Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni waits to welcome Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal before a reconstruction meeting for war-battered Ukraine, in Rome, Italy, April 26, 2023. REUTERS/Remo Casilli/File Photo ROME (Reuters) - Italy's prime minister on Monday vowed to push ahead with a plan to deport irregular migrants to camps built in Albania,

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni accused Russia of "offending the entire Italian nation" on Friday as she stood by comments by the Italian president that compared modern-day Russia to Nazi Germany.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog visits the Rome's Synagogue, Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025, after meeting with Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni in Rome. (AP Photo/)

Pope Francis was in jovial mood when Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni popped in to visit him in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital where he is fighting off pneumonia in both lungs, the Corriere della Sera newspaper reported on Thursday.

Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni visited Pope Francis for 20 minutes in the hospital Wednesday and reported he was “alert and responsive” and full of good humor, despite his diagnosis of pneumonia and a complicated bronchial infection.

Pope Francis is “alert and responsive” as he remains hospitalized with pneumonia, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said after visiting the pontiff.

While the Vatican has been providing twice-daily updates on his condition and Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni said they “joked around as usual” during her visit Wednesday, all kinds of reports — true and not — abound about Francis' health.

Pope Francis remains in critical condition, with blood tests showing mild signs of kidney failure “which is currently under control,” the Vatican said Sunday, as the 88-year-old pontiff battles pneumonia in both his lungs.

“Pope Francis is touched by the numerous messages of affection and closeness that he continues to receive in these hours,” the Vatican statement said. The pope expressed particular gratitude for the well wishes he received from his fellow patients in Rome’s Gemelli Hospital and asked for continued prayers.

Many who know him said that Francis, driven by a sense of mission and a discipline born of his early training, essentially worked himself into the hospital.