Britain’s King Charles and Queen Camilla are set to visit Pope Francis during their trip to Italy and the Vatican in April despite the pontiff’s ill-health following his hospitalization around a month ago.

The announcement of the royal visit is likely to be read as an indication that the Vatican believes the pope will be out of hospital in the coming weeks.

As part of the four-day state visit, Charles and Camilla are expected to visit the Holy See to join Pope Francis in celebrating Jubilee year – or Holy Year – which takes place every quarter of a century and is focused on forgiveness and reconciliation.

Francis has been in Rome’s Gemelli hospital since mid-February with no timeline for his release.

The royal trip, from April 7 to 10, would be a “historic visit” and a “significant step forward in relations between the Catholic Church and Church of England,” Buckingham Palace said Tuesday.

Despite the turbulent past of the Reformation and King Henry VIII’s break with Rome almost 500 years ago, relations between the Vatican and the British monarchy are today marked by warmth and mutual respect.

The UK and the Holy See have had full diplomatic relations since 1982. As Prince of Wales, Charles visited Vatican City on five occasions.

The King and Queen are expected to attend a service at the Sistine Chapel “focused on the theme of ‘care for creation,’ reflecting Pope Francis’ and His Majesty’s long-standing commitment to nature,” the palace said.

Charles and Francis are both passionate defenders of the environment and champion the importance of interfaith dialogue.

The royal visit was first announced on February 7, just one week before Francis was admitted to hospital with a “respiratory tract infection,” which was later diagnosed as pneumonia.

He has remained in hospital since then, in what is his longest stay since his election as pope 12 years ago.

The pontiff remains in a stable condition but still requires medical treatment, the Vatican press office said Monday, adding that Francis was able to pray and carry out a small amount of work duties.

On Sunday, the Vatican released the first photo of Francis since his hospitalization, showing him at the chapel in Gemelli hospital.

Charles and Camilla’s visit will also be an opportunity to shore up the relationship between Italy and the United Kingdom, with the royal couple carrying out engagements in Rome and Ravenna in the northern Emilia-Romagna region.

One nationalist influencer called it “truly gratifying.” Another said he was laughing his head off. And a state-media editorial hailed the demise of what it called the “lie factory.”

Chinese nationalists and state media could hardly contain their schadenfreude after President Donald Trump signed an executive order Friday to dismantle Voice of America (VOA), Radio Free Asia (RFA) and other US government-funded media organizations that broadcast to authoritarian regimes.

For years, the Chinese government and its propaganda apparatus have relentlessly attacked VOA and RFA for their critical coverage of China, particularly on human rights and religious freedom.

And now, the Trump administration is silencing the very institutions that Beijing has long sought to undermine – at a time when China is spending lavishly to expand the global footprint of its own state media.

In an editorial Monday, the Global Times, a pugnacious Communist Party-run newspaper, denounced VOA as a “lie factory” with an “appalling track record” on China reporting.

From its coverage of alleged human rights abuses in the far western Xinjiang region to reporting on South China Sea disputes, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the coronavirus pandemic and the Chinese economy, “almost every malicious falsehood about China has VOA’s fingerprints all over it,” the editorial claimed.

“As more Americans begin to break through their information cocoons and see a real world and a multidimensional China, the demonizing narratives propagated by VOA will ultimately become a laughingstock of the times,” it added.

VOA’s China coverage stretches back decades. During the 1989 Tiananmen pro-democracy protests, its Chinese-language radio broadcasts became a critical source of uncensored information for the Chinese people. (VOA discontinued its Chinese radio broadcasts in 2011 but its Chinese language website remained online as of Monday.)

RFA, founded in 1996, broadcasts to China in English, Chinese, Uyghur and Tibetan-language services, catering to ethnic minorities whose freedoms the Chinese government has long been accused of suppressing.

RFA CEO Bay Fang called the US grant cutoff “a reward to dictators and despots, including the Chinese Communist Party, who would like nothing better than to have their influence go unchecked in the information space.”

On Chinese social media, nationalist influencers celebrated the demise of VOA, which has placed all 1,300 staff on administrative leave, and of RFA, which said it may cease operations following the termination of federal grants.

“Voice of America has been paralyzed! And so has Radio Free Asia, which is just as malicious toward China. How truly gratifying!” wrote Hu Xijin, a former editor-in-chief of the Global Times and prominent nationalist commentator.

