Suffering from flu, Pope Francis cancels COP28 trip

VATICAN CITY - Pope Francis cancelled his upcoming trip to Dubai for the COP28 climate talks on the advice of doctors concerned over his recent flu-like symptoms, the Vatican said.

The 86-year-old, who has made protecting the environment a cornerstone of his 10-year papacy, had planned to become the first pontiff to attend the UN event since the process began in 1995.

"Although the Holy Father's general clinical picture has improved with regard to his flu-like condition and inflammation of the respiratory tract, doctors have asked the Pope not to make the trip planned for the coming days to Dubai," Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said in a statement. 

"Pope Francis accepted the doctors' request with great regret and the trip is therefore cancelled," Bruni said. 

Bruni -- who just hours earlier had told a briefing that the pope would be attending -- added that the pope still wished to be part of discussions in Dubai, without specifying.

With Francis's withdrawal from the conference, which begins Thursday, COP 28 will lose one of the highest profile advocates of the environment, a moral authority recognisable on the global stage whose words some believed could nudge leaders to take concrete action. 

Francis, who turns 87 next month, has suffered a series of health issues in recent years, from knee and hip pain to an inflamed colon and most recently, hernia surgery in June.