CARTAGENA, Colombia (Reuters) - Pope Francis lost his balance while riding in the popemobile through a crowd in Cartagena, Colombia, on Sunday, bruising his left cheekbone and eyelid, but he was not seriously hurt.
The Vatican said he received ice treatment and was fine to continue on his trip.
Video images showed the pope hitting the left side of his face against a vertical bar of the popemobile, a specially designed open-top vehicle that allows the pontiff to stand and greet the faithful as his motorcade advances.
A few drops of blood were seen on his white cassock and the area around his left eye looked bruised and swollen.
“I was punched. I‘m fine,” the pope joked as he left a house in the poor neighborhood of San Francisco on the last day of his trip to Colombia.
He later was seen with a small bandage over his left eyebrow.
“The pope is fine. He injured his left cheekbone and eyelid,” spokesman Greg Burke said.
Public Security Minister Ananda Wijepala told Parliament today that the suspect in the rape of a lady doctor at the Anuradhapura teaching hospital has been identified as an army deserter and he will be apprehended shortly.
Police have arrested the suspect connected to the sexual assault on a female doctor at the Anuradhapura Teaching Hospital today morning in Galnewa.
The Dutch Public Prosecutor suspects two companies of paying bribes in the construction of hospitals in Sri Lanka, according to an investigation by FD, the Dutch financial newspaper.
The Minister of Power, Kumara Jayakody, stated that in the future, internationally funded projects, such as power projects, will only be carried out through government-to-government (G2G) agreements and competitive procurement.
The Government today tabled in the House the Report of the Commission to Inquiry into the Establishment and Maintenance of Unlawful Places of Detention and Torture Chambers in the Batalanda Housing Scheme.
Israel, a major player in the global diamond and jewellery trade, has invited Sri Lankan gem and jewellery businessmen and designers to collaborate with Israeli diamond traders.
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