Pope Francis ’ condition continued to improve Wednesday and he hasn’t needed to use the mechanical ventilation mask to help him breathe, the Vatican said in signalling further progress in his recovery from double pneumonia.

The 88-year-old pontiff is also reducing his reliance on high-flow supplemental oxygen during the day, the Vatican said in a medical bulletin. His pneumonia infection, while not completely eliminated, is under control, the Holy See press office said.

Francis concelebrated Mass on Wednesday, which is an important feast day for the Catholic Church and is the anniversary of his installation as pope 12 years ago.

Francis has been at Rome’s Gemelli hospital since Feb. 14 for a complex lung infection that turned into pneumonia in both lungs. He has been receiving respiratory and physical therapy to help strengthen his lungs.

For two nights in a row, he hasn’t needed to use the noninvasive mechanical ventilation mask, which pumps oxygen into his lungs, and doctors said its use had been “suspended.” Francis was put on the ventilation mask after he suffered a spate of respiratory crises in late February and early March during which he was unable to expel the mucus and fluid that had accumulated in his lungs.

Suspending use of the mask means Francis’ lungs are working harder and better on their own.

The Vatican is also again reducing its medical updates as Francis slowly continues his recovery, with the next one not expected before Monday.

Istanbul mayor, Erdogan foe, arrested in sweep

Turkish police on Wednesday arrested Istanbul’s mayor — a popular opposition leader and key rival of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan — and several other prominent figures as part of investigations into alleged corruption and terror links. The detention of Ekrem Imamoglu was a dramatic escalation in a crackdown on the opposition and dissenting voices in Turkey.

The state-run Anadolu Agency said prosecutors issued warrants for Imamoglu and some 100 other people. Police raided his residence near dawn,his wife said. Among those detained was Imamoglu’s close aide and two district mayors.

Critics say the crackdown follows significant losses by Erdogan’s ruling party in local elections last year amid growing calls for early national elections. Government officials insist that the courts operate independently and reject claims that legal actions against opposition figures are politically motivated.

Congo, Rwanda signal ceasefire

The leaders of Congo and Rwanda have called for a ceasefire in eastern Congo in a bid to end the latest deadly chapter in a three-decade conflict.

The surprise announcement followed an unannounced meeting in Qatar on Tuesday, and analysts said it could either signal a de-escalation in a conflict that has threatened to become a regional war, or be the latest failed attempt to bring peace to this part of Central Africa.

Presidents Félix Tshisekedi of Congo and Paul Kagame of Rwanda committed to an “immediate and unconditional ceasefire,” according to a joint statement issued with Qatar, though they did not say how the ceasefire would be carried out or monitored.

The meeting was the leaders’ most significant step since a Rwanda-backed armed group, called M23, captured eastern Congo’s two largest cities and large sections of the territory in an offensive that began in January.

Ariz. murderer executed with lethal injection

An Arizona man who kidnapped and murdered his girlfriend’s ex-husband was executed Wednesday, the second of four prisoners scheduled to be put to death this week in the U.S.

Aaron Brian Gunches, 53, was lethally injected with pentobarbital at the Arizona State Prison Complex in the town of Florence, John Barcello, deputy director of the Arizona corrections department, told news outlets. He was pronounced dead at 10:33 a.m.

Gunches fatally shot Ted Price in the desert outside the Phoenix suburb of Mesa in 2002. He pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in 2007.

The prisoner did not have any final words, Barcello said. He took a few heavy breaths and let out a snoring-type sound.

“By all accounts, the process went according to plan without any incident at all,” Barcello said.

Report: Plane in Alaska crash was overloaded

The Bering Air flight that crashed near Nome, Alasak, last month, killing the pilot and all nine passengers, was more than 1,000 pounds too heavy for the icy weather it was flying into, according to a National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report released Wednesday.

The crash was the third fatal plane civilian aviation incident in the U.S. in less than a week and one of Alaska’s deadliest in recent decades.

The Bering Air Cessna Caravan left Unalakleet the afternoon of Feb. 6 before disappearing around 3:20 p.m. more than 30 miles southeast of Nome.

Six of the passengers were returning from different jobs in Unalakleet, including a crew working on the water plant and a teaching mentor. Three others as well as the pilot were residents of Unalakleet or Nome.

Freezing rain was reported in Nome at the time. The next day, U.S. Coast Guard rescue swimmers confirmed the deaths of all 10 people aboard Flight 445.

Mexico City leaders vote to ban bullfighting

In the biggest bullfighting city in the largest bullfighting country in the world, Mexico City lawmakers have overwhelmingly voted to ban traditional bullfighting — a move that was supported by Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum but was fiercely opposed by backers of the centuries-old custom.

The legislation, approved by a 61-1 vote on Tuesday, prohibits the injuring or killing of bulls for sport, in or outside of the arenas. It will allow for what proponents call “bullfighting without violence,” in which rules determine how long a bull can be in the ring and limit bullfighters to using only capes.

“My heart always beats for animal welfare,” said Xochitl Bravo Espinosa, a Mexico City legislator who helped spearhead the effort.

But Bravo Espinosa said that legislators tried to find a balance in which the bullfights could go on, albeit modified, so that people who made a living off the industry could continue working. She pointed to people who sell gear and food around La Plaza México, the largest bullfighting arena in the world, which opened in 1946 in the heart of the city and seats 42,000 people.

Happiest place on Earth? Finland again

Finland is named the happiest country in the world for the eighth year in a row, according to the World Happiness Report 2025 published Thursday.

Other Nordic countries are also once again at the top of the happiness rankings in the annual report published by the Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford. Besides Finland, Denmark, Iceland and Sweden remain the top four and in the same order.

Country rankings were based on answers people give when asked to rate their own lives. The study was done in partnership with the analytics firm Gallup and the U.N. Sustainable Development Solutions Network.

“Happiness isn’t just about wealth or growth — it’s about trust, connection and knowing people have your back,” said Jon Clifton, the CEO of Gallup. “If we want stronger communities and economies, we must invest in what truly matters: each other.”

Believing in the kindness of others is also much more closely tied to happiness than previously thought, according to the latest findings.

— From news services