Pope Francis's health is improving after he was hospitalised with a respiratory infection and he has resumed working while treatment continues, the Vatican said on Thursday.
The pope was unexpectedly taken to hospital on Wednesday after complaining of breathing difficulties, raising fresh concerns over the health of the 86-year-old pontiff, who is suffering from a number of ailments.
"His Holiness Pope Francis rested well during the night. His clinical picture is gradually improving and he is continuing his planned treatment," Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement.
"This morning after breakfast, he read some newspapers and resumed work," it added. Indicating that Francis was not confined to his bed, the statement said he had prayed in the small chapel within his private hospital suite.
"I am touched by the many messages received in these hours and I express my gratitude for the closeness and prayer," the pope wrote separately on Twitter. Francis this month marked 10 years as pope.
Bruni did not say when Francis might leave Rome's Gemelli hospital. The Vatican said on Wednesday he was expected to spend a "few days" there.
One of Afghanistan's worst earthquakes killed more than 800 people and injured at least 2,800, authorities said on Monday, as helicopters ferried the wounded to hospital after they were plucked from the rubble of homes being combed for survivors.
Israel pushed tanks deeper into Gaza City and detonated explosives-laden vehicles in one suburb as airstrikes killed at least 19 people on Monday, Palestinian officials and witnesses said.
India's Narendra Modi told Vladimir Putin on Monday that India and Russia stood shoulder to shoulder even in difficult times after the Kremlin chief cast the Indian prime minister as his "dear friend" and gave him a lift in his armoured limousine.
Chinese President Xi Jinping urged leaders to leverage their "mega-scale market", while Russian President Vladimir Putin showed support for Xi's ambition for a new global security and economic order that poses a challenge to the US during a regional summit on Monday.
South Korea has suspended a military radio broadcast that transmits to North Korea as part of measures aimed at easing tensions with Pyongyang, Seoul's defence ministry said on Monday.
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