Britain’s King Charles and Queen Camilla are set to visit Pope Francis during their trip to Italy and the Vatican in April despite the pontiff’s ill-health following his hospitalization around a month ago.

The announcement of the royal visit is likely to be read as an indication that the Vatican believes the pope will be out of hospital in the coming weeks.

As part of the four-day state visit, Charles and Camilla are expected to visit the Holy See to join Pope Francis in celebrating Jubilee year – or Holy Year – which takes place every quarter of a century and is focused on forgiveness and reconciliation.

Francis has been in Rome’s Gemelli hospital since mid-February with no timeline for his release.

The royal trip, from April 7 to 10, would be a “historic visit” and a “significant step forward in relations between the Catholic Church and Church of England,” Buckingham Palace said Tuesday.

Despite the turbulent past of the Reformation and King Henry VIII’s break with Rome almost 500 years ago, relations between the Vatican and the British monarchy are today marked by warmth and mutual respect.

The UK and the Holy See have had full diplomatic relations since 1982. As Prince of Wales, Charles visited Vatican City on five occasions.

The King and Queen are expected to attend a service at the Sistine Chapel “focused on the theme of ‘care for creation,’ reflecting Pope Francis’ and His Majesty’s long-standing commitment to nature,” the palace said.

Charles and Francis are both passionate defenders of the environment and champion the importance of interfaith dialogue.

The royal visit was first announced on February 7, just one week before Francis was admitted to hospital with a “respiratory tract infection,” which was later diagnosed as pneumonia.

He has remained in hospital since then, in what is his longest stay since his election as pope 12 years ago.

The pontiff remains in a stable condition but still requires medical treatment, the Vatican press office said Monday, adding that Francis was able to pray and carry out a small amount of work duties.

On Sunday, the Vatican released the first photo of Francis since his hospitalization, showing him at the chapel in Gemelli hospital.

Charles and Camilla’s visit will also be an opportunity to shore up the relationship between Italy and the United Kingdom, with the royal couple carrying out engagements in Rome and Ravenna in the northern Emilia-Romagna region.

Footage of four, rarely-seen snow leopards clambering up snowy cliffs in northern Pakistan has created a frenzy of excitement among conservationists.

Snow leopards are among the world’s most elusive creatures in the wild and it is hard to catch even one on camera, let alone four, with the sighting being celebrated as a success story for Pakistan’s conservation efforts.

Sakhawat Ali, a gamekeeper and photography enthusiast from the remote village of Hushe, captured the footage on March 13 after what he described as “two weeks of tracking their pawprints” through the snow-covered Central Karakoram National Park – close to K2, the world’s second highest mountain.

“In the village we are used to seeing snow leopards but, nobody, not even the elders that I spoke to, have ever seen four snow leopards in one go,” he said.

He spotted the mother first, then started noting additional pawprints. He later “got lucky” sighting the animals together while observing a nearby cliff, through binoculars, from the rooftop of his house. He them scampered out with his camera to film them, from a distance of 200 meters.

Ali said neighbors from his village are celebrating the sighting – even though they have some concerns that their livestock could be in danger.

Snow leopards are currently listed as “vulnerable” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Known locally as the “ghost of the mountains,” they camouflage easily in their natural habitat of the Karakoram Mountain range in Pakistan’s Gilgit Baltistan region.

Environmental anthropologist Shafqat Hussain says the rocky terrain in the north of Pakistan is perhaps the “best snow leopard habitat in the world.”

They only inhabit high alpine areas of the Himalayas and while their habitat spreads over 12 nations, including China, Bhutan, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Russia, and Mongolia, sightings are exceedingly rare.

The World Wildlife Fund for Nature, Pakistan, said it was optimistic about the sighting but stressed snow leopards remain an endangered species still facing “numerous threats.”

In a statement, it said it’s crucial that local communities “work together to protect and conserve these incredible big cats, ensuring future generations can witness their splendor in the wild.”

According to the United Nation’s Environment Program “human activities and growing livestock herds in some areas have led to the degradation of pastureland and wildlife habitats,” affecting the snow leopards food supplies.

Other threats according to the UNEP include poaching and the fragmentation of the animal’s habitat due to massive new infrastructure projects in addition to climate change – which is “expected to aggravate these existing threats.”

In 2023, Pakistan was ranked as the 5th most vulnerable country to climate change according to the World Bank’s Global Climate Risk Index.

Ireland’s leader has condemned anti-immigration comments made by Conor McGregor, during an appearance by the 36-year-old former mixed martial arts champion in the White House ahead of a St Patrick’s Day meeting with US President Donald Trump.

Speaking in the White House briefing room Monday, McGregor said the Irish government had “abandoned the voices” of the Irish people and claimed rural towns in Ireland were being overrun by immigrants.

“Ireland is at the cusp of potentially losing its Irishness,” he said.

McGregor, who was at the White House to meet US President Donald Trump on Ireland’s national day, has previously said he is considering running for president in his native country.

Irish leader Micheál Martin was quick to denounce the fighter’s comments, however, saying Conor McGregor’s remarks were wrong, and “did not reflect the spirit of St. Patrick’s Day, or the views of the people of Ireland.”

In a post on X, Martin said the holiday was “a day rooted in community, humanity, friendship and fellowship.”

McGregor has long been vocal about his anti-immigration views and, as far back as 2022, expressed support for people protesting against immigration. His controversial social media posts have been circulated by groups with links to the far right.

“It’s about time that America is made aware of what’s going on in Ireland. What is going on in Ireland is a travesty. Our government is the government of zero action with zero accountability,” McGregor said ahead of his meeting with Trump.

“So, issues need to be addressed, and the 40 million Irish Americans, as I said, need to hear this,” he added. “And I’m here to raise the issue and highlight it. You know, it’s also St. Patrick’s Day, so a little bit of celebrations.”

McGregor’s appearance at the White House came after Martin, the Irish taoiseach, met with Trump last week. During that visit, a reporter asked the president about his favorite Irish person.

“Oh, there’s so many — are you kidding me? Well, I do happen to like your fighter; He’s got the best tattoos I’ve ever seen. Conor’s great, right? I’m talking about Conor,” Trump said.

Once the face of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, McGregor is a controversial figure in Ireland.

In a January civil lawsuit, a woman accused McGregor of sexual battery during the 2023 NBA Finals in Miami. The incident was investigated by police at the time and the Miami-Dade state attorney declined to press charges against him. McGregor, said the allegations were false.

Last fall, a civil jury in Dublin awarded nearly 250,000 euros ($257,000) in damages to Nikita Hand, a woman who claimed McGregor had “brutally raped and battered” her in a hotel in Dublin in 2018. McGregor testified that the two had consensual sex and vowed to appeal the verdict.