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
when he became the first pope to resign and almost 600 years. he cited a quote, lack of strength of mind and body as his reason for stepping down. benedict was born in germany and grew up as the regime was gaining power. after the war. he turned to theological studies and eventually became a professor in 1951. he was ordained as a priest. as work in theology attracted the attention of the archbishop. who asked him to serve his expert assistance at the second vatican council in the sixties , and then in 1977, he was appointed archbishop of munich . three months later, he became cardinal benedict. the 16th was elected pope in 2005 following the death of his close friend, pope john paul, the second at age 78. he became the oldest newly elected pope since 1970. pope benedict the 16th dedicated his entire adult life to the church from 1951 when he was ordained a priest until resigning his pope in 2013, greg palkot, takes a look at his life and legacy. when john paul. the second di
and our political correspondent jack fenwick. another busy day of campaigning, what stood out for you today? there s quite a bit to choose from. it certainly has been another busy day. once again, a theme we ve seen so far in this election is that the economy is really front and centre. we ve heard in the last few minutes how labour have had this letter signed by various business leaders saying they think labour is the way to go in the selection, we ve heard rachel reeves has been out talking about the economy as well. this is all part of labour trying to say they are a changed party since 2019 when jeremy corbyn they are a changed party since 2019 whenjeremy corbyn led the party into that particular election. keir starmer and rachel reeves, and the rest of the labour party think that voters want to be reassured that they will be a safe pair of hands, if you like, if they are in charge of the economy. but there s also a note of caution darrenjones covid labour s shadow chie