Foreign News

Easter Mass brings relief to public after pontiff’s illness

Published

3 years ago

2023/04/9

Priyan

Tens of thousands of people flocked to St Peter's Square on Easter Sunday to hear the Pope deliver mass (pic BBC)

In the early hours on a stunning Easter morning in Vatican City, thousands of people from around the world waited to be let into St Peter’s Square for Pope Francis’ Mass.

Once access was opened, nuns and priests were among those who ran to secure a good vantage point, in a square bedecked with nearly 40,000 flowers donated by the Netherlands.

Just days ago they may have had doubts about whether Pope Francis, 86, would be well enough to attend Holy Week events at all. Recent complaints of breathing difficulties had led to an untimely spell in hospital.

Since being discharged after what was determined to be a bout of bronchitis, Pope Francis has managed to fulfill most of his commitments, leading Mass on Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday and Good Friday.

But for the first time since becoming pope in 2013, he did miss the Via Crucis ceremony on the evening of Good Friday at Rome’s Colosseum, which commemorates the final hours in the life of Jesus.

Many who had come to St Peter’s Square today spoke of their concerns about how the Pope might look and sound. In the end, he appeared untroubled through the 75-minute long Mass. But it was immediately afterwards that he seemed particularly energised, moving along a row of cardinals in his wheelchair to greet and smile and speak with them, before taking to his open-top vehicle to wave to the crowds.

(BBC)

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Foreign News

‘It’s so good to be home’ – passengers on Dubai-Dublin flight

Published

2 hours ago

2026/03/5

Priyan

Elaine Gleeson welcomed her sister Norita Geary home from Dubai at Dublin Airport [BBC]

“It’s so good to be home.”

The statement sums up how almost 400 people felt after their flight from Dubai arrived in Dublin on Wednesday night.

The Emirates flight was the first in a number of days after the United States-Israeli attacks on Iran led to the closure of nearly all airspace in the Middle East.

One of the passengers, Norita Geary, said: “Everyone clapped when the plane landed and we all cheered.”

“It was unreal. I mean you see these things on television, you see them in movies but you just don’t think you’ll end up there yourself,” she added.

A second flight directly to Dublin from Dubai is scheduled for Thursday, with a further 400 passengers on it.

Rushali Lakhani has long dark hair and black glasses. She is wearing a black top.

Rushali Lakhani said she is feeling “very happy” to be back [BBC]

Rushali Lakhani said she is “very happy” and “very grateful” to be back.

“It was quite a stressful time but grateful and thanking our lucky stars really.”

She said was “it was quite nerve wracking, we couldn’t really sleep much”.

“A lot of sleepless nights, a lot of bangs. There were no airplanes flying so whenever we heard some noises we knew that it wasn’t good news.”

Susan and Monica standing beside each other. Susan has brown hair tied back and a white jacket. Susan has short blonde hair and is wearing a white top and jacket. — *Susan and Monica Miller were in the airport “when it all kicked off” [BBC]*

So far 25,000 Irish citizens in the region have registered with the Department of Foreign Affairs – 2,000 of them have said they want to leave.

The Irish government has chartered a flight for Irish citizens from Muscat in Oman on Friday.

The Irish Embassy in the UAE thanked all those had registered but warned that registration is not an expression of interest in a flight.

Meanwhile, a flight chartered by the UK government which had been due to bring back some Britons stranded in the Middle East on Wednesday night did not take off as scheduled..

British citizens stuck in the Middle East have told the BBC there has been a lack of information about available routes to travel home.

The Foreign Office said two more chartered flights would depart by the end of the week.

Foreign Office officials said 138,000 British nationals in the Gulf had registered their presence, of whom 112,000 were in the UAE.

[BBC]

Foreign News

Australian girl, 8, killed in snowmobile accident in Japan

Published

1 day ago

2026/03/4

Priyan

A ski resort in Hakuba, Japan, where Chloe Jeffries was killed in a snowmobile accident. [BBC]

An eight-year-old Queensland girl has been killed after she was seriously injured in a snowmobile accident at a Japanese ski resort.

Chloe Jeffries, from the Gold Coast, was riding on a snowmobile with her mother in Hakuba Valley, Nagano prefecture, on Saturday when it overturned, trapping her underneath. She was airlifted to hospital but later died.