“Almost all Chinese people know the Voice of America, as it is a symbolic tool of US ideological infiltration into China,” Hu wrote in a post on microblogging site Weibo, where he has nearly 25 million followers. “(I) believe that Chinese people are more than happy to see America’s anti-China ideological stronghold crumble from within, scattering like a flock of startled birds.”

Another nationalist commentator accused VOA and RFA of being “notorious propaganda machines for color revolutions,” referring to protests of the 2000s that toppled governments in the former Soviet Union and the Balkans.

“I’m laughing my head off!” they said.

Others cheered Trump, who during his first term in office was nicknamed “Chuan Jianguo,” or “Trump, the (Chinese) nation builder” by the Chinese internet, in a mocking suggestion that the US president’s isolationist foreign policy and divisive domestic agenda was helping Beijing to overtake Washington on the global stage.

“Thank you, Comrade Chuan Jianguo and Elon Musk, please take care and stay safe,” a Weibo user said on Monday.

Musk, the billionaire adviser to Trump who has been spearheading sweeping cuts to the US government, has used his social media platform X to call for VOA to be shut down.

“This news marks the end of an era,” said another comment on Weibo on Sunday.

The White House defended Trump’s executive order in a statement Saturday, claiming it “will ensure that taxpayers are no longer on the hook for radical propaganda.”

But as the US-funded stations dial down, China is busy amplifying its own messages to the world.

Under leader Xi Jinping, China has drastically expanded the reach and influence of its state media outlets as part of its push to gain “discourse power” in a world it sees as unfairly dominated by the Western narrative.

In 2018, Beijing announced the creation of a giant media conglomerate by merging three existing state-run networks aimed at overseas audiences to better combine resources. Its name? Voice of China.

The shopfronts are decked out in white, blue and red, with Chinese and Russian flags hanging side by side from the ceiling. Waist-high Russian dolls greet customers at the entrance. Inside, shelves are stocked with an array of Russian goods – from chocolates and cookies to honey and vodka.

In China, pop-up stores specializing in Russian-made products have become an increasingly common sight. Their proliferation has left some residents puzzled, with many on Chinese social media questioning why these stores seem to have sprung up overnight.

Thousands of such stores have opened across the country in recent years, tapping into the Chinese public’s affinity for Russia and deepening trade ties between Beijing and Moscow since Vladimir Putin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in 2022.

China has become a critical economic lifeline for sanctions-hit Russia, with bilateral trade reaching record highs year after year. While cheap Russian oil, gas, and coal dominate China’s imports, Russian food products – such as ice cream, sweet biscuits and milk powder – have also risen sharply in popularity.

Chinese businesses have rushed to capitalize on the booming demand.

More than 2,500 new companies involved in the trade of Russian goods have been registered since 2022, according to China’s business records, with nearly half registered in the past year alone. Around 80% of the new firms that rushed to cash in on the craze remained in operation as of this month, business registration records show.

Most of these companies are based in Heilongjiang, the northeastern province bordering Russia, though in the past two years they’ve spread in other provinces.

More than aquatic and agricultural products, which make up the bulk of China’s food imports from Russia, it is Russian-branded chocolates, biscuits and milk powder that have captured the attention of Chinese consumers, appealing directly to the “Made in Russia” brand promoted by Moscow.

The stores’ explosive growth – dubbed “crazy” by a Chinese state media report – has also sparked scrutiny over the authenticity of their products. Investigations by media outlets and influencers alike have revealed that some Russian branded items were actually made in China, prompting authorities to crack down on misleading labeling and advertising.

‘Better fit’

At a Russian goods store in downtown Beijing in February, a shop assistant arranged rows of neatly packaged candies, biscuits, and milk powder – some of the store’s most popular items.

“The best seller is Russian honey – it’s a big hit. And this chocolate is pure. They’re all very good,” she said, gesturing toward a wide selection of chocolates.

In the background, a loudspeaker played a looping message, welcoming customers to the “Russian Goods Pavilion” and hailing Russian products for their “healthiness, natural ingredients, and high quality.”

“This is not only a platform for selling Russian products but also a window showcasing Russian culture and charm,” it declared.

Liang Jinghao, a tourist from the northern Shanxi province, said he had seen many similar Russian goods stores back home. “Russia is a very good country, with a vast land area and rich resources, and its people are also very friendly,” he said.

Su, 20, has opened three Russian goods stores in Pingliang, a small city in the northwestern province of Gansu, since September last year.

