Pope Francis showing ‘some’ improvement amid hospitalization for bronchitis, Vatican says
Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images
(ROME) — Pope Francis is showing “some” improvement in his lab tests as the pontiff remains hospitalized with a respiratory tract infection, the Vatican said Saturday.
The pope “rested all night” and he has no fever, the Vatican said in a statement. His treatment has been slightly modified based on further “microbiological findings,” according to the statement.
The Vatican added, “To facilitate his recovery, the medical staff prescribed absolute rest; therefore, tomorrow, Sunday, Feb. 16, the Holy Father will not lead the Angelus prayer; nevertheless, he intends to send the text for its publication.”
The pope was admitted to a hospital on Friday for “necessary tests” and to continue his ongoing bronchitis treatment, the Vatican said.
Medical tests are expected to continue over the weekend, Italian media reported.
“Pope Francis has been informed of the many messages of closeness and affection he has received and expresses his gratitude, as well as asking for continued prayers,” the Vatican added.
According to the ANSA Italian news agency, “multiple Vatican sources” earlier reported the pope spent “a quiet night” which is “consistent with the clinical picture for which he was hospitalized yesterday at the Gemelli [hospital] in Rome.”
All of the reports regarding the pontiff’s bill of health have been reassuring, indicating that his fever has also decreased since he was admitted to hospital, ANSA said.
ANSA also reported that “several sources” revealed that the pope had arrived on Friday at Gemelli very fatigued due to a difficulty in breathing related to an excess of phlegm and that the treatment he was undergoing at home had not yielded the expected results.
However, there is optimism at the Vatican about the new medical treatment started yesterday immediately after the tests, which established that the pontiff was suffering from an infection of the respiratory tract, according to ANSA.
Holy See spokesperson Matteo Bruni spoke to reporters in the press room on Saturday and said that Pope Francis “ate breakfast and read some newspapers.” He also added that “the tests and [medical] therapies” are continuing.
Rafael Caro Quintero is one of the most-wanted individuals by U.S. law enforcement after torturing and killing a Drug Enforcement agent in 1985. (Provided by the FBI)
(WASHINGTON) — A once-powerful drug lord convicted of one of the most notorious killings in the history of the Mexican narco wars is among 29 individuals Mexico transferred Thursday to the United States, law enforcement sources told ABC News.
Among those extradited is Rafael Caro Quintero, who was convicted of the 1985 torture and murder of U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agent Enrique “Kiki” Camarena.
Camarena joined the DEA in 1974, the year after its founding.
For more than four years in Mexico, Camarena investigated the country’s biggest marijuana and cocaine traffickers.
In early 1985, close to unlocking a multibillion-dollar drug pipeline, he was kidnapped while headed to a luncheon with his wife. His capture and torture were dramatized in Season 1 of the Netflix show “Narcos.”
Quintero was arrested in Mexico and convicted of Camarena’s murder later that same year.
He was released in 2013 after serving 28 years of his 40-year sentence when a Mexican judge ruled that he had been improperly tried. Quintero promptly went into hiding, as U.S. officials stridently condemned the release.
In 2018, he was added to the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted list, with a $20 million reward available for information leading to his arrest or capture.
At the time, the FBI said that he was allegedly involved in the Sinaloa cartel and the Caro-Quintero drug trafficking organization in the region of Badiraguato in Sinaloa, Mexico, and warned that he should be considered “armed and extremely dangerous.”
The criminal ringleader was once again detained in Mexico in 2022, nearly 10 years after his release.
“We will be seeking his immediate extradition to the United States so he can be tried for these crimes in the very justice system Special Agent Camarena died defending,” a statement from then-Attorney General Merrick Garland read.
That effort was fulfilled Thursday, following a staunch effort on behalf of President Donald Trump’s administration to work with Mexico to curb cartels’ activity — including the decision to designate them foreign terrorism organizations.
