Small Bomb Explodes in Rome Near French Church--2nd Update

ROME--A small bomb exploded near a French religious establishment in central Rome early Friday, damaging three cars and some windows in surrounding buildings, a spokesman for the Carabinieri military police said.

Nobody was injured by the blast.

The bomb went off around 0130 GMT in a street where the Church of Saint-Yves des Bretons, part of a French religious foundation, is located, about a five-minute walk from the historic Piazza Navona.

"We aren't following any specific leads...nobody has claimed responsibility or given any warnings," the Carabinieri spokesman said.

The incident occurred hours ahead of a meeting between French President François Hollande and Pope Francis.

Separately, just over an hour before Mr. Hollande arrived to meet the pope, the Carabinieri received an anonymous call warning that there were two bombs in St. Peter's Square, said a Vatican spokesman. He said the police checked and it resulted in a hoax.

President Hollande arrived at a private meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican at 0930 GMT, as scheduled. The two are expected to discuss the Syrian conflict and the pace of Israeli-Palestinian talks, among other things.

"Nobody has claimed responsibility with us," said an official at the French embassy to the Vatican.

The Vatican said, in a statement, that the pope and the French president also discussed poverty and migration issues. Pope Francis has taken a strong view in denouncing the plight of migrants from less developed countries, as they flee war, poverty and persecution.

Homemade bombs are fairly frequent in Rome and alarms went off last week at a McDonald's, in front of a court, and at a UniCredit SpA bank branch.

Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20140124-703214.html