Europe is set to reach even higher temperatures over the weekend, as the Cerberus heatwave continues to grip the south of the continent.
Temperatures are expected to continue to swelter in Italy, with a second heatwave expected to rocket 12C (53.6F) above average in some areas on Sunday.
Five cities in Sicily, Sardinia and Puglia have issued fresh warnings for individuals to avoid being out in the midday heat after the Italian health ministry issued the same warning in another 10 cities from Bologna to Rome on Friday.
Image: The Acropolis was temporarily closed for a few hours on Friday. Pic: AP
Image: But it later reopened to visitors
A similar “red alert” was issued in Cyprus, appealing for the public to take extra care and avoid using any machinery that could spark fires.
In the capital Nicosia, more than two dozen elderly people sought refuge at a dedicated heat shelter the municipality reserves for summer heatwaves.
Temperatures are expected to hit a midday high of 43C (110F) on Saturday, and are not expected to go below 27C (77F) even through the night, while humidity will hit 65% along the coast.
It follows temperatures of above 40C (104F) in Greece, which left tourists disgruntled after the temporary closure of the Acropolis in Athens.
Image: A boy cools himself in a fountain in Greece. Pic: AP
Staff from charity the Red Cross handed out bottled water to dehydrated tourists waiting in long lines hoping to beat the Acropolis’ 12-5pm local time closure, but some were left disappointed at the last-minute announcement by authorities.
“I even bought a €50 ticket to skip the line to enter and I couldn’t enter the place,” Hector from Mexico said on Friday.
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2:04
Will Europe heatwave get worse?
In Spain, people packed the beaches on Friday as the country enjoyed a short-lived respite from its second heatwave of the summer.
Temperatures were still expected to reach 40C in at least 12 of Spain’s 17 regions, after a high of 45C scorched the southeastern town of Albox on Wednesday.
Spain’s Aemet state weather agency said another heatwave is expected to start on Sunday with highest temperatures yet to come.
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2:27
How is Greece tackling Cerberus?
Spanish coastal areas like Las Palmas, Tenerife and Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands were at high risk of forest fires on Friday.
A map created by Sky News, adapted from Copernicus Emergency Management Service data, showed most coastal regions at “moderate” or “high” risk of forest fires.
Image: A volunteer gives water to a visitor near the Acropolis hill. Pic: AP
Meanwhile, inland areas painted a different picture – with much of the centre of the map under “very high”, “extreme” or “highly extreme” risk of blazes.
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1:26
How the heatwave is impacting Greece
People in Croatia found creative ways of staying cool, using mud to protect themselves from the glaring heat as the country reached 30-37C (86F).
“It [mud] is definitely better than sun screen, I think protection factor is much better,” said Josef, a Slovakian tourist visiting the coastal town of Nin.
Image: Beachgoers covered with mud in Nin
People in Rome and Greece looking for ways to cool down used numerous fountains.
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg weighed in on the high temperatures in a post on Twitter, saying global heat records should serve as an urgent wake-up call.
“Last week we experienced the hottest days ever recorded, many days in a row. We are also experiencing record high sea level temperatures and record low ice levels. This is an emergency,” she said.
Image: Salvation Army volunteer in Phoenix, US
Away from Europe, dangerous heatwaves are also being seen in the US, with more than a third of Americans put under extreme heat advisories, watches and warnings on Thursday.
Phoenix hit 43C (109F) for the 14th consecutive day, putting it on track for a possible new record next week.
An urgent transfer to the Gemelli hospital, where he was treated for pneumonia earlier this year, was among the options considered.
A request for an urgent escort from the Vatican was received by Rome police after 7am, sources there said, but, given how quickly his condition worsened, it was cancelled by Vatican officials before 7.35am.
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0:21
First images of pope’s casket
The Vatican said he died from a stroke that led to a coma and irreversible heart failure.
He is currently lying in state in the Santa Marta Domus in a private viewing for Vatican residents and the papal household.
Francis will be laid to rest Saturday, the Vatican announced on Tuesday, after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects.
The funeral will take place outside, in the square in front of St Peter’s Basilica, and will start with a procession led by a priest carrying a cross, followed by the coffin and ordained clergy.
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1:02
‘Many were in tears, I was in tears’
Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, the dean of the College of Cardinals, will lead the service. Nine days of mourning begin afterwards.
Unlike his predecessors, Francis will be buried in the Basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore (St Mary Major), as per his final burial wishes, announced on Monday.
The basilica is dedicated to Mary, the Mother of God, and is where Francis traditionally went to pray before and after foreign trips.
He will be the first pope to be buried outside the Vatican in more than a century.
