this is bbc news broadcasting to viewers in the uk and around the world. i'm shaun ley. the headlines: bell chimes the bells toll in st peter's square as the vatican announces the former pope, benedict xvi, has died at the age of 95. pope benedict led the catholic church for nearly eight years until, in 2013, he became the first pope in 600 years to resign. world health officials call on beijing to share accurate covid data — as england becomes the latest country to control arrivals from china. a winter warning from

nhs bosses in wales — they say health services are experiencing demand like never seen before, and urge people to do what they can to help. celebrations have begun to mark the start of 2023 — with firework displays in auckland, new zealand and at sydney harbour 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. this was the moment his death was confirmed in rome — 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 southern germany. he was just six when the nazis swept into power. his parents were hostile to the regime, and though their son entered junior seminary in 1939, he was forced to join the hitler youth just two years later. he and his brother georg were ordained on the same day in 1951. georg became a parish priest, joseph chose a quite different kind of ministry. first, a doctorate, appointments at prestigious universities and then the vatican. a cardinal by his early 50s, an ailing popejohn paul ii made him head of the sacred congregation for the doctrine of faith, formally the roman inquisition. there he upheld traditional catholic teaching on abortion, contraception and homosexuality. he even spoke against rock music

and the harry potter books. whenjohn paul died in april 2005, he was one of the church's longest serving cardinals and presided at the funeral. his homily, based onjesus�*s instruction, follow me, proved prophetic. afterjust four ballots, white smoke from the sistine chapel announced cardinal ratzinger�*s election. the oldest pope for 275 years. as pope benedict xvi, he sought to re—evangelise the west. it was an attempt to roll back the advance of secularism in europe and north america. but in it lay an acknowledgement of the church's declining influence in its traditional heartlands. but he also sparked controversy

in 2006 when during a lecture he gave in germany, he quoted criticism of islam by a 14th century christian leader and appeared to link the religion with jihad and holy war. there were violent protests in several muslim countries. the pope apologised and made a point of setting up the first catholic muslim forum. he seemed chastened by the experience, and on visits like this one to britain, benedict exuded pastoral warmth and warned against marginalisation of religion. but back in rome, the church was beginning to confront the scandal of sexual abuse by priests around the world. he was forced to deny that he'd played any role in covering up abuse. but the cases continued to mount. he later acknowledged he'd made mistakes in handling the matter.

in february 2013, he shocked the world, announcing he would resign at the end of the month, citing age and failing health. the election of his successor, pope francis, represented a break with much of what benedict had stood for. the challenge was to find a leader who could close the widening gap between a doctrinally conservative vatican and the church worldwide. pope benedict upheld the creeds of the church and taught them with conviction. he died as he lived, thinking and writing about how to defend and advance those creeds in an increasingly secular world. 0ur europe correspondent bethany bell is at vatican city today. i spoke to her earlier. the vatican has confirmed that

benedict xvi will be buried and his funeral will take place on the 5th of january and that pope francis will lead that service. this is entirely new territory for the church. pope benedict's biographer said it will be the first time in the 2000 year history of the church that a sitting pope will preside over the funeral of his successor. interesting moment for the church. before that his body will be laid out in st peter's basilica from the 2nd of january to allow people to come and pay their respects to the former pope. there has been reaction internationally from leaders but presumably also from people actually in rome who happen to be there and happened to be close to the vatican when this announcement came? yes, st peter's square has been cleared of the public now but this morning when the news broke it was full of people,

many tourists who had come here for the new year's holiday. we spoke to a number of people, to one woman from bologna, who was visiting rome and she said as soon as she heard the news she rushed to st peter's square to pray for the pope. she said it was a great loss for the church. we also spoke to barbara from barcelona who was in the square when the news broke. she said she and her boyfriend had been bewildered and she said it was a surreal moment to know that pope benedict was now dead and she said this is an unprecedented historical moment. many people have been coming here to pay their respects and they have now been moved a bit further out of the square but there are still crowds around a little distance from where i am now. there is a sense here of this being a momentous period.

the mayor of kyiv, vitaliy klitschko has told the bbc that one person has been killed and 11 people have been taken to hospital — including a journalist from japan — after russia launched more than a dozen missiles targeting cities across ukraine on new year's eve. mr klitschko said several districts had been hit in the capital, including pechersk in the city centre. british intelligence had earlier warned of potential russian attacks — after the kremlin had launched country—wide strikes on thursday — killing at least 3 people and injuring 6, including a child, according to the ukrainian officials. 0ur correspondent hugo bachega has just sent this update from kyiv. this is one of the places hit here in kyiv as russia launched more missiles targeting cities across the country. officials say that debris from a missile that was intercepted by the country's air defence hit this area. they say at least one person was killed here. emergency workers are

