Pope Leo diagnosed with cancer as doctors remove part of lung, Vatican says
The pope has lung adenocarcinoma, a common form of cancer, with tissue tests conducted during the operation confirming what doctors had suspected from preparatory examinations
International News via Reuters:
Pope Leo was diagnosed with lung cancer after surgeons removed a part of his right lung on Tuesday, the Vatican said in a medical bulletin, marking a significant health setback for the 71-year-old pontiff.
The pope has lung adenocarcinoma, a common form of cancer, with tissue tests conducted during the operation confirming what doctors had suspected from preparatory examinations, the bulletin said.
Leo was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on Tuesday for surgery to remove the growth that doctors had discovered in a recent routine health check.
The pope’s lead surgeon, Dr. Stefano Margaritora, and his personal physician, Dr. Luigi Carbone, said in a statement that the procedure lasted about 90 minutes and was successful, with no complications.
“In order to make the procedure curative, the lower lobe of the right lung was removed using a video-assisted technique,” they said, making clear that the aim was to eliminate all cancerous tissue.
Human lungs have five lobes — three in the right lung and two in the left.
A medical expert said that in order to assess the pope’s case they would need to know the size of the tumour and whether the cancer had spread to his lymph nodes, information the Vatican did not immediately provide.
“While we have the diagnosis, we do not yet have the stage. This is critical to prognosis and treatment,” said Dr. Stephen Liu, a lung cancer expert at Georgetown University in Washington and division chief of hematology-oncology at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital.
“If this is a small lung cancer with no lymph nodes involved, surgery itself is likely to be curative,” he told Reuters. “But if final analysis reveals a greater extent of cancer involvement, this indicates a poorer prognosis.”
RESTING IN HIS HOSPITAL ROOM
The pope regained consciousness normally after the operation and later returned to his hospital room, where he was resting, the medical bulletin said.
The Vatican said earlier this week that he was expected to remain in hospital for about a week and all his public events have been cancelled until October 20.
Leo left the Vatican ahead of the surgery shortly before 1 p.m. (1100 GMT) in Rome and was seen waving from the back of a black SUV as his convoy drove about 9 km (5.6 miles) north of the Vatican to the Gemelli.
Upon arrival at the hospital, Leo shook hands with several officials, walked in front of a waiting crowd of well-wishers, some of whom shouted ‘Auguri’ (best wishes), and headed in via the main entrance.
Leo, elected by the world’s cardinals in May 2025, is relatively young for a Church leader. He enjoys sports, including tennis, and is not known to be a smoker or to have had recent health issues.
The late Pope Francis, Leo’s predecessor, was hospitalised several times as he grew frail in his later years. He died aged 88 in April 2025.
Leo, who spoke in a firm, clear voice at his only public event on Monday, keeps a very busy schedule. He is due to make an 11-day tour of Uruguay, Argentina and Peru from November 6 to 17, but it was not clear if this trip would still go ahead.
TYPHOID FEVER
The pope is the ultimate earthly authority for the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics and does not have a deputy who steps in when he is sick. When a pope is incapacitated, the business of the Vatican’s vast bureaucracy carries on as usual, holding off on any decisions that require papal approval.
Leo, born in Chicago in 1955 as Robert Prevost, served for decades as a missionary and bishop in Peru before becoming pope. In 1985, when he was a young priest, he came down with typhoid fever in Chulucanas, Peru and was hospitalised.
He recounted the experience in his only major interview given as pope, in a book for Penguin Peru.
Leo said the pain was so bad that he asked God to die rather than continue suffering. He took his survival as a sign from God that “We need you here (on Earth),” he said.
“I never looked back,” said Leo.
Reporting by Joshua McElwee,Additional reporting by Cristiano Corvino and Clara Schoenthaler, Writing by Keith WeirEditing by Gareth Jones and Crispian Balmer
Bank of England’s Bailey says companies are focusing on costs
While the BoE would take into consideration the resilience to date of the UK economy, Bailey said there were signs of companies taking a cautious stance
International News via Reuters:
Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said companies in Britain are focusing intensely on containing their costs amid the surge in energy prices caused by the Iran war.
