Critically Ill Pope Francis Rested Well All Night, Vatican Says 

A view of the obelisk illuminated with the image of Pope Francis in Buenos Aires, taken on February 24, 2025. (AFP)
A view of the obelisk illuminated with the image of Pope Francis in Buenos Aires, taken on February 24, 2025. (AFP)
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Critically Ill Pope Francis Rested Well All Night, Vatican Says 

A view of the obelisk illuminated with the image of Pope Francis in Buenos Aires, taken on February 24, 2025. (AFP)
A view of the obelisk illuminated with the image of Pope Francis in Buenos Aires, taken on February 24, 2025. (AFP)

Pope Francis, who is in critical condition in hospital battling double pneumonia, is alert, rested well throughout the night and is continuing his treatment, the Vatican said on Tuesday. 

The 88-year-old pope is spending his 12th day at Rome's Gemelli hospital, in the longest hospital stay of his nearly 12-year-old papacy. 

"The pope rested well all night," the Vatican said in a one-sentence statement that did not provide further details. 

A Vatican official, who did not wish to be named because he was not authorized to speak about the pope's condition, said Francis was eating normally, moving about his hospital room, and continuing his treatment. 

On Monday, the Vatican said the pontiff's condition remained critical but had shown a "slight improvement", adding that a "mild kidney insufficiency", first reported at the weekend, was not a cause for concern. 

Double pneumonia is a serious infection of both lungs that can inflame and scar them, making it difficult to breathe. The Vatican has described the pope's infection as "complex", and said it was caused by two or more microorganisms. 

Francis, who has been pope since 2013, has suffered several bouts of ill health over the past two years. He is prone to lung infections because he developed pleurisy as a young adult and had part of one lung removed. 

Thousands of people gathered in St. Peter's Square on Monday evening to pray for the pope's recovery. 

The pope signaled in early February that he had a bad cold, which meant he could not read out his speeches. Despite this, he continued to have meetings every day and even take part in open-air Masses, despite the chill. 

In Monday's statement, the Vatican said Francis had resumed working in his self-contained apartment within the Gemelli hospital, and had called the Catholic parish in Gaza, which he has done frequently during the Israel-Hamas war. 

The Vatican is expected to send another medical bulletin at around 7 p.m. (1800 GMT). 



‘Friends Forever, Never Enemies’, Chinese Foreign Minister Tells Russia

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi participates in a press conference in Beijing, China, 27 March 2025. (Reuters)
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi participates in a press conference in Beijing, China, 27 March 2025. (Reuters)
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‘Friends Forever, Never Enemies’, Chinese Foreign Minister Tells Russia

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi participates in a press conference in Beijing, China, 27 March 2025. (Reuters)
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi participates in a press conference in Beijing, China, 27 March 2025. (Reuters)

China and Russia are "friends forever, never enemies," Chinese's Foreign Minister Wang Yi said in remarks published on Tuesday during a visit to Moscow in which he also welcomed signs of normalizing ties between Washington and Moscow.

"The principle of 'friends forever, never enemies' ... serves as a solid legal basis for advancing strategic cooperation at a higher level," Wang told Russia's RIA state news agency in an interview.

Wang is on a three-day visit to Moscow for strategic cooperation talks, a trip overshadowed by uncertainty around talks to secure a ceasefire in Ukraine and US President Donald Trump's criticism of the Russian and Ukrainian leaders.

China and Russia declared a "no limits" strategic partnership days before Russian President Vladimir Putin sent tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has met Putin over 40 times in the past decade and the two leaders have since agreed to deepen ties and cooperate on issues such as Taiwan, Ukraine and mutual rival the United States.

The Kremlin said on Monday that Putin would receive Wang, who will also hold talks with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

Wang said current global conditions obliged big powers to act as stabilizing factors, so it was encouraging that Russia and the United States had moved to improve relations.

The Kremlin said on Monday that Russia and the United States were working on ideas for a possible peace settlement in Ukraine and on building bilateral ties. Since taking office in January, Trump has shifted the US to a more conciliatory stance towards Russia.

"(This) is good for stabilizing the balance of power between major powers and inspires optimism in a disappointing international situation," RIA cited Wang as saying.

Wang also dismissed the notion that Trump is trying to support Russia in order to set it against China, condemning such ideas as a "relapse of obsolete confrontational and bloc thinking".

PEACE IN UKRAINE

Wang said recent Ukraine ceasefire talks had already brought some results and should continue, despite diverging views and the difficult situation on the battlefield.

"The step towards peace, although not that big, is constructive - it's worth building on it," Wang said. "With peace, it is no pain no gain. You need to work hard to achieve it."

He added that a peace deal must be binding and acceptable for all parties and reiterated that Beijing is ready to play a role in settling the conflict in Ukraine.

Xi has been pushing for a greater involvement of China in peace talks since the early days of the war, which marked its third anniversary in February.

Beijing has proposed on its own, and together with Brazil, general principles to end the conflict, but its ideas have received a tepid reception.

"We advocate eradicating the causes of the crisis through dialogue and negotiations, ultimately achieving a fair, long-term, binding peace agreement acceptable to all parties," Wang said.