Plus: The Texas town that's home to Musk's business empire ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏ ͏
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| Hello. The Vatican has announced the date and some of the details of Pope Francis's funeral, following the death of the pontiff on Easter Monday. From a small town in Texas, US reporter Mike Wendling asks residents how they feel about their community becoming the base for Elon Musk's business empire. Plus, watch as robots race against humans in a Beijing half marathon.
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TOP OF THE AGENDA | Details of Pope's funeral revealed |
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|  | Pope Francis's body is currently laid out in the chapel of his Santa Marta residence. Credit: AP | Pope Francis's funeral will be held on Saturday, in St Peter's Square, the Vatican has announced. The pontiff eschewed the pomp of the papacy and the ceremony is expected to be a more modest affair, as he becomes the first pope in more than a century to not be buried at the Vatican. World leaders including US President Donald Trump, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and French President Emmanuel Macron are expected to attend. Currently, the late pope is laid out in a coffin in the chapel of the Casa Santa Marta, where he lived during his 12-year papacy, as images released by the Vatican show. |
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| | | - Francis's influence: The Pope was a vocal critic of the powerful and his influence was felt far-beyond the Catholic Church, the BBC's religion editor Aleem Maqbool writes.
- Pope's final days: Despite doctors' orders that he rest, Francis spent his final days receiving visitors and meeting people from every walk of life, writes Europe reporter Laura Gozzi.
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| Putin signals Russia open to direct Ukraine talks | Zelensky did not respond directly, but said Ukraine was "ready for any conversation" that would ensure the safety of civilians. | Read more > |
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| Trump attacks Fed chair Powell as 'major loser' | US stocks and the dollar have plunged, after the president's tariff plan drove a market sell-off and raised recession fears. | What Trump said > |
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| New ceasefire plan proposed - Hamas source | The plan envisages a truce, the hostages' release in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, and Israeli forces leaving Gaza. | More on proposal > |
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| Harvard sues government to stop funding freeze | The university's president argues that the $2bn funding freeze will hamper critical disease research. | More on the row > |
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| Mission to grow food in space labs blasts off | Steak, mashed potatoes and deserts for astronauts could soon be grown from individual cells in space. | More on the experiment > |
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| BEYOND THE HEADLINES | The rural Texas town where Elon Musk is basing his business empire |
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| |  | The site pictured in 2023, with SpaceX facilities at the top, The Boring Company located to the left and the building housing local businesses in the centre. Since then, the development has expanded further. Credit: Getty Images | Farm-to-Market Road 1209 in the middle of rural Texas seems an unlikely address for a high-tech hub, but that's exactly what Elon Musk hopes it will become. Half an hour east of Austin, the world's richest man is building a corporate campus for his companies, including social media platform X, space technology company SpaceX, and infrastructure firm The Boring Company. But what do his new neighbours in the small town of Bastrop think about the transformation headed their way? |
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SOMETHING DIFFERENT | Unlikely inspiration | A key plot in Star Wars series Andor is inspired by a robbery led by a young Stalin. | |
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And finally... in Beijing | Watch as robots run alongside humans at the Yizhuang half marathon in Beijing, billed as the world's first robot half marathon. However, given the speed and running form of some of the 21 humanoid robots that took part - not to mention the one that fell over and had to be carried away just metres after starting - it will be a few years yet before they're contesting for medals. | |
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US Politics Unspun newsletter | No noise. No agenda. Just expert analysis of the issues that matter most, from North America correspondent Anthony Zurcher. | |
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