In an interview with CNN broadcast on Tuesday, Bailey reiterated his previous comments that pressure on broader inflation in the UK from the energy shock had so far been subdued, “but the longer this goes on, the harder it gets.”
While the BoE would take into consideration the resilience to date of the UK economy, Bailey said there were signs of companies taking a cautious stance.
“When I go around the country — and I do a lot of talking to firms, and my colleagues do — there’s a very big focus on cost containment in terms of when they’re looking at the increase in their costs,” he said.
A focus on cost-cutting could affect the labour market, although it was still “early days” for assessing the impact of the energy price surge in areas such as wages, Bailey added.
The BoE has kept borrowing costs on hold since the start of the Iran war, unlike the European Central Bank and the US Federal Reserve, which have both raised rates.
However, investors are pricing the chance of a quarter-point rate hike by the BoE next month as a near certainty.
Writing by William Schomberg; Editing by Mark Porter
UK regulator FCA to publish whistleblower review in early 2027
The FCA had been in contact with Andriesz over many years and his death sparked questions by lawmakers about whether it took his allegations sufficiently seriously
International News via Reuters:
Britain’s markets regulator plans to publish a report early next year into whether it could have done more in its interactions with a whistleblower, the Financial Conduct Authority said on Tuesday.
• FCA Chief Executive Nikhil Rathi told lawmakers the death of Simon Andriesz last month was “terribly sad” and that it was important for the regulator to reflect on how it communicated and engaged with whistleblowers.
• The FCA had been in contact with Andriesz over many years and his death sparked questions by lawmakers about whether it took his allegations sufficiently seriously.
• Andriesz died by suicide last month. John Robertson, one of his representatives, has said he had been recognised as a whistleblower in the US but did not feel he received the same level of engagement from British authorities.
• The cross-party Treasury Committee asked whether the FCA had considered asking an external expert to review the case. Rathi said that Lea Paterson, who joined the FCA’s board this month, would launch the review as an independent non-executive.
• Paterson is expected to examine whether there were things the FCA could have done better and help the organisation learn for the future.
• The FCA has said the number of whistleblowing reports rose by 22% last year. Around 42% led to direct action and another 53% informed its wider work and supported harm prevention.
Reporting by Kirstin Ridley, Editing by Xevi Fontdegloria and Alex Richardson
Oceanographer outlines difficulties in locating missing aircraft
Families in Bermuda and Canada are dealing with the loss of loved ones on a missing air ambulance. A U.S. marine scientist says the search for the aircraft may take time, but he is confident it will be found
Families in Bermuda and Canada are trying to come to terms with the loss of their loved ones on a medical flight that went missing en route from Bermuda to Boston.
Canadian and U.S. Transport safety investigators have been deployed to determine exactly what happened that led to the disappearance of the Latitude Air Ambulance on October 3rd.
While debris was found some 20 miles south of Nantucket Island, the aircraft is yet to be located. According to an expert in the field, that search may take some time.
Professor Mark Moline is an oceanographer, Marine Science Director at the University of Delaware, and a developer of underwater robotic tools for research. He recently spoke with our Coastal ABC affiliates, WJAR news.
Over the last decade and a half he has traveled the world looking for aircraft that went missing in World War 2, in the hope of returning fallen soldiers to their families.
“I have a lot of experience looking for aircraft underwater”, he says, “trying to look for their small signature on the seafloor.”
He told Jake Baum at WJAR that the aircraft in this circumstance is relatively small. Multibeam sonar from a ship on the surface, which is what is used to map an ocean floor, would be unlikely to find parts of the aircraft.
Professor Moline said, “they have to use what’s called side scan sonar, or synthetic aperture sonar… either a towed system or an autonomous system close to the seafloor, and [it] pushes sound out to the side of the instrument.”
He adds that the ocean in the area of the search is relatively shallow, but we don’t know how wide it may be.
“…within seconds, you can get miles with an aircraft traveling at those speeds”, he says. “If you don’t have an idea about maybe plus or minus five miles, you have to search an area of 25 square miles.”