In a tribute from her netball club, Jeffries was remembered for her “beautiful nature” and “her cheeky, infectious smile”.

Tour operator Hakuba Lion Adventure said the vehicle flipped after going up an embankment along a forest road and that police were investigating. Jeffries is the fourth Australian to have died at a Japanese ski resort this year.

In a statement, the tour company’s CEO Shinji Wada said the “tragic accident” happened just before 11:00 local time on Saturday.

The tour was made up of nine snowmobiles including three guides, he said.

“During the tour, near an uphill curve along a forest road, the snowmobile from the front left the course while navigating the curve and rode up onto the embankment at the side of the trail.

“The vehicle subsequently overturned back onto the course. As a result of the overturn, the passenger riding tandem on the snowmobile became trapped beneath the vehicle.”

Wada said it had cancelled all its snowmobile and snowshoe tours until further notice and it would conduct a review of its operations and safety procedures.

A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said it was providing consular assistance to the family.

Last month, Melbourne man Michael ‘Micky’ Hurst, 27, died after he became separated from his group of skiers between two ski resorts in the Hokkaido region.

It’s understood he collapsed suddenly and was taken to hospital but later declared dead.

In the same week, a 22-year-old Australian woman died after becoming trapped in a ski lift at a resort in central Japan.

Brooke Day was using a chairlift at Tsugaike Mountain Resort in Otari, Nagano prefecture, when part of her backpack got tangled in the lift, leaving her suspended in midair.

The woman suffered a heart attack and was taken to hospital where she was pronounced dead, officials said at the time.

In January, Australian-Indonesian teenager Rylan Henry Pribadi died while skiing at Niseko Ski Resort in Kutchan Town, Hokkaido.

It is believed he collided with a course boundary role. The cause of death was asphyxiation, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

[BBC]

Foreign News

New charges for son of Norway’s crown princess on trial for rape

Published

1 day ago

2026/03/4

Priyan

No photographs of Marius Borg Høiby are allowed by the court during the trial [BBC]

Prosecutors in Norway have charged the son of Norway’s crown princess with reckless behaviour and violating a restraining order a month after he went on trial for rape and dozens of other alleged offences.

Marius Borg Høiby was arrested the day before his trial began at the start of February, on suspicion of threats and violence against a woman in his flat in Oslo. Police remanded him in custody for the first four weeks of the trial.

Although allegations of bodily harm and knife threats have been dropped, prosecutors say the 29-year-old has admitted reckless behaviour and violating a restraining order.

He now faces a total of 40 charges and denies the most serious allegations.

Marius Borg Høiby is the son of Crown Princess Mette-Marit and grew up in the royal family, but he is not a member of Norway’s royal house. He was four when his mother married Crown-Prince Haakon in 2001.

He has admitted some of the 40 charges against him, but denies four counts of rape which all involve a woman who was either asleep or incapacitated after they had had intercourse.

The latest charges against him relate to a woman from the upmarket Frogner area of Oslo, who he was banned from contacting at the time.

He already admitted violating a restraining order relating to the same woman at the start of the trial and partially admits other allegations that date back to 2024.

Marius Borg Høiby was first arrested after a violent incident at the woman’s Frogner flat, and spoke at the time of suffering from mental issues for years.

Although it is unusual for further charges to be added during a trial, state prosecutor Sturla Henriksbø explained that this was possible if the defendant admitted the offences. Reckless behaviour can command a jail term of up to two years in prison.

By Tuesday the trial at Oslo District Court was 17 days into the 28 days allocated for the case, which is taking place amid tight restrictions requiring no images of either the defendant or the four women he is alleged to have raped.

The only woman who can be identified is a former girlfriend, Nora Haukland, who he denies abusing. She has already given evidence to the court that he kicked, punched and choked her during their relationship between 2022-23.

Last week an audio recording was played to the court of an argument in which Marius Borg Høiby could be heard hurling abuse at Ms Haukland, a Norwegian influencer with more than 100,000 followers on Instagram.

He denies being violent and his defence counsel says his ex-girlfriend did not in any way “live in a regime of fear”.

During Tuesday’s proceedings, the court heard from Nora Haukland’s former boyfriends, including one who spoke of their “peaceful break-up” and his respect for her, and another who described their relationship as turbulent.

If found guilty of the more serious charges he could spend at least 10 years in jail.

[BBC]