“China and Russia have maintained pretty good relations in recent years, and personally, I have a fairly positive view of Russia as a country,” she said.

Su’s stores also sell products from Sri Lanka and Australia, but they were far less popular, she said. “I think Russian products are a better fit for the local taste,” she said.

Official support

As Putin wages his grinding war on Ukraine, China and Russia have grown closer than ever, accelerating a trend driven by their shared animosity toward the US and common goal of pushing back at a Washington-led global order.

Russia and its autocratic leader also enjoy wide popularity among the Chinese public.

In a poll released last year by the Center for International Security and Strategy at Beijing’s Tsinghua University, 66% of respondents expressed “very favorable” or “somewhat favorable” views toward Russia. By contrast, about 76% expressed “unfavorable views” toward the United States.

The made-in-Russia craze can be traced back to early 2022, according to Chinese state media.

Just days after Russian tanks rolled into Ukraine, the “Russian State Pavilion” – an e-commerce store endorsed by the Russian embassy in China – went viral on Chinese social media. Shoppers rushed to snap up everything from candies to tea sachets, spending nearly 6 million yuan ($826,000) on Russian goods within three days, according to Chinese media reports at the time.

In a short video posted on the online store, a Russian business representative toasted “the friendship of old Chinese friends under this complicated and constantly changing international situation.”

By April 2023, more than 300 Moscow-based companies had joined Chinese e-commerce platforms, including Taobao and JD, according to Russian state news agency Sputnik, citing the Moscow Export Center.

The following year, the first “Made in Russia Festival and Fair” debuted in Shenyang and Dalian, the two biggest cities in Liaoning province in northeast China. The event was organised by the Russian Export Centre – a state-owned development institute – with support from Moscow and the provincial government.

More than 150 Russian companies participated in the week-long event, selling $2.3 million of Russian goods to Chinese consumers online and offline, Sputnik reported, citing the Russian Export Center. Three more such fairs have since been held, including in the southwestern metropolis of Chengdu.

The Russian Export Center has authorized eight official retail stores in China under the “Russian State Pavilion” brand. However, these outlets are vastly outnumbered by thousands of unofficial stores capitalizing on the surging demand for Russian products.

Scrutiny and backlash

As their popularity grows, the unofficial stores have also come under greater scrutiny from Chinese consumers and media, especially over the quality and authenticity of the goods sold there.

Late last year, Chinese shoppers took to social media to complain that some products labeled as Russian for sale at the stores were in fact made in China and other countries, including Malaysia.

A report by state-affiliated Jiemian News found a significant portion of food products sold at Russian goods stores – such as bread, sausage and milk powder – were produced in factories in northeastern China.

On Douyin, China’s version of TikTok, Russian influencers based in China rushed to expose what they called “fake Russian goods.”

“I’ve never seen these candies in Russia. The packaging is all fake,” a Russian Douyin user said.

“There’s absolutely nothing like this in Russia,” said another, holding a sausage at a store in Shanghai, while a shopkeeper could be heard in the background asking her to stop filming.

The Russian embassy in China also weighed in, warning Chinese customers against “counterfeits” disguised as Russian goods. “These products often do not meet quality requirements and are different from similar products produced in Russia, but Russian words are used on the packaging to imitate the Russian origin,” it said in a statement.

Following the outcry, market regulators in Shanghai launched two rounds of inspections on 47 Russian goods stores in the city. Seven of them were accused of falsely advertising themselves as “state pavilions,” misleading customers into believing they have official backing; others created “highly misleading impressions” about the origins of their products, the regulators said in a statement in January.

Some stores were ordered to close, while others were fined and required to label domestically produced goods more clearly. Other cities soon followed suit with similar inspections.

Despite the controversy, the popularity of Russian goods is driving more stores to open in China, including official ones.

The Russian Export Center said in February it plans to set up as many as 300 Russian goods stores with Chinese partners across the country before the end of the year.

At this year’s “Made in Russia Festival and Fair” in Shenyang, Veronika Nikishina, director general of the Russian Export Center, offered a tip for distinguishing authentic Russian products from counterfeits.

Genuine goods carry a dove-shaped “Made in Russia” label on their packaging, with Russia clearly marked as the country of origin, she explained.

“We sincerely hope that all Chinese consumers can purchase authentic, high-quality Russian-made products,” Nikishina said.