“Beyond the name that they give, we share with the U.S. government the fight against these groups due to the violence that they leave in the country,” Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said in February.
The extradition comes less than a week before the U.S. is set to impose 25% tariffs on its southern neighbor.
The other 28 individuals extradited to the U.S. alongside Quintero were wanted for their links with criminal organizations for drug trafficking and other crimes, according to Mexican sources.
Notable among them are: José Ángel Canobbio Inzunza (El Güerito), El Chapito’s right-hand; Antonio Oseguera (Tony Montana), brother of wanted drug lord El Mencho from the Jalisco New Generation cartel; Miguel Ángel y Óscar Omar Treviño Morales (Z40 y Z42) from Los Zetas; and Vicente Carrillo Fuentes (El Viceroy) from the Juárez cartel.
Quintero is expected to be arraigned in Brooklyn Federal Court late Friday morning. DEA agents are expected to pack the courtroom and speak outside court after the arraignment.
ABC News’ T. Michelle Murphy contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — The prime minister of Greenland warned President Donald Trump off his controversial ambition to acquire the territory, writing on social media Wednesday, “Greenland is ours.”
Trump again expressed his desire to take control of the Arctic island — which is a semiautonomous territory within Denmark — in his speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday. America, he said, would acquire the strategic territory “one way or the other.”
Prime Minister Mute Bourup Egede dismissed Trump’s remarks in a post to Facebook.
“Greenland belongs to the Greenlanders,” he wrote. “We are not Americans, we are not Danes because we are Greenlanders. This is what the Americans and their leaders need to understand, we cannot be bought and we cannot be ignored.”
“The future of the country will be determined by us in our country, of course,” Egede added. “Greenland is ours. We do not want to be Americans, nor Danes, we are Kalaallit. The Americans and their leaders must understand that.”
“We are not for sale and cannot be taken,” Egede said. “The future is decided by us in Greenland.”
Trump has expressed ambition to acquire Greenland since his first term. The mineral-rich island sits in the Arctic Circle along two potential shipping routes through the Arctic — the Northwest Passage and the Transpolar Sea Route — which are expected to become more navigable as climate change and warmer waters causes the retreat of Arctic sea ice.
During his address to Congress on Tuesday, Greenland was central to Trump’s foreign policy remarks.
“We strongly support your right to determine your own future, and if you choose, we welcome you into the United States of America,” Trump said. “We will keep you safe. We will make you rich. And together we will take Greenland to heights like you have never thought possible before.”
The president said his administration was “working with everybody involved to try to get it.”
“We need it really for international world security,” he said. “And I think we’re going to get it. One way or the other, we’re going to get it.”
Denmark has also dismissed any suggestion of transferring Greenland’s sovereignty to the U.S.
In February, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said, “Greenland is today a part of the kingdom of Denmark. It is part of our territory, and it’s not for sale.”
Frederiksen and officials in Greenland have suggested negotiations on an expanded U.S. military footprint on the island in response to Trump’s bid to acquire the territory outright.
ABC News’ Morgan Winsor contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — The Israel Defense Forces continues its intense airstrike and ground campaigns in Gaza, particularly in the north of the strip. A latest round of peace talks to end the 15-month-old war has resumed in Qatar, with high-level delegations traveling to Doha.
Meanwhile, the November ceasefire in Lebanon is holding despite ongoing Israeli airstrikes on Hezbollah targets, which Israeli officials say are responses to ceasefire violations by the Iranian-backed militant group. Israeli forces also remain active inside the Syrian border region as victorious rebels there build a transitional government.
Tensions remain high between Israel and Iran after tit-for-tat long-range strikes in recent months and threats of further military action from both sides. The IDF and the Yemeni Houthis also continue to exchange attacks.
Netanyahu says Philadelphi snag was resolved
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said in a statement that the snag about control of the Philadelphia axis — the strip of land between Gaza and Egypt — has been worked out.
However, his office said they are still working out several unresolved issues.