still working here. the air raid alert sounded across the country at around one o'clock in the afternoon here. the authorities had warned ukrainians that russia could launch more attacks. president zelensky has said that russia wanted ukrainians to celebrate the new year in the dark. the world health organisation says chinese officials must share more real—time information on covid in the country as infections surge. cases have soared and several countries are now screening travellers from china, after many of the country's strict restrictions have been lifted over the last few weeks. officials at the who want to see more data on hospitalisations, intensive care unit admissions and deaths. the uk is one of the countries that has now announced it will introduce new covid checks for people arriving on flights to england from china. from next thurday travellers

will have to provide a negative test before boarding their flight from china. some random testing will be carried out on arrivals in england. simon calder, travel correspondent at the independent, explained. just a reminder to everyone, it was this day in 2019 when the world health organisation, the china office, was first told about a strain of pneumonia that had caused concern for 33 people in the city of wuhan and it seemed to be tied around a seafood market which was then closed but we know the way that covid then spread around the world. there are echoes of that time in what is happening now. the uk has come out and said on thursday, they said

there were not going to be any changes but on friday they said they are going to introduce these tests. it will be a lateral flow test, before you are allowed on the fight, that is easy for the government to organise because you just tell the airlines you have got to do this. and the airlines have got the capacity because they did it already? exactly. checking covid certificates is something that they have become accustomed to. you mentioned checking on arrival and that will happen to one fifth of the arriving passengers. there are not large numbers coming into london heathrow today, for example, just three flights compared with more than 20 from new york. if those people test positive they will not need to quarantine. that is in stark contrast with what japan is saying, they say if you test positive and you are coming from china, and they are testing everybody, with a pcr test, then you go into a week of hotel quarantine. similar policy in south korea.

the us has gone down the route of, "we want to test before departure," and italy, which was hit first and hardest by the covid crisis coming from china, said they will test everybody as they come in. simon calder, there. hospitals across the uk are under rising pressure due to flu and covid cases. in wales, the chief executive of the nhs has urged people to call 999 only if it's urgent. simonjones reports. siren wails this winter, the health service is experiencing demand like it's never seen before — that's the stark warning from the nhs in wales, which is dealing with a sharp rise in cases of flu and covid. its chief executivejudith paget is pleading with people to only attend emergency departments for urgent care.

a message reiterated by one health board. the pressure is on the nursing staff to make sure that we can give the best care. we're working with the a&e departments to make sure the patients are coming in through the ambulance service, getting them up to the wards quickly. but obviously, we've got to isolate quite a lot of patients, so that means looking at our bed base, looking at our side rooms and our wards. as this public health campaign makes clear, flu is back with a vengeance. nhs england says there were more than 3,700 patients a day in hospital with flu last week — that's a sevenfold increase on the situation last month. health bosses say a twindemic of flu and covid is now a reality. it's led a number of ambulance trusts to declare critical incidents. 90—year—old jean stringer was visiting family on boxing day in gloucester when she fell down the stairs. she spent 23 hours on the landing with a fractured hip, waiting for an ambulance. it's just horrendous

because we knew how uncomfortable she was and there was absolutely nothing that we could do, apart from keep her topped up with the paracetamol and codeine and keep asking her if she's 0k, and you know that she's not. when she arrived at hospital, she spent 11.5 hours in the ambulance, waiting to be admitted. the ambulance service admits it's under huge pressure. and gps, too, say they are stretched. this is certainly the worst that i've seen it. speaking to colleagues, they've described it as the worst couple of weeks in their careers. we're asking that the public only use a&e for life—threatening emergencies. with flu cases also rising in scotland and northern ireland, health bosses are urging anyone eligible for a flu or covid jab that has not yet come forward to get vaccinated. and people celebrating the new year tonight are being asked to be sensible. simon jones, bbc news. let's get more now from dr adrian boyle — he's president of the royal college of emergency medicine.

thanks forjoining us. what do you make of this announcement from wales where they were telling our colleagues in christmas they had 62% more urgent 999 calls compared to christmas last year. the more urgent 999 calls compared to christmas last year.— christmas last year. the situation is much worse — christmas last year. the situation is much worse than _ christmas last year. the situation is much worse than in _ christmas last year. the situation is much worse than in previous i christmas last year. the situation i is much worse than in previous years and we know that every winter there seems to be some sort of a&e crisis story but the difference is that we have got this enormous problem now with ambulance hand over delays so to put some numbers to this, january, we saw about 20 minutes for category two response times, it should be 18, but we have 20 minutes, we have had days in december where it has been over two and a half hours, so the amenities are waiting outside emergency departments which is a reflection of the stress on the system —— the ambulances are waiting. we do this because the hospitals are full. itrailien

