hello and welcome to bbc news. the vatican says pope francis has spent a good night in hospital after being admitted with a respiratory infection. a spokesman said he had been experiencing breathing difficulties, but they also confirmed he was not suffering from covid. the bbc s davide ghiglione is outside the hospital in rome. a spokesperson informed journalists that he spent a peaceful night at the hospital. so his condition remains stable at the moment. the vatican is trying to reassure journalists, people and catholics all over the world. according to italian news agency ansa, the pope should be discharged within the next couple of days. and he should be able to celebrate next sunday s mass. everybody knows at the vatican that the pope has been particularly weak over the last couple of months. we do know already that he was forced to use a wheelchair. so it could be quite tiring for him even if he is able to attend all the ceremonies and easter celebrations. we can get mo
we will start in iran. politicians in iran are insisting that wearing headscarfs should be enforced rigorously they re demanding that judges enforce the law. across the country, a growing number of women are going out without hijabs in public. joining here with me is parham ghobadi from bbc persian service. just talk us through what is happening right now. why are authorities cracking down now? because of what we see is happening today in iran is that many women in big cities like tehran and other major cities, theyjust walk big cities like tehran and other major cities, they just walk around on the streets without headscarves and without hijab. without hijab, not only headscarves, for four decades iranian women had to wear to walk in the streets. now we see especially young women walking on the streets without any sort of hijab and iranian politicians and iranian dutch mic that has frustrated iranian hardliners. so the regime rigid regime is a a difficult position becaus
politicians in iran are insisting that wearing headscarfs should be enforced rigorously they re demanding that judges enforce the law. across the country, a growing number of women are going out without hijabs in public. earlier, i spoke to bbc s parham ghobadi and asked what prompted this latest move. in big cities like in tehran and in other major cities, they just walk around on the streets without headscarf and without her job and without hijab, it s not only headscarf, it s also a kind of trench coat that for four decades, iranian women had to wear in order to walk on the streets. so now we see, especially younger women walking on the streets without any sort of hijab and iran. iranian politicians and iranian heart that has frustrated iranian hardliners. and so iranian regime is in a really difficult position because they have this tiny margin of supporters that are hard liners, and these are the people who are willing to pick up arms and defend the regime. now, they
the former pope, benedict xvi, has died at the age of 95. the vatican says he passed away this morning at his residence there. 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. bells tolling this was the moment his death was confirmed 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, and that pope francis will lead the funeral on january 5th. here s our religon editor, aleem maqbool. cerebral by character, benedict was a prolific author and more at home with scholarship than pastoral work. he led the world s catholics for eight years and then abruptly resigned, the first pope to do so in 600 years. joseph ratzinger was born in southe
and can american lawmakers end the chaos on capitol hill? kevin mccarthy bids yet again to take one of washington s top jobs. we start with prince harry s much anticipated autobiography , in it he claims his brother, prince william physically attacked him in 2019. he grabbed me by the collar, ripping my necklace, and he knocked me to the floor, harry is quoted as saying. this is being reported in the guardian newspaper, which says it has seen a copy of the duke of sussex s memoir, titled, spare. the newspaper reports that the book sets out an argument between the two brothers over prince harry s wife meghan. kensington palace and buckingham palace, which represent prince william and king charles respectively, have both said they will not comment. and what sparked the row between the two brothers? according to the guardian, it was comments prince william made to prince harry at his london home in 2019, as nicholas witchell recounts. the brothers had an angry confrontatio