“In light of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s firm stance, Hamas has backed down on its demand at the last minute to change the deployment of forces on the Philadelphia axis,” the prime minister’s office said in a statement. “However, there are still several unresolved clauses in the outline, and we hope that the details will be finalized tonight.”
Trump celebrates ceasefire, takes credit for deal
President-elect Donald Trump immediately posted on Truth Social about the agreement on the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.
He wrote, in all caps, “WE HAVE A DEAL FOR THE HOSTAGES IN THE MIDDLE EAST. THEY WILL BE RELEASED SHORTLY. THANK YOU!”
He then also followed that up with a post taking credit for the deal, though the Biden administration has also been involved in the negotiations.
“This EPIC ceasefire agreement could have only happened as a result of our Historic Victory in November, as it signaled to the entire World that my Administration would seek Peace and negotiate deals to ensure the safety of all Americans, and our Allies,” Trump wrote.
Israel and Hamas reach ceasefire agreement
A ceasefire agreement has been reached between Israel and Hamas, more than 15 months into the conflict.
A new round of ceasefire negotiations began on Jan. 3 in Qatar. Delegations from Israel and Hamas were dispatched to Doha to resume the negotiations, which were brokered by Qatari and Egyptian mediators. The Biden administration also helped broker the talks.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken had previously told reporters the United States wanted a ceasefire deal in Gaza and all remaining captives released before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.
Blinken on Jan. 6 reported “intensified engagement,” including by Hamas, on reaching a deal, though he added, “We are yet to see agreement on final points.”
A ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas has hit a last-minute snag, with both sides at odds over the Philadelphia axis, a piece of land separating the Gaza Strip and Egypt, according to an Israeli source with direct knowledge of the negotiations.
“The Israeli negotiating team was recently informed that the Hamas terrorist organization decided at the last minute to make new demands – this time regarding the Philadelphia axis, in contrast to the maps that have already been approved by the cabinet and American mediators. Israel strongly opposes any changes to these maps,” the Israeli source told ABC News.
Hamas has given green light to ceasefire deal, sources say
Two sources close to the ceasefire negotiations tell ABC News Hamas has given the green light to the agreement.
“We are very close,” the sources said. “The goal (is) an agreement today or tomorrow.”
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
IDF attacks 50 Gaza targets as ceasefire deal nears
The Israel Defense Forces and Israeli intelligence agencies coordinated to attack around 50 targets across the Gaza Strip in the previous 24 hours, the IDF said in a Wednesday morning post to X.
The attacks targeted Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the IDF said.
It reported strikes in Gaza City in the north of the strip, Khan Younis in the south and Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.
The targets included “terrorist cells, weapons depots, underground infrastructure, anti-tank positions and military structures,” the IDF said.
The latest wave of strikes came as ceasefire negotiators in Qatar reportedly neared a deal to pause — and eventually scale down — the 15-month-old war.
Israel, Hamas agree on core elements of Gaza ceasefire, but haggling over details: US officials
Israel and the highest ranks of Hamas have now agreed to the core elements of the hostage release-ceasefire deal on the table, but both sides are continuing to haggle over the details of the proposal, according to two officials familiar with the negotiations.
The outstanding differences are seen as relatively minor, but talks are expected to continue into Wednesday, the officials said.
Many of the items that are still being ironed out are tied to stubborn sticking points that have emerged in the past, like the operation of the Rafah border crossing and Israeli security concerns connected to the movement of displaced Palestinians back to their homes in northern Gaza.
The disagreements are unlikely to derail progress at this point, according to the officials.
Two of the three Americans that are possibly alive inside Gaza are poised to be released in the initial days or weeks of the ceasefire if an agreement is reached, but an official said they expect the releases will happen slower than they did during the truce in November 2023.
While they don’t have recent proof of life for the two Americans, the assumption is that they and most — but not all — of the 33 hostages freed under the deal will be returned alive.
