Pope Francis thanked his supporters for their prayers on Thursday in a breathless audio message that nonetheless lifted spirits among his faithful as concerns grow for the 88-year-old pontiff’s health.

The Pope’s pre-recorded remarks, broadcast on loudspeakers at the Vatican’s St. Peter’s Square ahead of the nightly recitation of the rosary prayer, marked the first time supporters heard the pontiff’s voice since his hospitalization around three weeks ago.

“I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your prayers for my health from the Square, I accompany you from here. May God bless you and the Virgin protect you. Thank you,” Pope Francis said, speaking slowly in his native Spanish in a voice where he struggled to catch his breath.

The square erupted in applause upon hearing Francis’ words, heartened to hear his voice.

Although the Pope has issued written messages from the hospital and the Vatican has given twice-daily updates on his condition, he has not been seen on photo or video since February 14 when he was hospitalized after being plagued by a string of lung-related medical struggles, including bronchitis and double pneumonia.

This is the ailing pontiff’s fourth, and now longest, hospital stay since he became pope in 2013. Francis has lived with lung-related issues for much of his life. As a young man, he contracted severe pneumonia and had part of one lung removed.

Doctors said the Pope’s health prognosis remains “reserved” after he had several episodes of acute respiratory failure on Monday, although he has remained stable since, according to the Vatican.

He has not presented any further episodes of respiratory failure and does not have a fever, the Vatican added on Thursday.

The Pope is continuing with respiratory and motor physiotherapy, the Vatican said, adding that he had an active Thursday and engaged in several work activities throughout the day while receiving the Eucharist before lunch.

The Argentinian leader’s schedule has been cleared to accommodate his intensive medical treatment.

He did not lead the Ash Wednesday service, which marks the start of Lent, for only the second time in his 12-year papacy, according to the Vatican, and has not led the Angelus prayer for three Sundays in a row.

On Friday morning the Vatican said the Pope had spent a “peaceful night” and woke up shortly after 8 am.

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, who lawmakers voted to impeach and was indicted on criminal charges for declaring martial law last December, was cleared to be released from detention on Friday.

In its ruling, the court said the crime of insurrection is not included within the investigative jurisdiction of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO) – the agency that had requested the arrest warrant against Yoon.

The court also said it was questionable whether the insurrection charges indictment was filed after the defendant’s detention period had expired. It therefore canceled Yoon’s arrest warrant to “ensure procedural clarity and eliminate doubts regarding the legality of the investigation process,” it said.

Any further unresolved “legal controversies” during the criminal trial could “serve as grounds for annulment in a higher court and may also provide grounds for a retrial even after a significant amount of time has passed,” it added.

The court will now send its ruling to the detention center – which said it expects to release Yoon by the end of Friday after receiving the documents.

Yoon’s lawyers praised the ruling, saying in a statement that the court had “set the definition straight, declaring what laws and principles are,” and that its decision showed “the rule of law is alive in this country.”

The ruling adds to the uncertainty swirling around Yoon’s various legal battles and the country’s political future. South Korea’s government has been in disarray for months, with parliament also voting to impeach its prime minister and the previous acting president.

Yoon’s criminal charges are separate from his impeachment trial. The country’s highest court, the Constitutional Court, is expected to decide in the coming weeks whether to uphold his impeachment or reinstate Yoon to office.

Friday’s ruling means Yoon can now await the impeachment verdict from home instead of in detention.

His expected release will undoubtedly dismay the country’s opposition – but be celebrated by supporters, many of whom have regularly gathered outside his detention center since January.

Kwon Young-se, chairman of Yoon’s ruling People Power Party, welcomed the court’s decision on Friday, calling it “an important moment to confirm that the rule of law and justice of the Republic of Korea are alive.”

He added that he hoped the Constitutional Court “will make a fair and just ruling based solely on constitutional values” during the impeachment trial.

Eurostar trains to London and all trains heading to northern France were brought to a halt Friday following the discovery of an unexploded World War II era bomb on tracks leading to the nation’s busiest station.

Paris police said that at 4 a.m. Friday morning, a WW2 bomb was discovered by workers along railway tracks in Saint Denis.

Technicians from Paris’ demining team are currently at the site, according to the police, with an SNCF spokesperson describing the bomb as “really huge”.

“The bomb could be a serious threat to people’s lives,” the spokesperson said.

Traffic was “completely blocked” as of 9a.m. Friday morning, French Transport Minister Philippe Tabarot said, disrupting suburban, regional and international trains.

Tabarot warned services will be “strongly shook up” all day.

Gare du Nord is a major European transit hub, serving international destinations north of France as well as the main Paris airport and many regional commuters.