“It’s not surprising that it’s going to take a few weeks to find this aircraft.”
The Latitude Air Ambulance flight was lost en route from Bermuda to Boston on Saturday October 3rd.
The aircraft reported electrical difficulties sometime after 1am, after which it descended rapidly, and contact with air traffic control was lost south of Nantucket Island, Massachusetts.
Bermudian patient Marilyn Lavonne Bean and her son Sergio Wayne Lottimore, Canadian Pilot Captain Philip Gregory Childerhose and First Officer Thomas Henry Farquhar, flight nurse Sarah Jane Paton and respiratory therapist Jolene Beth Weir were on the flight, and are presumed to have died.
Professor Mark Moline says he is fairly certain that the investigators will, eventually, be able to find the aircraft and its black box recorder, which may be able to provide answers as to what led to the flight’s descent and disappearance.
“It’s hard to work in the ocean”, he says, “these vast areas, it does take time.”
“I have a high confidence it’s going to be found.”
As EU debates local-content rules, Chinese automakers are already adapting
The European Union’s proposed “Made in Europe” rules, part of a planned Industrial Accelerator Act, are designed to strengthen the bloc’s industrial base by encouraging more manufacturing and sourcing within Europe
International News via Reuters:
As Europe debates new local-content rules aimed at boosting local manufacturing, Chinese automakers are already building factories and supply chains across the continent, getting ahead of the measures before they have even been finalised.
The European Union’s proposed “Made in Europe” rules, part of a planned Industrial Accelerator Act, are designed to strengthen the bloc’s industrial base by encouraging more manufacturing and sourcing within Europe. The measures would also push foreign manufacturers seeking access to the EU market to produce more goods locally and rely on European suppliers.
The plan comes as Chinese automakers have rapidly gained market share in Europe, with more entrants on the way.
But “Made in Europe” has sparked a political dispute within Europe over which countries should be covered by the rules.
Many Chinese automakers, meanwhile, appear unwilling to wait for the outcome. Pressing ahead with localisation plans, they are expanding manufacturing and supplier networks in Europe before the details of any new requirements are settled.
Battered by an EV price war and slowing sales in China, the world’s largest auto market, Chinese automakers increasingly see Europe as a key growth opportunity.
“We are committed to building our local production capacity and exploring opportunities here,” Changan Automobile Zhao Fei told reporters at the Paris car show.
Zhao said he had already visited Europe twice for “in-depth discussions” with suppliers and was also talking to European automakers about producing vehicles together.
Changan plans to make 180,000 cars a year in Europe by 2028 and 350,000 by 2030, The company’s president said he hopes Changan can build its first vehicle in Europe in early 2027, well before any EU local-content requirements are expected to take effect.
Other Chinese automakers, including Xpeng, Chery and GAC, are also pursuing European production plans built around local supply bases.
“We’re looking to start production at the same time” as ‘Made in Europe’ rules take effect, Xpeng Vice President Yeqing Zheng said of plans to add production capacity in Europe. Magna already builds EVs for Xpeng in Austria.
Some industry experts argue Chinese automakers are moving faster than EU policymakers, raising questions about how much impact the final rules will have.
John Bozzella, CEO of US auto industry lobby group Alliance for Automotive Innovation, said Europe is viewed as a “cautionary tale” in the US for acting too late in response to Chinese competition.
The US Senate is working to pass a bill permanently banning Chinese cars, which Bozzella said reflects concerns over data security.
“The policy responses seem to be happening in response to market realities in Europe,” he said. “But in the US all sides are saying, ‘let’s try and address these issues up front.'”
‘WE GREW TOGETHER’
In a speech at the Paris motor show, Volkswagen CEO Oliver Blume backed ‘Made in Europe’, saying “a strong Europe depends on a strong industry”.
But in its current form, the proposal excludes non-EU countries such as Turkey, Britain and Morocco, where vehicle production and supplier networks are deeply integrated with Europe’s automotive industry.
Automakers with operations in those countries, along with local industry groups, argue that limiting the definition of Europe to the EU would damage supply chains that have developed across the wider region.
