President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will depart Abuja on Saturday for Rome, Italy, to attend the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV as the new head of the Roman Catholic Church.

The President will be accompanied by a delegation that includes the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; Archbishop Lucius Ugorji, President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria; Archbishop Ignatius Kaigama of Abuja; Archbishop Alfred Martins of Lagos; and Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah of the Sokoto Diocese.

Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, confirmed in a statement via X.

‘Tinubu is travelling at the invitation of the Vatican and will lead Nigeria’s delegation to the solemn installation mass scheduled for Sunday, May 18, at St. Peter’s Square.

The inauguration marks the formal beginning of the Pontificate of Pope Leo XIV, the 267th Bishop of Rome.”

A fire broke out on Thursday at the General Hospital in Ifako-Ijaiye, Lagos, engulfing parts of the three-storey building and causing panic among residents and patients.

Videos from the scene showed thick smoke pouring from the hospital building as onlookers gathered in distress. Firefighters later arrived to battle the blaze.

An eyewitness, Modinat Melemuku, who shared footage of the incident on Facebook, called for urgent help.

She said: “Happening now at General Hospital Ifako-Ijaiye, College Road. Please repost.

Help is needed,” she wrote.

An eyewitness also told reporters the fire began in one part of the hospital before spreading to other sections.

“The fire then spread to the prenatal and postnatal rooms, after which it affected the pediatric ward,” the eyewitness said.

There were concerns that nursing mothers and infants might have been trapped inside, although no casualties were confirmed as of the time of filing this report.

Emergency responders were still on the ground trying to bring the situation under control.

Former South Africa winger Cornal Hendricks has died at the age of 37 due to a heart attack, South African Rugby said on Thursday.

Hendricks, who played in 12 tests for South Africa and scored five tries, was also part of their sevens team when they won gold in the World Games in 2013 and the Commonwealth Games in 2014.

A heart condition had forced him to retire in 2015, but he returned to the sport in 2019 and played in a total of 233 first-class matches in a professional career spanning more than 17 years.

“We are deeply saddened by the sudden passing of Cornal Hendricks, a remarkable athlete who represented his country in sevens and fifteen-man rugby with distinction,”

SA Rugby president Mark Alexander said in a statement.”Cornal was one of those players who loved the game and he worked extremely hard, but he always did so with a smile on his face… our heartfelt condolences go out to his wife Stephaney and their children, his family, friends, and teammates.”