World
Vatican sets date for first millennial saint to be canonized
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The Vatican has announced that the first millennial saint will be canonized in September.
Pope Leo XIV made an announcement during a meeting with cardinals that Carlo Acutis will be inscribed into the Book of Saints on September 7.
Acutis died at the age of 15 in Northern Italy after a short bout with leukemia in 2006, according to the Associated Press.
Before Pope Francis’s death on April 21, Acutis was set to be canonized on April 27 during the Vatican’s Jubilee of Teenagers.
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ASSISI, ITALY – OCTOBER 10: A tapestry featuring a portrait of Carlo Acutis is hang at the St. Francis Basilica during the beatification ceremony of Carlo Acutis, on October 10, 2020 in Assisi, Italy. The fifteen-year-old Carlo Acutis member of the Millennial generation who died on 12 October 2006 from M3 fulminant leukemia, is considered a “computer geek” on account of his passion and skill with computers and the internet. Acutis applied himself to creating a website dedicated to cataloguing each reported Eucharistic miracle in the world. (Vatican Pool/Getty Images)
During his life, Acutis spent most of his time like any normal teenager would, while also giving time back to both the church and the community.
According to the Associated Press, Acutis taught Catholicism at a local church and volunteered to help the homeless.
Acutis also used his computer coding skills to create a website highlighting more than 100 eucharistic miracles recognized by the church.
EXCLUSIVE: CARLO ACUTIS’ MOM DESCRIBES TRANSFORMATION FROM BEING NON-RELIGIOUS TO MOTHER OF A SAINT
The first intercession by Acutis came from his own mother, Antonia, who told Fox News that it came four years after his death.
“When Carlo died, I was 39 years old, and then I started to try to have other children. I said, ‘I’m still young, maybe I can try, no?’ [But] the children didn’t arrive. Then I had started on my practice to adopt a child, but in Italy, it’s very difficult… I had lost all my hopes to have children by myself,” she explained. “Once I dreamed about Carlo, he told me, ‘listen, you will become, again, a mother. Don’t worry.’ And, one month after, I became pregnant.”
According to the National Catholic Register, the Vatican has recognized a second miracle by intercession on May 23, 2024.
The miracle involved a 21-year-old Costa Rican woman named Valeria Valverde.
Carlo Acutis, who died at 15 from leukemia, is one step closer to becoming a saint. (carloacutis.com)
Valverde sustained a serious brain injury in a bicycle accident while residing in Florence, Italy in 2022. Valverde was not expected to survive the injury.
However, she made a full recovery after her mother visited Acutis’s tomb and prayed for his intercession, according to the National Catholic Register.
Carlo Acutis’s tomb is in Assisi, Italy. His tomb has been visited by Catholics of all ages, but primarily the younger generation. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Acutis’s tomb, which is located in Assisi, has been visited frequently by Catholics, most notably younger Catholics.
Acutis will be joined by the blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati when he is inscribed in the book of saints.
Fox News Digital’s Laura Carrione contributed to this story.
Nick Butler is a reporter for Fox News Digital. Do you have any tips? Reach out to Nick.Butler@Fox.com.
Published on •Updated
Belgium’s three regions announced on Friday that they would introduce a road tax next year that foreign drivers transiting the country would also have to pay.
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The country does not currently charge drivers to use its highways and the issue of introducing some form of payment has been debated for years.
“Everyone who uses our roads must contribute fairly to their maintenance,” said the transport minister for the southern Wallonia region, François Desquesnes.
Starting on 1 May 2027 drivers will need to register their vehicle and pay the road tax, with day passes available for drivers driving across the country.
An annual pass for a zero-emission car will cost €90 and up to €125 for higher polluting vehicles.
Road cameras that catch cars that haven’t paid for a pass will incur a fine of €70.
In Belgium, the individual regions are responsible for maintaining roads and motorways.
Currently, drivers can use almost all highways toll-free but the possibility of an introducing a charge has been under discussion for several years.
The revenue would be used for the operation and maintenance of the road network.
The proposed toll still needs final approval from the regions and European authorities.
According to the chairman of the liberal-conservative MR party, the government intends to offset the new toll by lowering other taxes for Belgians.
Additional sources • AFP
World
With US unleashing attacks, Iranian official threatens that the Islamic Republic will deliver a ‘hard slap’
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An Iranian official warned that the Islamic Republic will deliver a “hard slap” while another blatantly threatened the U.S. that “if you strike, you’ll get hit,” according to automatic translations from the two men’s Persian-language posts on X.
Ebrahim Rezaei, whose profile on the social media platform indicates that he is a representative in Iran’s Parliament and the spokesperson for the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, wrote in a post on X, “The martyred Khamenei taught us not to fear America and showed that ‘falsehood will perish.’ Await the hard slap from the Iranians.”
The speaker of Iran’s Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, warned, “America still hasn’t learned that bullying and breaking promises are no longer cost-free. Let me put it plainly: if you strike, you’ll get hit. Don’t flail around pointlessly, or you’ll sink even deeper: the Strait of Hormuz will only open with ‘Iranian arrangements,’ not American threats.”
Both of the men issued their posts on Wednesday after U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced more strikes against Iran.
“At the direction of the Commander in Chief, U.S. Central Command forces have started conducting additional strikes against Iran to further degrade their ability to threaten freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz. The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway,” CENTCOM had noted in a post on X.
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People gather at the Imam Khomeini Grand Mosalla for a farewell ceremony for Iran’s late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on July 4, 2026, in Tehran, Iran. (Majid Saeedi/Getty Images)
The U.S. military later provided more information about the attacks.
“U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) forces completed an additional round of strikes against Iran, July 8, to further degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping and innocent civilian mariners in the Strait of Hormuz,” CENTCOM noted on Wednesday night.
“U.S. forces struck approximately 90 Iranian military targets including air defense systems, coastal surveillance assets, missile and drone storage sites, naval capabilities, and military logistics infrastructure along Iran’s coastline. The latest strikes follow successful execution of offensive strikes in Iran the night before,” the announcement noted. “CENTCOM forces hit approximately 80 Iranian military targets July 7, including more than 60 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats, to impose heavy costs for Iran violating the ceasefire by attacking three commercial vessels navigating the Strait of Hormuz.”
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President Donald Trump indicated on Wednesday that, as far as he was concerned, the U.S.-Iran Memorandum of Understanding ceasefire was “over.”
Kuwait and Bahrain have both reported coming under attack.
The Kuwait Army noted in a Thursday post on X, which was written in Arabic, “The Official Spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, Major General Saud Abdulaziz Al-Otaibi, stated that the armed forces detected, at dawn today, (3) ballistic missiles, (1) cruise missile, and (10) hostile drones within Kuwaiti airspace, which were successfully intercepted and dealt with.”
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President Donald Trump speaks as he meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, on July 8, 2026. (SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)
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The Bahrain Defense Force noted in a post that was in Arabic, “The General Command clarifies that, with firm resolve and high combat readiness, the Bahrain Defense Force’s air defense systems confronted, intercepted, and destroyed several treacherous Iranian aerial attacks this morning, Thursday, July 9, 2026 CE.”
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