World News Quick Take

Pope Leo XIV yesterday addressed thousands of people in St Peter’s Square in his first weekly Angelus prayer since being discharged after lung cancer surgery. He on Tuesday last week had an operation to remove the lower lobe of his right lung. A chorus of “viva il papa” reverberated across the square as the 71-year-old leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics appeared at the window of his Apostolic Palace to address the crowd. Leo thanked those who prayed for him and urged pilgrims waiting below under cloudy gray skies to set aside any selfish ambitions and serve God “without compromise.” He also said he would resume his normal schedule.

Pope Leo XIV appears at the window of his study in the Apostolic Palace overlooking St Peter’s Square at the Vatican yesterday.

Photo: AP

UNITED STATES

Truck kills 2 on soccer field

A truck drove into a youth soccer game in Wichita, Kansas, leaving a six-year-old boy and a 35-year-old man dead, and 10 others hospitalized with traumatic injuries, police said on Saturday. The injuries ranged from minor to severe, but none appear to be life threatening, Wichita Police Captain Aaron Moses told a news conference. The two people killed were pronounced dead at the scene, he said. A 34-year-old woman was driving the truck, which ended up in a field at the west end of the Stryker Sports Complex, Moses said. “We know what happened, but now we’re working very hard to find out why it happened, and we’re not there yet,” Wichita Police Chief Joe Sullivan said. The driver had a child playing soccer at the complex, but not on the field where the incident took place, Moses said. The truck involved had two juveniles as passengers, he said.

SAUDI ARABIA

Building closes amid attacks

Riyadh’s Kingdom Centre skyscraper yesterday ordered remote working for office tenants following repeated Houthi attacks, as the Saudi-led coalition said two pilots were killed in a crash near the Yemen border. The imposing, 99-story landmark announced “mandatory” remote working until further notice. No reason was given for the order, but it came a week after 13 people were killed in a major Houthi attack on Riyadh’s international airport. Earlier, the coalition announced the death of two helicopter pilots in Najran, blaming a “technical malfunction,” after the Houthis said they shot down an Apache helicopter in the area.

UNITED STATES

Fisher killed by alligator

A 71-year-old man fishing on the shore of a Florida lake was on Friday killed by a nearly 3.6m alligator, the second fatal attack reported this year. Steven Hamilton of Winter Garden was standing on the shore of Lake Apopka at Dr Bradford Memorial Park, 24km northwest of Orlando, when he was attacked at about 5pm, the Winter Garden Police Department said. The presence of other alligators in the water complicated any chance of rescuing Hamilton, whose body was recovered about two hours later, Winter Garden Fire Chief Jose Gainza told FOX35. Police Captain Michael Mason said authorities were not alerted in advance that an alligator was near the lake’s shore, possibly because it “has tons of alligators in it.” He said police launched a joint investigation with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, whose trappers captured and killed the alligator. Mason reminded people to be aware of their surroundings and respect wildlife. “Keep your distance,” he said. “It looks like it’s docile, it looks like your Florida emblem, but it can be dangerous.”