2 Saudis among Victims of Sri Lanka Bombings

A police officer inspects the explosion area at Shangri-La hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka April 21, 2019. (Reuters)
A police officer inspects the explosion area at Shangri-La hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka April 21, 2019. (Reuters)
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2 Saudis among Victims of Sri Lanka Bombings

A police officer inspects the explosion area at Shangri-La hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka April 21, 2019. (Reuters)
A police officer inspects the explosion area at Shangri-La hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka April 21, 2019. (Reuters)

Two Saudi nationals were among the victims of the weekend’s terrorist attacks in Sri Lanka, announced the Kingdom’s embassy in the country.

It identified the victims as Ahmed Zein al-Jaafari and Hani Majed Othman.

They were part of a ten-member Saudi Airlines staff that was in Sri Lanka following a flight to the country, it explained.

Director of the airline, Saleh al-Jasser, offered his condolences to the families of the victims.

The series of suicide attacks in Colombo on Easter Sunday targeted three churches and four luxury hotels that killed 290 people and wounded about 500.



Vatican Cancels Pope’s Weekend Engagements as He Battles ‘Complex’ Infection 

Pedestrians walk past the statue of Pope John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized for tests and treatment for an infection in Rome, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
Pedestrians walk past the statue of Pope John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized for tests and treatment for an infection in Rome, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
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Vatican Cancels Pope’s Weekend Engagements as He Battles ‘Complex’ Infection 

Pedestrians walk past the statue of Pope John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized for tests and treatment for an infection in Rome, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)
Pedestrians walk past the statue of Pope John Paul II outside the Gemelli hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized for tests and treatment for an infection in Rome, on February 18, 2025. (AFP)

Pope Francis, who began his fifth day in hospital on Tuesday for what doctors have described as a "complex" respiratory infection, will not take part in this weekend's Holy Year events, the Vatican said on Tuesday.

The 88-year-old pontiff has been suffering from a respiratory infection for more than a week and was admitted to Rome's Gemelli hospital on Friday.

A planned public papal audience set for Saturday had been cancelled "due to the health condition of the Holy Father", the Vatican said in a brief statement.

A papal mass scheduled for Sunday will still take place, but will be led instead by a senior Vatican official, it added.

The Vatican said on Monday that doctors had changed the pope's drug therapy for the second time during his hospital stay to tackle a "complex clinical situation". They described it as a "polymicrobial infection of the respiratory tract".

Doctors say polymicrobial diseases can be caused by a mix of viruses, bacteria and fungi.

Francis, who has been pontiff since 2013, has had influenza and other health problems several times over the past two years. As a young adult he developed pleurisy and had part of one lung removed, and in recent times has been prone to lung infections.