-ABC News’ Shannon K. Kingston
Israel waiting to hear back from Hamas on ceasefire agreement
Israel is currently waiting to hear back from Hamas on the most recent draft language of a ceasefire deal, sources told ABC News.
The two sides are reportedly closer to an agreement than ever before, according to a spokesperson for Qatar Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim bin Jabr Al Thani.
“The ongoing talks in Doha regarding Gaza are fruitful, positive and focus on the final details. Meetings are underway in Doha between the parties to the agreement and we are awaiting updates from them,” the spokesperson told ABC News.
Implementation of the agreement will begin shortly after it is announced, according to the spokesperson.
Qatar expecting ceasefire deal ‘soon’
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said at a Tuesday briefing that participants in the ongoing Gaza ceasefire talks in Doha are close to a ceasefire deal.
“We expect the agreement to be announced soon,” the spokesperson said during the press conference.
Qatar is a key mediator between Israel and Hamas and has hosted several rounds of ceasefire talks in the capital Doha.
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta
61 Palestinians killed in Gaza as ceasefire talks continue
The Gaza Ministry of Health said Tuesday that Israel Defense Forces strikes killed at least 61 Palestinians in the previous 24 hours and injured 281 more in the Hamas-run territory.
The total number of Palestinians killed since the war broke out on Oct. 7, 2023, is now 46,645 with 110,012 people injured, according to the ministry.
-ABC News’ Somayeh Malekian
Hamas says Gaza talks are in ‘final stages’
Hamas said in a statement Tuesday that ceasefire, prisoner and hostage release talks with Israel are in their “final stages,” adding it hopes “that this round of negotiations will end with a clear and comprehensive agreement.”
In a statement posted to the group’s website, Hamas said it held meetings and consultations with leaders of other Palestinian factions regarding the progress made in ongoing negotiations in Doha, Qatar.
“During these contacts, the leaders of the forces and factions expressed their satisfaction with the course of the negotiations, stressing the need for general national preparation for the next stage and its requirements,” Hamas said.
-ABC News’ Nasser Atta
Israel hoping for ceasefire announcement ‘soon,’ official says
An Israeli government official told ABC News on Tuesday morning they “hope we can announce something soon” regarding a potential ceasefire in Gaza.
The official said there had been “real progress” on every part of the negotiation in the last few days.
The official added that Hamas has changed and they are no longer “dictating” the terms, but are negotiating. “We are close, but not there yet,” they said.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
Sirens sound in central Israel after projectile launched from Yemen: IDF
A projectile was fired from Yemen towards Israel, the IDF said in a release early Tuesday morning local time.
Sirens were sounded in a number of areas in central Israel, the IDF said.
Latest on hostages in ceasefire deal
Thirty-three hostages, living and dead, are expected to be freed in the first phase of the ceasefire deal, according to a person with direct knowledge of the ongoing negotiations.
There are 94 abductees remaining in Gaza, including 34 who have been confirmed dead, according to Israeli officials.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller
‘Real chance’ of ceasefire success, source says
A source close to the ongoing Gaza ceasefire talks in Qatar told ABC News that Israel is waiting for Hamas to approve moving into a final “closing round of negotiations,” adding there is a “real chance” for a “breakthrough” after a diplomatic blitz in Doha this weekend.
“We still have ahead of us a closing round of negotiations,” the source added
Reuters reported Monday that mediators in Qatar handed both Israel and Hamas a final draft of the ceasefire proposal, citing an official briefed on the negotiations.
Reuters reported that the official said a breakthrough was reached after talks between Steve Witkoff — President-elect Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy — the Qatari prime minister and Israeli spy chiefs.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar, meanwhile, said Monday “there is progress,” and that the situation “looks much better than previously.”
“I don’t want to say more than that because I realize there are families and they are sensitive to every word, and every sentence,” Saar added. “I hope that within a short time we will see things happening, but it is still to be proved.”
