Latest news bulletin | April 26th – Midday
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Catch up with the most important stories from around Europe and beyond - latest news, breaking news, World, Business, Entertainment, Politics, Culture, Travel.
READ MORE : http://www.euronews.com/2025/04/26/latest-news-bulletin-april-26th-midday
Subscribe to our channel. Euronews is available on Dailymotion in 12 languages
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NewsTranscript
00:00The public viewing of Pope Francis' open coffin at St. Peter's Basilica ended Friday evening.
00:10Following that, church and Vatican officials sealed the casket in a private ceremony.
00:16Earlier in the afternoon, many heads of states could be seen paying their respects to the Pope.
00:22This included French President Emmanuel Macron, Lithuanian President Gita Nasnao Seda and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban.
00:32As world leaders continue to pour into Rome ahead of Saturday's funeral, representatives from 146 countries and 10 international organizations are expected to attend.
00:45According to the Vatican, since Wednesday, more than 250,000 people have visited the Vatican to pay their respects to Pope Francis.
01:01Authorities in the Vatican and Rome have put massive security measures in place for Pope Francis' funeral on Saturday.
01:08Thousands of police officers will be deployed with reinforcements arriving from several Italian regions,
01:16along with security personnel from about 130 foreign delegations.
01:22According to local officials, the area around the Vatican and along the route of the funeral procession
01:28will be protected by comprehensive security presence covering threats from the air, land and sea.
01:35In addition to the security arrangements, health measures have been put in place by the Lazio region.
01:42Pope Francis, who had been recovering after being hospitalized for five weeks with double pneumonia, died on Monday at the age of 88.
01:51Pope Francis' funeral will be held on Saturday at 10 a.m. in St. Peter Square
01:56and attended by world leaders, including Argentine President, Javier Millet, U.S. President Donald Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
02:07So far, 130 official presidencies have been confirmed, including 10 royals and numerous prime ministers and ambassadors.
02:17According to current norms, the conclave to choose Francis' successor will begin between the 5th and the 10th of May.
02:26Estonia's government has approved 2.8 billion euros in additional funding to go towards defense investments in a bid to meet NATO capability targets.
02:39The new funding will see the Baltic country average out defense spending of 5.4% of GDP over the next four years.
02:46It's a significant hike from previous levels, where Tallinn was spending approximately 3.4% of GDP on defense.
02:55Defense Minister Hanophev Kor says the additional spending will see a sizable boost to military equipment and ammunition.
03:03New missiles, air defenses, advanced communication systems, and additional troops, among others, will all be invested in.
03:09Estonia says the added spending is to increase preparedness amid a growingly unstable security environment
03:16after their neighbor's Russia launched an invasion on Ukraine.
03:20The new bill comes just weeks ahead of the upcoming NATO leaders' summit in The Hague in late June.
03:26It also comes after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to pull Washington from NATO
03:31if members don't increase defense spending to at least 5%.
03:35Luigi Mangione has pleaded not guilty to a federal murder charge in the killing of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
03:47The plea comes after federal prosecutors declared their intent to seek the death penalty against him.
03:54U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said prosecutors are seeking capital punishment
03:58as they considered the murder an act of political violence.
04:01They added that there is reason to believe the attack on Thompson was premeditated in nature
04:06and cold-blooded in execution.
04:09The formal process of putting charges to Mangione for the killing last December
04:13attracted several dozen people to the federal courthouse in Manhattan.
04:17It was the first time the Justice Department said it was pursuing capital punishment
04:21since Donald Trump returned to the White House.
04:24President Trump had vowed to resume federal executions
04:27after they were halted under the Biden administration.
04:30Mangione's lawyers say Bondi's announcement was a political stunt
04:34that corrupted the grand jury
04:36and deprived him of his constitutional right to due process.
04:39The 26-year-old Maryland native has been held in a federal jail in Brooklyn since his arrest.
04:45The 26-year-old