In another change from tradition, he will be buried in a simple wooden casket, forgoing the centuries-old practice of burying the late pope in three interlocking caskets made of cypress, lead, and oak.
Francis, the first Jesuit and Latin American pontiff, had suffered from a chronic lung disease and had part of a lung removed as a young man.
Health issues plagued him throughout his later life, and he was admitted to Gemelli hospital in Rome on 14 February for a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia. He stayed at the hospital for 38 days before being released.
A bag belonging to the US Homeland Security Secretary was stolen on Sunday night – containing thousands of dollars in cash and an ID card that gives access to secure agency buildings.
Kristi Noem was eating at a Washington DC burger restaurant with family when a man in a face covering sat near her table and stole her purse, according to two people familiar with the theft.
The cabinet secretary was carrying $3,000 (£2,243) in cash because “her entire family was in town including her children and grandchildren”, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin told NBC.
“She was using the withdrawal to treat her family to dinner, activities and Easter gifts.”
Image: The purse contained her ID card. Reuters file pic
Just before 8pm, a man wearing an N-95 mask walked into the restaurant and up a few stairs to where Ms Noem was eating dinner.
He sat near her table and moved his chair close to hers before sliding her purse toward him with his foot, according to surveillance footage viewed by law enforcement, the sources said.
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Within minutes, the man had Ms Noem’s purse under his jacket and walked out of the restaurant.
At least two on-duty members of the US Secret Service were in the restaurant – between Ms Noem and the front doors – according to a source who witnessed the meal.
They said the restaurant wasn’t very busy at the time.
The purse also contained credit cards, blank cheques, her passport, driver’s licence and a set of keys.
It’s unclear whether Ms Noem was specifically targeted – and investigators are looking into whether the man knew who the purse belonged to.
When asked about the incident, Ms Noem said: “I don’t think I can comment on it yet. It’s not resolved yet.”
She said the Secret Service was aware but said she hadn’t spoken to agency personnel about what happened.
Ms Noem is a vocal supporter of Donald Trump’s policies of deporting undocumented immigrants and fortifying the US-Mexico border to slow illegal migration.
Sir Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about ending Russia’s “brutal war” on Ukraine in their latest phone call on Easter Monday, as Vladimir Putin said he was open to bilateral talks.
The prime minister and Ukrainian president spoke on Monday afternoon, when Sir Keir “reiterated his iron-clad support for Ukraine“.
A Downing Street spokesperson added that the prime minister “said that the UK supports Ukraine’s calls for Russiato commit to a full ceasefire and that now is the time for Putin to show he is serious about ending his brutal war”.
“They discussed the latest developments on the Coalition of the Willing, and looked forward to further progress towards a just and lasting peace,” the spokesperson added.
Mr Zelenskyy later said on social media that he had a “good and detailed conversation” with the prime minister, and added Ukrainian officials will be in London for talks on ending the war with Russia on Wednesday.
“We are ready to move forward as constructively as possible, just as we have done before, to achieve an unconditional ceasefire, followed by the establishment of a real and lasting peace,” he added.
The Ukrainian president added that the 30-hour Easter truce, which both Kyiv and Moscow accuse the other of violating, showed that Russia “are prolonging the war”.
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It comes as Mr Putin proposed bilateral talks with Ukraine on a longer ceasefire, which would mark the first time Russia held such talks since a failed peace deal soon after the invasion in 2022.
Speaking to a state TV reporter, the Russian president said: “We always have a positive attitude towards a truce, which is why we came up with such an initiative (the Easter truce), especially since we are talking about the bright Easter days.”
When asked about Mr Zelenskyy’s calls to extend the 30-hour ceasefire into a 30-day pause on civilian targets, he added: “This is all a subject for careful study, perhaps even bilaterally. We do not rule this out.”
The Ukrainian president said on Sunday evening that the Russian army had “violated Putin’s ceasefire more than 2,000 times” during the day, and accused Russia of “failing” to “uphold its own promise of a ceasefire”.
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2:17
From Saturday: Why Putin offered an Easter truce?
It also comes after Donald Trump has said he hopes Russia and Ukraine “will make a deal this week,” after he and his secretary of state Marco Rubio warned that the US will walk away from efforts to broker a peace deal unless there are clear signs of progress soon.
The US president said on his Truth Social platform that both countries would “start to do big business” with the US after ending the war.
Last month, Ukraine accepted Mr Trump’s proposal for a 30-day truce, but Mr Putin refused to back a full 30-day ceasefire, saying crucial issues of verification had not been sorted out.
He then said he would agree not to target Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. However, both sides have accused each other of breaking the moratorium on attacks on energy targets and at sea.