6.1 magnitude earthquake reported near Greece: USGS
(FRY, GREECE) — A 6.1 magnitude earthquake was reported near Greece early Wednesday local time, according to the United States Geological Survey.
Greek Emergency Management warned of a possible tsunami risk following the quake, which the agency reported as occurring nearly 30 miles southeast of Kasos as a 5.9 magnitude earthquake.
“Move away from the coast immediately,” Greek Emergency Management said.
The USGS said the epicenter is located over 9 miles south of Fry, Greece.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(ROME) — As Pope Francis begins his 23rd consecutive day in hospital, the Vatican says that his “overall condition remains stable within his complex medical situation and the prognosis remains reserved.”
“The pope had a quiet night,” the Vatican said Saturday morning. “The pope is resting.”
On Friday, the 88-year-old pontiff “spent about 20 minutes in prayer in his chapel on the 10th floor apartment and the rest of the day alternated between rest, physiotherapy, prayer and a bit of work,” the Vatican said.
He continues to use “high-flow oxygen therapy during the day and non-invasive mechanical ventilation at night as he has done these past days,” according to the Vatican.
“The doctors are still maintaining the prognosis as reserved,” the Vatican said.
Francis, who has led the Catholic Church since 2013, was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Feb. 14 and was diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia.
(LONDON) –The success of a nascent potential agreement between Ukraine and Russia to pause naval and energy infrastructure attacks will depend on Moscow, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, warning that Kyiv has no trust for Russian President Vladimir Putin after more than three years of full-scale war.
“Now, results are needed from Russia,” Zelenskyy said in his evening address on Tuesday. “We do not trust them. And frankly — the world doesn’t trust Russia. And they must prove that they are truly ready to end the war — ready to stop lying to the world, to President [Donald] Trump and to America.”
“How Russia behaves in the coming days will reveal a lot — if not everything,” he said.
“If there are air raid alerts again, if there is renewed military activity in the Black Sea, if Russian manipulations and threats continue — then new measures will need to be taken, specifically against Moscow,” Zelenskyy said.
Russia and Ukraine “agreed to ensure safe navigation, eliminate the use of force and prevent the use of commercial vessels for military purposes in the Black Sea,” according to White House readouts, published Tuesday after three days of meetings with representatives from Kyiv and Moscow in Saudi Arabia.
The nations also agreed to “develop measures to implement the agreement to ban strikes against energy facilities in Russia and Ukraine,” the White House said. Trump said, “We are making a lot of progress.”
Drone strikes continued through Tuesday night into Wednesday despite the apparent progress on a partial ceasefire agreement.
Ukraine’s air force said Russia launched 117 drones into the country overnight, of which 56 were shot down and 48 lost in flight. “Sumy, Dnipropetrovsk, Kirovohrad and Cherkasy regions were affected by the Russian attack,” the air force wrote on Telegram.
In Russia, the Defense Ministry said its forces downed nine Ukrainian drones, including two over the Black Sea. In the western Belgorod region, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said a drone attack wounded one person and broke the windows of several buildings.
On Wednesday morning, Zelenskyy said in a statement posted on Telegram that “there were 117 more pieces of evidence in our sky that Russia is dragging out this war — 117 strike drones.” He added, “To launch such large-scale strikes after ceasefire negotiations is to show everyone in the world with all the obviousness that Moscow is not going to make a real peace.”
“Strong steps from the world and clear pressure on Russia are needed,” Zelenskyy continued. “More pressure, more sanctions from the U.S., so that the Russian strikes stop.”
Questions remain as to the nuances and extent of the agreements. Russia and Ukraine both released their own readouts emphasizing different elements of what was purportedly agreed with the U.S.
Russia for example, said the U.S. agreed to “help restore access to the world market for Russian exports of agricultural products and fertilizers,” plus to reduce the cost of shipping insurance and expand access to ports and payment systems. Such steps will require the lifting of some sanctions on Russian agricultural and food companies, the Kremlin said.
That point was not reflected in the Ukrainian readout. Kyiv’s announcement also said the U.S. would help with prisoner of war exchanges, the release of civilian detainees and the return of forcibly transferred Ukrainian children — a topic not mentioned in the Russian readout.
After Putin spoke with Trump last week, the White House said a proposed 30-day partial ceasefire would pause attacks on “energy and infrastructure.” The Kremlin said the agreement referred to “energy infrastructure.” Tuesday’s White House statement reverted to the wording used by Russia.
Russia said the proposed 30-day pause in attacks on energy infrastructure began on March 18, and on Tuesday published a list of facilities subject to the pause in strikes. Moscow said either side could opt out of the freeze in the event of violations by the other. All nuclear and other power plants, oil and gas depots, pipelines and storage facilities, plus hydroelectric dams were among the facilities included.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov repeated the same claims Wednesday to reporters.
“As for whether it means anything or not, I can only repeat what I said both the day before yesterday and yesterday: Putin’s order on the moratorium [on strikes on energy facilities] is in force and is being implemented by our armed forces,” Peskov said.
Both sides have accused the other of continuing to attack energy and other critical infrastructure targets throughout the ceasefire negotiations. Zelenskyy’s communications adviser, Dmytro Lytvyn, said in a post on X on Tuesday that Russia has hit Ukrainian energy infrastructure eight times since March 18.
“I think there will be a million questions and details,” Zelenskyy said Tuesday, shortly after the news on the negotiations was announced.
Later, in his evening video address, Zelenskyy said the onus for the success of the partial ceasefire is on Moscow.
“Diplomacy must work,” he added. “And from the Ukrainian side, we are doing everything to make that happen. I thank everyone who is helping. I am grateful to the United States for the constructive and effective work of our teams.”
ABC News’ Patrick Reevell, Anna Sergeeva and Will Gretsky contributed to this report.
Candles with a portrait of Pope Francis are seen outside the Policlinico A. Gemelli Hospital where Pope Francis is hospitalized for pneumonia, on March 9, 2025 in Rome, Italy. Pope Francis was hospitalized in Rome on February 14 with bronchitis, and later developed pneumonia in both his lungs. (Photo by Antonio Masiello/Getty Images)
(ROME) — Pope Francis has begun his 28th consecutive day in hospital on the 12th anniversary of when he was elected pope in 2013 following five ballots in a papal conclave.
While no events are planned to mark the pontiff’s 12 years as head of the Catholic church, it is a public holiday in the Vatican, as it is each year, to mark the anniversary.
Pope Francis’ condition remained “stationary” on Wednesday, with tests confirming his improvement, according to the Vatican.
A chest X-ray performed on Tuesday confirmed improvements recorded over the past few days, the Holy See, the Vatican’s press office, said in its Wednesday evening update.
The pope continues to undergo high-flow oxygen therapy during the day and “noninvasive mechanical ventilation during his night rest,” the Vatican said.
Pope Francis’ prognosis was “lifted” on Monday, meaning he is no longer in imminent danger, but the clinical picture remains complex.
The 88-year-old pontiff will continue “for additional days, the pharmacological medical therapy in a hospital environment” due to the “complexity of the clinical picture and the significant infectious picture presented at hospitalization,” the Vatican said.
Francis’ doctors said there are positive signs of the pontiff’s recovery, but caution remains, according to Vatican sources, after he was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Feb. 14 and was diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia.
