
Pope Francis appears on Easter Sunday at St. Peter's Square as he continues recovery
CBSN
Pope Francis made a brief appearance on Easter Sunday to bless the thousands of people in St. Peter's Square as he continues his recovery from a near-fatal bout of double pneumonia.
"Brothers and sisters, Happy Easter!" Francis said, his voice sounding stronger than it has since his hospitalization. "Viva il Papa!" (Long live the pope), the crowd responded.
Francis looped through the square in his open-topped popemobile and then up and down the main avenue leading to it. He stopped occasionally to bless babies brought up to him, a scene that was common in the past but unthinkable just a few weeks ago as the 88-year-old Francis fought for his life.

Erbil, Iraq — Israel has been hammering Iran's nuclear and military sites for a week. To reach their targets, Israeli warplanes must cover about 1,000 miles, traversing as many as three countries, including Iraq, which sits right on Iran's western border. For decades, Iranian groups opposed to the Islamic Republic's theocratic rulers have organized in exile across the border in Iraq, including ethnic Kurdish factions that have become well organized, and armed.