The head of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has been killed in Iraq in an operation by members of the Iraqi national intelligence service along with US-led coalition forces, the Iraqi prime minister announced Friday.

“The Iraqis continue their impressive victories over the forces of darkness and terrorism,” Prime Minister Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said in a statement posted on X.

Abdallah Maki Mosleh al-Rifai, or “Abu Khadija,” was “deputy caliph” of the militant group and “one of the most dangerous terrorists in Iraq and the world,” the statement said.

On his Truth Social platform Friday night, US President Donald Trump said: “Today the fugitive leader of ISIS in Iraq was killed. He was relentlessly hunted down by our intrepid warfighters” in coordination with the Iraqi government and the Kurdish regional government.

“PEACE THROUGH STRENGTH!” Trump posted.

A security official said the operation was carried out by an airstrike in Anbar province, in western Iraq. A second official said the operation took place Thursday night but that al-Rifai’s death was confirmed Friday. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

The announcement came on the same day as the first visit by Syria’s top diplomat to Iraq, during which the two countries pledged to work together to combat IS.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fouad Hussein said at a news conference that “there are common challenges facing Syrian and Iraqi society, and especially the terrorists of IS.” He said the officials had spoken “in detail about the movements of ISIS, whether on the Syrian-Iraqi border, inside Syria or inside Iraq” during the visit.

Hussein referred to an operations room formed by Syria, Iraq, Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon at a recent meeting in Amman to confront IS, and said it would soon begin work.

The relationship between Iraq and Syria is somewhat fraught after the fall of former Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Al-Sudani came to power with the support of a coalition of Iran-backed factions, and Tehran was a major backer of Assad. The current interim president of Syria, Ahmad al-Sharaa, was previously known as Abu Mohammed al-Golani and fought as an al-Qaida militant in Iraq after the US invasion of 2003, and later fought against Assad’s government in Syria.

But Syrian interim Foreign Minister Asaad Hassan al-Shibani focused on the historic ties between the two countries.

“Throughout history, Baghdad and Damascus have been the capitals of the Arab and Islamic world, sharing knowledge, culture and economy,” he said.

Strengthening the partnership between the two countries “will not only benefit our peoples, but will also contribute to the stability of the region, making us less dependent on external powers and better able to determine our own destiny,” he said.

The operation and the visit come at a time when Iraqi officials are anxious about an IS resurgence in the wake of the fall of Assad in Syria.

While Syria’s new rulers – led by the Islamist former insurgent group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham – have pursued IS cells since taking power, some fear a breakdown in overall security that could allow the group to stage a resurgence.

The US and Iraq announced an agreement last year to wind down the military mission in Iraq of an American-led coalition fighting the Islamic State group by September 2025, with US forces departing some bases where they have stationed troops during a two-decade-long military presence in the country.

When the agreement was reached to end the coalition’s mission in Iraq, Iraqi political leaders said the threat of IS was under control and they no longer needed Washington’s help to beat back the remaining cells.

But the fall of Assad in December led some to reassess that stance, including members of the Coordination Framework, a coalition of mainly Shiite, Iran-allied political parties that brought current Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammad Shia al-Sudani to power in late 2022.

Measles cases in the European region surged last year to reach their highest levels since 1997, the World Health Organization and the UN’s children agency, UNICEF, said Thursday.

An analysis by WHO and UNICEF found the number of measles cases reported in European region reached 127,352 in 2024, double the reported number from the previous year.

Children younger than 5 accounted for 40% of those who contracted measles in the region, it said, adding that half a million children missed their first dose of the measles vaccine in 2023.

“Measles is back, and it’s a wake-up call. Without high vaccination rates, there is no health security,” Dr. Hans P. Kluge, WHO’s regional director for Europe, said in a statement.

The rise comes after a “backsliding in immunization coverage during the pandemic,” the report said. Vaccination rates in numerous countries have yet to return to pre-Covid levels, increasing the risk of further outbreaks, it warned.

The European region accounted for a third of all measles cases globally in 2024, the report said. Immunization coverage for most of the region, it added, has fallen “below the recommended level for herd immunity, which is a vaccination rate of 95 per cent or higher.”

The situation is acute in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Romania where, the report says, less than 80% of eligible children were vaccinated against measles in 2023.

It stresses vaccination remains the “best line of defense against the virus,” saying that a vaccinated person exposed to measles has at least a 97% percent chance of not contracting it.