Tabarot said that he hoped a reduced service would be running on French lines by the afternoon.

“There’s no reason to fear,” the minister told Sud Radio, “It can happen that deminers have to clear a certain number of abandoned bags sometimes. But it’s quite rare for a WW2 bomb.”

The outer bands of Tropical Cyclone Alfred are lashing Australia’s east coast with wind and rain as the rare southerly storm’s eye inches closer to landfall expected on Saturday morning.

The storm system has been swirling ever so slowly west toward the Queensland capital of Brisbane, prompting cyclone warnings along a stretch of coast home to around 4 million people.

As of Friday evening, Alfred was around 105 kilometers (65 miles) east of Brisbane, moving west with damaging winds around 95 kilometers per hour (59 miles per hour), according to Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology (BOM).

The cyclone had initially been expected to hit on Thursday night, then Friday morning, and the extra delay raised anxiety levels among residents in an area where cyclones are rare.

They usually form further north over warmer seas, but this one followed an erratic path to become the most southerly cyclone to hit the region in more than 50 years.

The cyclone was already bringing heavy rainfall to coastal areas on Friday, along with damaging winds and storm surges.

Cyclone to hit Saturday

Tropical Cyclone Alfred was forecast to cross islands in Moreton Bay Saturday morning local time before hitting the mainland in two states.

Queensland’s Gold Coast and other coastal areas were considered most vulnerable to storm surges, wind gusts and flash flooding, though warnings extended well inland.

In New South Wales, Australian Defence Force personnel, state emergency services and police were pre-positioned in the Northern Rivers – an area beset by flooding in recent years.

Some residents were still living in temporary housing after the last major flood submerged homes and businesses in 2022.

Authorities repeatedly acknowledged their trauma during press conferences as they sought to assure them that this time there would be no long wait for help.

“Our sincere hope is that the community gets through this without any loss of life, and that we can – when this is all over – focus on the rebuild,” said NSW Premier Chris Minns in the city of Lismore on Friday, where he was expected to ride out the cyclone.

Huge waves

The delay in Cyclone Alfred’s arrival gave authorities more time to issue warnings to residents, many of whom had never lived through a cyclone.

The last one to cross this far south was Tropical Cyclone Zoe in 1974.

The delay also gave sightseers time to explore Alfred’s effects on the coast – including surfers who earlier this week braved waves that by Friday were too dangerous to surf.

Stuart Nettle, the editor of Swellnet, a forecaster service that operates 100 cameras near the coast, said Alfred had produced waves that will be talked about for years.

“The fourth and fifth of March are going to live on in infamy in the memory of Gold Coast surfers,” he said. “Tropical Cyclone Alfred just sat there at the optimum distance and the optimum direction from the Gold Coast and delivered two days of exceptional waves. There’ll be surfers talking about it for a long time to come.”

Few dared to enter the water Friday as waves lashed the coast, prompting warnings from authorities of fines of $10,000 (16,000 Australian dollars) for risky behavior.

Police had stern words for one teenager caught surfing and four others were also reprimanded for putting themselves and others in danger.

“The waves are horrendous, the beaches are hazardous,” said acting Gold Coast City Council Mayor Donna Gates. “Please listen to us and stay away from the beaches. I keep repeating that because somehow, not everyone is listening.”

When King Charles gets up in the morning, what tunes does he select to start his day?

It’s a mix of genres across decades, according to a new Apple Music broadcast show and playlist the monarch has curated – from reggae legend Bob Marley to the more recently Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter RAYE.

“Throughout my life, music has meant a great deal to me. I know that is also the case for so many others,” the King says in the opening remarks of the broadcast, recorded at Buckingham Palace and scheduled to air March 10 to mark Commonwealth Day.

“It has that remarkable ability to bring happy memories flooding back from the deepest recesses of our memory, to comfort us in times of sadness, and to take us to distant places,” he says, according to a press release on Friday from Apple Music.

“But perhaps, above all, it can lift our spirits to such a degree, and all the more so when it brings us together in celebration. In other words, it brings us joy.”

His Apple playlist also includes other familiar names such as Kylie Minogue, Grace Jones and Davido.

Besides the music itself, the King also shares “anecdotes about his encounters with some of the artists featured and reveals why the songs help form the soundtrack to his life,” according to the press release.

In a video message released on Apple’s website, Charles explained his love of music spliced with footage from a royal brass band playing a rendition of Bob Marley and the Wailers’ “Could You Be Loved” outside Buckingham Palace.

Listeners can tune in on Apple Music 1 throughout Monday and Tuesday.