Turkey’s Automotive Industry Exporters’ Association (OIB) says the country’s automotive industry supports 250,000 EU jobs.
More than 50% of the parts by value in Ford’s Turkish-made electric Transit vans come from EU suppliers, including batteries from Hungary and Poland and components from Germany, Italy and elsewhere.
“We grew together,” said OIB chairman Kemal Yazici. “Turkey is an integral part of Europe’s” auto industry.
Alongside drafting local content rules, the EU has also brokered a deal with China to more than halve hybrid vehicle imports into the bloc.
When asked about the deal, Chery Chairman Yin Tongyue told Reuters the company would first study the details.
But he was more interested in discussing Chery’s plans for Europe.
“We want to design locally,” Yin said. “We want to have local engineering, local production and a local supply chain.”
Automotive analyst Felipe Munoz said Chinese automakers were unlikely to be deterred by the policy debate as they have demonstrated an ability to “do anything, very fast”.
When the EU imposed tariffs on Chinese-made EVs in October 2024, many shifted their focus to tariff-free plug-in hybrids.
‘Made in Europe’ is “making life a bit more difficult for the Chinese,” Munoz said. “But it won’t stop them.”
Reporting By Nick Carey and Rachel More. Additional reporting by Giulio Piovaccari and Gilles Guillaume. Editing by Mark Potter
South Korean police detain man over stabbing of eight people at shopping mall
Officers are investigating the motive and circumstances of the attack
International News via Reuters:
South Korean police said they had detained a man suspected of stabbing eight people on Tuesday at a shopping mall in the city of Incheon, and the Yonhap news agency said one of the victims was in a life-threatening condition.
Officers are investigating the motive and circumstances of the attack, a police spokesperson said by telephone.
A witness cited by Yonhap said the suspect appeared to have knives tied to both hands and moved through several floors of the shopping mall, attacking people as he went before being subdued by bystanders and handed over to police.
President Lee Jae Myung urged a swift and rigorous investigation after visiting the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency and being briefed on the case, according to his office.
“I pray for a swift recovery of those who were harmed in today’s stabbing rampage incident,” Lee said in an X post.
The victims included six women and two men, Yonhap reported. One woman in her 20s underwent surgery at a nearby hospital after suffering life-threatening injuries, it added.
Yonhap said the 59-year-old suspect had previously served a four-year prison sentence for attempted murder.
The suspect has been fitted with an electronic monitoring ankle bracelet since his release in 2019, and had been receiving treatment for mental health issues and alcohol addiction, the Justice Ministry said in a statement.
The electronic monitoring system is a crime prevention programme that covers people convicted of a range of crimes including murder.
The ministry pledged to conduct a thorough investigation of the system, which uses real-time GPS tracking to monitor high-risk offenders after their release from prison.
Incheon, west of Seoul, is home to South Korea’s main airport and forms part of the wider Seoul metropolitan area.
South Korea was shaken by a series of stabbing rampages in 2023, including attacks that left multiple people dead and injured.
More recently in May, a 17-year-old girl was fatally stabbed and another teenager hurt in the southwestern city of Gwangju by a man in his 20s, who was later sentenced by a court to life in prison.
Reporting by Kyu-seok Shim and Hyunjoo Jin; Additional Reporting by Hyunsu YimEditing by Ed Davies and Gareth Jones
Meta challenges UK online safety watchdog over how fees and fines are calculated
The 2023 law allows Ofcom to impose fines of up to 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue, or £18 million ($23.9 million), whichever is greater, and to recover the costs of running its regime through fees calculated by reference to revenue
International News via Reuters:
Facebook and Instagram owner Meta challenged Britain’s media regulator on Tuesday over how it calculates fees and potential fines under the Online Safety Act, arguing that the watchdog’s methods are disproportionate.
The 2023 law allows Ofcom to impose fines of up to 10% of qualifying worldwide revenue, or £18 million ($23.9 million), whichever is greater, and to recover the costs of running its regime through fees calculated by reference to revenue.
