Leo

• Leonardo CEO Roberto Mariani warned that Italy must maintain its current growth in defense spending to avoid becoming "EU subordinates" to France and Germany. • Mariani noted that a sudden jump from 1.5% to 3.5% of GDP in military spending would have overwhelmed Italian industries, making a gradual investment path essential. • The warning emphasizes that any three- or four-year interruption in funding would leave Italy unable to compete with the sustained investments of its European neighbors.

Exclusive: health professionals, survivors and politicians voice concerns in open letter over comments by Fatima Maadi Bio, who denies supporting the practiceThe first lady of Sierra Leone has denied that she supports female genital mutilation amid rising anger around her perceived approval of the practice.But in an exclusive response to the Guardian, Fatima Maada Bio, the wife of President Julius Maada Bio, also said she would not openly condemn FGM until she saw “reliable data” that the practice was harmful. Continue reading...

Fatima Jabbe-Bio kept tenancy despite living for much of year in the presidential lodge in FreetownA social housing flat rented by Sierra Leone’s first lady has been seized by a London council.Southwark council confirmed it had repossessed the two-bedroom home in Walworth previously occupied by Fatima Jabbe-Bio, whose tenancy was reported by The Times last year. Continue reading...

As completion of 144-year construction nears, questions swirl over resemblance of church to architect’s original plansTen hours before he was due to pass by, the faithful were already picking their spots along the route Pope Leo XIV will take on his brief journey to bless Antoni Gaudí’s iconic church the Sagrada Família.It’s been a long wait but this evening, 144 years after work began, the pope will bless the basilica’s recently completed central tower in the presence of members of the Spanish royal family, the prime minister and hundreds of bishops. Continue reading...

Pontiff appeals in Catalan for harmony on Barcelona leg of Spain tour after making football foes in cityTo the delight of many, Pope Leo XIV kicked off the Barcelona leg of his week-long visit to Spain with a few words in Catalan, calling on the faithful who had gathered in the city’s cathedral on Tuesday “to build harmony and communion beyond all polarisation”.The pontiff’s familiar and commendable plea for people to set aside their differences may, however, have come a little late. Three days earlier, while chatting to journalists on the flight to Spain, Leo had made an awkward confession. Continue reading...

In his first visit to an EU country outside Italy, pope urges world leaders to stop dividing electorates and to respect ‘every human being’More than a million people have filled the streets near one of Madrid’s main squares to join Pope Leo for an outdoor Mass, likely to be the largest event of his week-long visit to Spain.Throngs of people pressed along barriers near the landmark Cibeles Square, waving flags and shouting “Long live the pope”, as Leo arrived in his white popemobile for the event. Some tossed flower petals as he arrived in the square. Continue reading...

Pontiff to make marginalised a focus of first papal visit since 2011 including meeting with migrants in Canary IslandsPope Leo has urged political leaders to seek unity, rather than divide their populations for political gain, and said they must fight for peace, in the opening speech of his tour in Spain.The pope has made the marginalised a focus of his visit – his first tour of an EU country, apart from Italy – including meeting homeless people in Madrid and migrants in the Canary Islands. The pope, who has clashed with the US president, Donald Trump, over his immigration policies and war with Iran, said his visit was aimed at setting an example of respecting “every human being”. Continue reading...