Russian Strike on Kharkiv Region Kills Two and Injures Four, Governor Says

A cloud of smoke rises above a site following a rocket attack in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine, 11 April 2024, amid the Russian invasion. (EPA)
A cloud of smoke rises above a site following a rocket attack in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine, 11 April 2024, amid the Russian invasion. (EPA)
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Russian Strike on Kharkiv Region Kills Two and Injures Four, Governor Says

A cloud of smoke rises above a site following a rocket attack in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine, 11 April 2024, amid the Russian invasion. (EPA)
A cloud of smoke rises above a site following a rocket attack in Kharkiv, northeastern Ukraine, 11 April 2024, amid the Russian invasion. (EPA)

Russian forces killed two people and injured four more after hitting an education facility in the Kharkiv region on Monday, its governor said.

The Russian military used a guided aerial bomb on Lukiantsi village near the Russian border, the region's governor, Oleh Syniehubov, said on the Telegram messaging app.

Syniehubov added that the four people injured in the attack were hospitalized with blast injuries and shrapnel wounds.

As Russia has intensified its strikes in the spring, the Kharkiv region has increasingly taken the brunt of the attacks.

Ukraine's air defense shortages and the eastern region's proximity to the Russian border left it especially vulnerable to strikes on energy infrastructure, which have caused large-scale power cuts.



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.