Meta’s challenge comes a week after Ofcom opened an investigation into whether the company properly assessed the risks posed by its Instagram Instants feature before launching it in May.
The case brought by Meta opened in London’s High Court on Tuesday and centres on Ofcom’s use of worldwide rather than UK revenue to determine fees and maximum potential fines.
Meta argued that Ofcom had exceeded its statutory powers by defining qualifying worldwide revenue as broadly as possible, with the objective of imposing the highest possible penalties.
That was Ofcom’s “overriding concern”, Meta said in its legal submission.
Meta is also challenging Ofcom’s method of calculating fines where two or more providers owned by the same organisation are found jointly liable for breaches.
Ofcom argues that its approach is proportionate and that it has struck a “careful balance” in defining qualifying revenue. Its court submission said that qualifying worldwide revenue was used only to calculate the maximum potential penalty and that any actual fine must be proportionate to the failure.
Meta is also fighting Ofcom on other fronts. It joined TikTok and X in a separate legal hearing last week over the amount of information the regulator is demanding.
Meta said it was committed to cooperating constructively with Ofcom.
“However, we and others in the tech industry believe its decisions on the methodology to calculate fees and potential fines are disproportionate,” a Meta spokesperson said.
“We believe fees and penalties should be based on the services being regulated in the countries they’re being regulated in. This would still allow Ofcom to impose the largest fines in UK corporate history.”
Ofcom said it had been tasked with regulating an industry that had been unregulated and unaccountable for more than 20 years.
An Ofcom spokesperson said Meta’s case was one of a number of legal challenges it faced.
“On all these fronts, we will robustly defend our reasoning and decisions,” the spokesperson said.
($1 = 0.7547 pounds)
Reporting by Paul SandleEditing by David Goodman
Apple unveils new smart home products, showcasing updated Siri AI
Apple is launching these products as it tries to fend off competition from rivals, including traditional competitors like Amazon.com
International News via Reuters:
Apple on Tuesday began showing off a new round of smart home products, including an iPad-like device dubbed the HomeView meant to hang on walls or perch on tabletops that will showcase its AI-upgraded Siri virtual assistant.
The HomeView device, which starts at $299 and starts shipping next month, is Apple’s latest entry into a highly competitive market for home connected devices. It will feature a 7-inch screen and face recognition, will help users control doorbells, thermostats and smart locks in a market where Apple has tinkered for a decade without major success.
Apple is launching these products as it tries to fend off competition from rivals, including traditional competitors like Amazon.com, which has invested heavily in its Echo speakers and Ring doorbells and last week launched premium tablets, as well as newer AI upstarts like OpenAI that have hardware ambitions of their own.
Investors are looking more closely at Apple’s hardware sales for growth as the company’s services revenue has come under regulatory pressure.
Apple this summer upgraded Siri’s capabilities with assistance from Google but analysts said it is unclear whether its AI assistant is competitive enough to lure consumers to a crowded connected home device space.
“Apple needs to demonstrate that its AI capabilities can deliver meaningful benefits beyond basic voice commands, simplifying everyday tasks and bringing greater intelligence to the home,” said PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore.
“The opportunity is considerable, given its vast installed base, but reliability, trust and ease of use will ultimately determine whether consumers embrace these features,” he added. “AI alone will not be enough to convince households to invest in more devices.”
The launches also coincide with growing worries that connected devices, including refrigerators and smart TVs, could be vulnerable to hackers.
OTHER BELLS AND WHISTLES
Apple’s HomeView launch was accompanied by updates to its HomePod smart speaker and Apple TV devices. It also introduced a range of accessories, including doorbells, cameras and thermostats, made by LG and Schneider Electric and designed with help from Apple.
“It is interesting to see Apple partnering with LG and Schneider, as it typically likes to have full control of the hardware it sells,” said Ben Wood, co-founder of CCS Insight. “However, looking closely, it appears like there has been very deep collaboration between Apple and these partners to ensure the design, engineering and experience closely match what users would expect from Apple.”
During a video demonstrating the device, Apple showed the HomeView and its Siri virtual assistant juggling voice requests from multiple members of a family at the same time.
