good morning. the vatican has announced the death of pope benedict xvi at the age of 95. his health had been worsening in recent weeks. benedict served as head of the roman catholic church for eight years until 2013, when he became the first pope in 600 years to announce his retirement. he was german by birth, and was known for his conservative theological outlook. vatican spokesman, matteo bruni, said in a statement. bells tolling this was the moment of the confirmation of his death in rome, you can hear the bells ringing in st peter s square in vatican city. the vatican says pope benedict s body will lie in state from monday in st peter s basilica. let s go straight to our europe correspondent, bethany bell. we can see some crowd behind you, how have people reacted to the news of the death of the former pope? we of the death of the former pope? - spoke to one couple from spain who were here in the square as tourists and they said that their tour guide told them the news and
of repairing the damage. also in the programme. in beijing the chinese communist party congress continues but some parts of the city are back under a covid lockdown. and, a jury in new york clears the actor, kevin spacey, of making unwanted sexual advances on a iii year old. hello and welcome to the programme. britain is set to get a new prime minister by the end of next week, after the conservative party announced details of a fast tracked contest to choose its leader following liz truss s resignation. she stepped down afterjust six chaotic weeks in the job by far the shortest tenure in british history. her leadership foundered when the markets took fright, the pound crashed, she sacked her chancellor kwasi kwarteng and was forced into a humiliating series of u turns. we start our coverage with the bbc s political editor chris mason. lunchtime in downing street and the lectern is back. six weeks and two days since liz truss stood behind it as she became prime minister,