pope francis has presided over palm sunday mass at the vatican just a day after leaving hospital in rome. the 86 year old was admitted with breathing difficulties, and later diagnosed with bronchitis. the pontiff s admission to hospital came ahead of the busiest week in the christian calendar. thousands of people gathered in st peter s square waving palm and olive branches as pope francis was driven into the huge esplanade, sitting in the back of a white, open topped vehicle. he then celebrated mass his initial blessing was made standing up, but he spent the rest of the service sitting down. in his homily, he called on people not to ignore those experiencing great suffering and solitude. the service ended with a procession in st peter s square. and the pontiff left waving to crowds of worshippers from his popemobile. our correspondentjenny hill sent us this update. the palm sunday mass hasjust the palm sunday mass has just ended and the atmosphere in this square is one of
antonyjoshua beatsjermaine frankin in his comeback fight, but fails to land a knockout punch. our ancient woodlands standard stead fast and tall, it is with this past that we build a future for all. the unmistakable voice of damejudi dench, as the king says thank you for the three million trees planted in honour of the late queen. good morning, a fairamount good morning, a fair amount of cloud around this morning but things will brighten up through the day. it will be less windy with more sunshine than we saw yesterday. more details, shortly. it s sunday 2nd of april, out main story. three british men are being held in custody by the taliban in afghanistan. a humanitarian organisation said two of the men were arrested injanuary, while a third was detained on a different date. the foreign office says it s working hard to make contact with them, as helena wilkinson reports. back under taliban control since the summer of 2021, now it has emerged that three british men are being
the pope has said he will take part in the mass celebrating palm sunday in the vatican. the 86 year old was discharged from a hospital in rome in the last few hours where he was receiving treatment for bronchitis. smiling and leaning on a cane as he left rome s gemelli hospital, the pontiff greeted well wishers and joked he was still alive. the vatican said he d resumed some work duties while in hospital, baptising a new born baby as well as sharing a dinner with some of the doctors and nurses. earlier i spoke to our correspondentjenny hill who had the latest on the ground. he s now out of hospital. as you say, he appeared very relaxed, smiling as he greeted well wishers outside the hospital, telling reporters that he will participate in that mass right here tomorrow. and, of course, you know, pope francis himself is more than aware that talk of his impending either resignation or demise have been filling the newspapers here, you know, joking with reporters. well, i m still
welcome to bbc news. the authorities in iran are vowing to enforce the wearing the latest series of tornadoes to have ripped through parts of the united states has left at least 11 people dead, they were killed in the states of arkansas and illinois. dozens have been injured and tens of thousands have lost power. some pictures coming through to us in the last half hour show the extent of the damage to homes in this residential area in the state of illinois. the picture is no better in arkansas where you can see homes have been completely flattened and businesses forced to close after devastating damage. the governor there, sarah huckabee sanders, has declared a state of emergency. here s sancha berg. dozens of storms and tornadoes left a trail of destruction. two of the fiercest touchdown in the southern state of arkansas, tearing off roofs, bringing down power lines, sweeping through homes with incredible force. the volume of itjust seems rather intense and it was extremely