The HomeView device will not be sold in the European Union, because Siri AI remains unavailable there due to EU regulations, Apple said.
Apple first released its Home app to control smart gadgets in 2016, with HomePod smart speakers following in 2018, but those offerings are competing with Alphabet’s Google Home speakers and Amazon’s Echo line. Analysts said two major hurdles for Apple were making its devices work with a variety of third-party gadgets and the limited ability of Siri to give useful answers.
Apple $299 price for HomeView is above Amazon’s Echo Show 8 at $199.99 and Google’s Nest Hub at $99.99, as it seeks a bigger role in connected homes.
The new Apple TV 4K enters the market at $299, more than double the price of its predecessor and in line with Nvidia’s Shield TV Pro, while rival offerings from Amazon, Google and Roku cost $200 or less.
Shares were up fractionally in Tuesday trading.
Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by David Gaffen and Christian Plumb
Nagel beats 10-hour barrier with superb Kona display
Bermudian sailor-turned-triathlete Emily Nagel produced a standout performance on the global stage, dipping under the elusive 10-hour mark at the Ironman World Championships in Kona, Hawaii.
Tackling one of endurance sport’s ultimate tests, Nagel crossed the line in nine hours, 58 minutes and 23 seconds to finish 542nd overall in a massive international field.
Her performance saw her take 51st place among all female competitors and secured sixth in a fiercely contested Female 30–34 Age Group category.
Nagel laid the foundation for her sub-10 milestone in Kailua Bay, exiting the water in a brisk 57 minutes and 10 seconds.
From there, she maintained a disciplined rhythm across the windswept lava fields of the Queen Ka’ahumanu Highway, clocking 5:21:34 on the bike split.
Despite brutal humidity and rising afternoon temperatures, she rounded off her day with a resilient 3:31:39 marathon.
The result marks another major step forward in Nagel’s transition to long-course triathlon, showcasing world-class pacing on one of the sport’s most unforgiving stages.
Smith primed for second SSL Gold Cup tilt with Bermuda
Sailor Jade Smith has set his sights on the world stage once again after securing his spot for a second consecutive SSL Gold Cup campaign.
The 22-year-old will provide crucial regatta experience as the island’s crew prepares to lock horns with sailing’s elite nations in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
A dedicated waterman who developed his craft across multiple marine sports before committing to competitive sailing, Smith balances his own racing pursuits with coaching Bermuda’s rising prospects.
His debut outing at the event—often billed as sailing’s equivalent of the World Cup—proved an eye-opener, particularly the physical challenge of mastering the fleet’s one-design SSL47 yachts.
“It’s a high achievement representing Bermuda in any sport,” Smith said. “This means I get a chance to show and promote Bermudian talent on a global stage.”
Looking forward to the South American assignment, his outlook is clear: “Great racing and good vibes.”
With preparations gathering pace, Bermuda’s squad is zoning in on tactical details. Smith believes securing a dedicated coach is vital if the crew are to bridge the gap against heavyweight rivals.
“Everyone has room to improve,” he noted, underlining the need for dedicated tactical input to iron out mistakes.
The team has launched a funding appeal to ensure coaching staff travel with the squad to Brazil, targeting the extra edge needed to mount a serious podium challenge.
Daley stars as Tennessee cruise to dominant dual-meet victory
Swimmer Elan Daley helped the University of Tennessee launch their competitive campaign in emphatic fashion with a commanding dual-meet triumph over Carson-Newman.
The Lady Vols proved far too strong for the visitors, storming to a comprehensive 152-84 victory to cap an impressive opening weekend for the programme. Tennessee’s men completed the clean sweep, claiming a 164-121 win of their own.
Daley was right at the sharp end of the sprint freestyle duels, delivering a pair of composed runner-up finishes to secure crucial points for her team.
The rising star laid down an early marker in the 50-yard freestyle, stopping the clock in a blistering 23.09 seconds.
She carried that momentum into the 100-yard event shortly after, touching the wall in a swift 49.77 to take another second-place finish and underline an encouraging start to the collegiate season.
