The Big Story: Pope Francis to lead ex-pontiff Benedict’s funeral on Thursday

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Pope Francis will preside over the funeral of his predecessor Benedict XVI at the Vatican, an unprecedented event that is expected to draw tens of thousands of people.

Benedict, born Joseph Ratzinger, died on Saturday aged 95, bringing an end to an unprecedented situation of having two “men in white” – he and Francis – living in the Vatican.

Separately, Creative Technology chairman and chief executive Sim Wong Hoo, one of Singapore’s most famous tech entrepreneurs, died on Wednesday. He was 67.

Mr Sim founded the home-grown business in 1981, and had led the company since its inception. In a bourse filing on Thursday, Creative said Mr Sim “passed away peacefully”, without giving further details.

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