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Guy Davies
Far-right minister says potential Gaza ceasefire deal represents ‘catastrophe’
Israel’s far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he will not support the potential Gaza ceasefire deal currently being negotiated in Qatar, describing it as “a catastrophe for the national security of Israel.”
“We will not be part of a surrender deal that would include releasing arch terrorists, stopping the war and destroying its achievements that were bought with much blood and abandoning many hostages,” Smotrich wrote in a post to X on Monday.
“Now is the time to continue with all our might, to occupy and cleanse the entire strip, to finally take control of humanitarian aid from Hamas and to open the gates of hell on Gaza until Hamas surrenders completely and all the hostages are returned.”
-ABC News’ Dana Savir
Netanyahu spoke with Biden on ceasefire and hostage deal
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he spoke with President Joe Biden on Sunday about progress in negotiating a ceasefire and hostage deal.
A senior White House administration official confirmed the call to ABC News.
“The Prime Minister discussed with the US President the progress in negotiations for the release of our hostages, and updated him on the mandate he gave to the negotiating delegation to Doha, in order to promote the release of our hostages,” Netanyahu’s office wrote in a release about the call.
According to the White House, Biden and Netanyahu “discussed the fundamentally changed regional circumstances following the ceasefire deal in Lebanon, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, and the weakening of Iran’s power in the region.”
The call comes as Brett McGurk, the White House Coordinator for the Middle East and North Africa, is in the Middle East for negotiations. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday that McGurk is there to hammer out the “final details” of an agreement.
-ABC News’ Jordana Miller and Michelle Stoddart
100 days of Israel’s north Gaza assault
Sunday marked 100 days since the Israel Defense Forces launched its military operation in northern Gaza, with the toll of dead and missing Palestinians now at 5,000 people, according to a report published by the Gaza media office in the Hamas-run territory.
Some 9,500 more people have been injured and 2,600 have been detained including women and children, the report said.
Israel continues striking targets across the strip. Over the last 24 hours, IDF attacks killed 24 Palestinians, according to data published by the Palestinian Health Ministry.
The report added that 46,565 Palestinians have been killed by Israel throughout Gaza since the war began in October 2023, with another 109,660 people injured.
Israeli attacks in the north of Gaza have targeted civilian infrastructures and hospitals, which combined with a siege of the area have worsened a humanitarian crisis there.
Calling for an end to the war, the Gaza media office report urged the international community — including the UN — to take immediate action to stop the assault and address the humanitarian crisis in the strip.
Israeli strikes on Gaza continued as Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dispatched senior negotiators to Qatar for ceasefire, prisoner and hostage release talks attended by President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming Middle East adviser, Steven Witkoff, and President Joe Biden’s outgoing adviser, Brett McGurk.
-ABC News’ Samy Zyara and Jordana Miller
High-level delegations gather in Doha for Gaza talks
For the first time in months, Israeli sources are expressing cautious optimism that a Gaza ceasefire may be within reach before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20.
Officials close to the matter told ABC News on Sunday that a high-level Israeli delegation led by the head of the Mossad — David Barnea — arrived in Doha, Qatar, for a critical round of talks.
Others participating are Egyptian and U.S. officials including President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming Middle East adviser, Steven Witkoff, and President Joe Biden’s outgoing adviser, Brett McGurk.
Witkoff made a surprise visit to Israel Saturday and met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
According to Israel’s Channel 12, progress on some issues has been made — including the ratio of Palestinian prisoners to be released and the details of the Israel Defense Forces’ redeployment.
But some outstanding issues remain, including whether Hamas can provide Israel with a list of hostages who are alive. A Hamas official told Saudi media on Saturday that the group is ready to show flexibility.
The first phase of the deal is expected to last six to eight weeks, as the report suggests. A leaked hostage list by Hamas shows the names of two Americans to be released in the first phase. Seven Americans are among the 94 hostages, three of whom are presumed to still be alive.
