ROME (AP) — Pope Francis told ambassadors accredited to the Holy See on Thursday that he wasn’t up to delivering his annual foreign policy speech and asked an aide to deliver it instead.
A congested-sounding Francis began the speech, greeting the ambassadors gathered in the Hall of Blessings.
But just a few lines into the lengthy speech, which usually recaps highlights of the past year, the 88-year-old Francis said he was still battling a cold and handed the remarks over to an aide.
Francis, who had part of one lung removed as a young man, often suffers bouts of bronchitis in winter that leave him out of breath and make it difficult to speak at length. He has just emerged from a grueling Christmas period in which he inaugurated the Vatican’s Holy Year celebrations.
He has sounded congested in recent days but has nevertheless kept up with his typically busy schedule.
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Pope Francis attends his weekly general audience in the Paul VI Hall, at the Vatican, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
MADRID (AP) — Spain's airport authority will start to limit access to Madrid's airport during some parts of the day as a preventive measure to stop more homeless people from sleeping in its terminals.
Only travelers with boarding passes, airport employees and those accompanying someone with a ticket will be allowed to enter the airport during hours with few departing and arriving flights, Spain's airport authority AENA said late Wednesday night.
AENA said the limits would be implemented sometime in the the next few days, but did not specify exactly when or during what hours of the day.
For months, the Spanish capital's airport has seen homeless encampments in some of its terminals with individuals in sleeping bags occupying space near walls and bathrooms. Local media described the number of homeless people to be in the hundreds.
This week, AENA said it had asked Madrid city officials for help in addressing the problem months ago, but so far has received insufficient help.
“Airports are not places designed for living in, but rather are infrastructure solely for transit, which in no case offers adequate conditions for overnight stays,” AENA said in a statement Wednesday.
A political blame game between authorities at different levels of government has left the issue largely unaddressed before the peak summer travel season.
Spain received a record 94 million international tourists in 2024.
FILE - Iberia jets are seen in a parking zone as police walk through the airport during a Iberia airline workers strike at Barajas international airport in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, March 5, 2013. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki, File)
A person sleeps on the floor of Terminal 4 at Adolfo Suárez-Madrid Barajas Airport in Madrid, Spain, Monday, May 12, 2025. (Diego Radames/Europa Press via AP)
