square on Monday for an eighth evening to pray for the Pope’s health, many carrying rosary beads as they headed across the cobbles towards the Basilica.

The crowd, a mixture of priests and nuns based in Rome and Catholic pilgrims here for a Jubilee year, were led by an American cardinal.

“I come every night to pray, but this night I am pretty worried,” Javier, a Romanian priest, voiced the feelings of many on the square. “We still have hope, but it doesn’t look good.”

“It looks bad, and that’s a shame because we really like Francis,” Patricia, a Spanish catholic from Toledo, told the BBC.

She was following the prayers with her husband and young daughter.

“He’s really opened the doors of the church to many, like LGBT people. I think they will look for a more conservative pope next, to stop the change.”

Catholics have also been visiting the Gemelli hospital in Rome to pray for him – hoping he might come to the window, as has happened in the past.

But although the Vatican recently described the Pope’s condition as stable, he remains too sick even to greet the crowd below.

The Pope was admitted to hospital on 14 February after experiencing breathing difficulties for several days.

He was first treated for bronchitis before being diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs.

The pontiff is particularly susceptible to pneumonia, an infection of the lungs that can be caused by bacteria, viruses or fungi, after he contracted pleurisy – an inflammation of the lungs – as a young man and had a partial lung removal.

Vatican sources stress, as they have all along, that the Pope’s condition remains complex – his doctors remain cautious – and he is not out of danger.

(BBC News)

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MI6 appoints first female chief in 116-year history

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MI6 will be led by a woman for the first time in the foreign intelligence service’s 116-year history.

Blaise Metreweli, who joined the Secret Intelligence Service in 1999, will become the 18th chief of the organisation and take over from Sir Richard Moore later this year.

She is currently responsible for technology and innovation at the service and said she was “proud and honoured” to have been asked to lead.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer called the appointment “historic” at a time “when the work of our intelligence services has never been more vital”.

MI6 is tasked with gathering intelligence overseas to improve the UK’s security, with its core aims being to stop terrorism, disrupt the activities of hostile states and bolster cyber-security.

Its chief, commonly referred to as “C”, is the only publicly named member of the service.

Ms Metreweli, 47, is currently Director General “Q” – head of the crucial technology and innovation division that aims to keep the identities of secret agents secret, and come up with new ways to evade adversaries like China’s biometric surveillance.

“MI6 plays a vital role – with MI5 and GCHQ – in keeping the British people safe and promoting UK interests overseas,” she said.

“I look forward to continuing that work alongside the brave officers and agents of MI6 and our many international partners.”

Ms Metreweli, who studied anthropology at the University of Cambridge, has previously held director level roles in MI5 – MI6’s sister, domestic security agency – and spent most of her career working in the Middle East and Europe.

On the King’s overseas and international birthday honours list in 2024, she received the Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) for her services to British foreign policy.

Speaking to the Telegraph in December 2021 when she was at MI5, under the pseudonym of “Director K”, Ms Metreweli said threats to UK national security “really are diverse”.

“The threats we are looking at primarily exist around protecting government, protecting secrets, protecting our people – so counter-assassination – protecting our economy, sensitive technology and critical knowledge,” she said.

She added that “Russian state activity – not Russia itself – remains a threat” and that China was “changing the way the world is and that presents amazing opportunities and threats for the UK”.

(BBC News)

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Iran confirms head of IRGC has been killed

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Strikes by Israel and Iran continue as the conflict between the two countries has intensified.
On Sunday, Israeli strikes killed the chief of Iran’s armed forces intelligence unit.  Iran has confirmed that the head of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) intelligence unit, Mohammad Kazemi, has been killed. IRGC-linked Tasnim news agency and Iranian state TV say Kazemi died along with his deputy Hassan Mohaqeq and commander Mohsen Baqeri in Israeli attacks on Sunday.

Meanwhile, more than 10 Israelis are reported to have been injured following Iranian strikes. This comes after Israel attacked Iran early on Friday, hitting nuclear facilities, military sites and populated areas. Iran has responded with drones and ballistic missiles

“Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal,” says US President Donald Trump, adding that he will be the one to make it happen. He has added calls and meetings are taking place as the escalation stretches into a third day, but Iran says it will not negotiate a ceasefire while under attack.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says “the issue here is not de-escalation”, but stopping Iran from developing its nuclear capability.

Iran’s health ministry reports that at least 224 people have been killed in Israeli attacks since Friday, while at least 10 Israelis were killed in Iranian strikes overnight.

(BBC News)

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Air India plane crash death toll rises to 270

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Doctors in India say 270 bodies have been recovered from the site of Thursday’s plane crash in Ahmedabad.

The London-bound aircraft crashed into a residential area shortly after take-off killing all but one of the 242 passengers and crew members, a 40-year-old British man.

Officials have also been trying to establish how many people were killed on the ground and have been continuing the slow process of matching DNA samples to confirm the victims’ identities.

Vigils honouring the dead have taken place across India and the UK.

About 100 people gathered outside the High Commission of India in London on Sunday, with many laying candles in memory of those who died in the crash.

One community leader said they had been in touch with a family who had flown to India to identify the remains of their loved ones and were waiting in hospital for the results of DNA matching.

Many people at the gathering want answers on how and why the incident could have happened, the community leader said.

India’s Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) is leading the inquiry into the cause of the crash, helped by teams from the US and UK.

On Friday, a black box was found at the site of the crash which India’s civil aviation minister, Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu, said would “significantly aid the inquiry” into the disaster.

Less than 60 seconds after leaving Ahmedabad’s Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, the plane lost altitude and crashed into a building that was used as doctors’ accommodation at the BJ Medical College and Civil Hospital.
On Saturday, the President of the Junior Doctors’ Association of the college, Dr Dhaval Gameti, confirmed the hospital had received the bodies of 270 victims.

Of those, 241 are believed to be passengers and crew of Flight AI171.

More than thirty victims have also been formally identified using DNA samples provided by relatives.

According to data by tracking website, Flightradar24, the Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 was 11 years old and had operated 25 flights from Ahmedabad to London Gatwick in the past two years.

In response to Thursday’s crash, India’s aviation regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), ordered additional safety checks on Air India’s Boeing 787-8 and 787-9 fleet, describing it as a “preventive measure”.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi spent around 20 minutes walking around the site of the plane crash on Friday.

He also visited the hospital to meet some of those injured in the disaster, including the sole plane survivor Vishwashkumar Ramesh, later saying that “the entire nation is praying for their speedy recovery”.

Air India CEO Campbell Wilson also went to the crash site on Friday and described the visit as “deeply moving”.

(BBC News)

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