because the hospitals are full. when ou sa because the hospitals are full. when you say category _ because the hospitals are full. when you say category two. _ because the hospitals are full. when you say category two, what - because the hospitals are full. when you say category two, what kind of cases are you talking about? these are the largest _ cases are you talking about? these are the largest categories - cases are you talking about? tire are the largest categories of amblin school, like suspecting strokes and heart attacks. —— of ambulance calls. it needs urgent medical attention. 50 calls. it needs urgent medical attention-— calls. it needs urgent medical attention. ,, ., ., attention. so spending more two hours to be _ attention. so spending more two hours to be triage _ attention. so spending more two hours to be triage is _ attention. so spending more two hours to be triage is clearly - attention. so spending more two hours to be triage is clearly not l hours to be triage is clearly not how that kind of incident should be treated in a normal situation. exactly. the situation is far from normal at the moment and if you go into an emergency department, base people are pretty horrified by what they are seeing. there are people waiting and waiting and waiting to be admitted, people being looked after in corridors, the situation is pretty grim at the moment. people will sa , pretty grim at the moment. people will say, what is _ pretty grim at the moment. people will say, what is the _ pretty grim at the moment. people will say, what is the cause? - pretty grim at the moment. people will say, what is the cause? i - pretty grim at the moment. people| will say, what is the cause? i guess it is never as simple as identifying a single cause but what are the contributing factors in your judgment? emergency medicine is your

field and has been for a long time. the single biggest fundamental cause is that we do not have enough beds within the nhs and the uk has always run its bed base with less than beds than almost any other european country, so we have 2.7 beds per thousand of population and if you compare that to germany, they have seven, over seven beds per thousand of the population, so we are very vulnerable to shocks like this. 1untimely vulnerable to shocks like this. when ou sa vulnerable to shocks like this. when you say beds. _ vulnerable to shocks like this. when you say beds. you — vulnerable to shocks like this. when you say beds, you are _ vulnerable to shocks like this. when you say beds, you are not _ vulnerable to shocks like this. when you say beds, you are notjust - you say beds, you are notjust physically talking about beds but what is then associated with beds like staff? w , what is then associated with beds like staff? , �* , , what is then associated with beds likestaff? , �* ,, ,, like staff? exactly. beds is nhs shorthand for _ like staff? exactly. beds is nhs shorthand for beds _ like staff? exactly. beds is nhs shorthand for beds and - like staff? exactly. beds is nhs shorthand for beds and also - like staff? exactly. beds is nhsj shorthand for beds and also the staff that need to look after the beds. ~ ., , staff that need to look after the beds. ~ . , ., ., . ., beds. we have this announcement from nhs wales and — beds. we have this announcement from nhs wales and people _ beds. we have this announcement from nhs wales and people will _ beds. we have this announcement from nhs wales and people will have - nhs wales and people will have sympathy but on the other hand people say, 999 calls is supposed to be for urgent calls and if people should not be discouraged from chording yes, some people will be wrong and they will be frightened ——

calling. the last thing anyone wants is for someone not to call 909 when it really is urgent and then it becomes too late. —— 999. i’m it really is urgent and then it becomes too late. -- 999. i'm fairly sce tical becomes too late. -- 999. i'm fairly sceptical that _ becomes too late. -- 999. i'm fairly sceptical that discouraging - becomes too late. -- 999. i'm fairly sceptical that discouraging people i sceptical that discouraging people from staying away will make much difference because the fundamental problem causing the delays is people who need to be there so it is actually about the people that need to be admitted into hospital and those tend to be people who need to be on trolleys and also need an absence, sojust be on trolleys and also need an absence, so just discouraging be on trolleys and also need an absence, sojust discouraging cases of people who are not terribly sick, thatis of people who are not terribly sick, that is not going to make that much difference. my advice is that if people think they need an ambulance they should try to access care in they should try to access care in the usual way and i worry when we have advised to stay away that they will be someone who will be anxious and should seek help but they won't when they should. find and should seek help but they won't when they should.— when they should. and that i guess is the biggest _ when they should. and that i guess is the biggest fear. _ when they should. and that i guess is the biggest fear. adrian, - when they should. and that i guess is the biggest fear. adrian, thanks | is the biggest fear. adrian, thanks forjoining us. the president of the

royal college of emergency medicine there. the queen guitarist, brian may, and members of england's womens�* football team — the lionnesses — are among those celebrated in the uk's new year's honours list. lizo mzimba reports. brian may, on top of the palace and now feeling on top of the world — the guitarist and animal welfare campaigner knighted notjust for services to music but for his charity work too. i do feel that this is notjust a kind of reward or a gong, this is a kind of licence and a kind of commission to carry on doing what i'm doing. and it gives me a bit more power to my elbow, so i'm very happy about that. a fellow campaigner, virginia mckenna, becomes a dame for her work with wildlife — work that was ignited when she appeared in the film born free. and artist grayson perry says he's surprised and humbled to be knighted. other well—known figures honoured include anne diamond,

whose long—standing campaign to help prevent cot death is thought to have saved the lives of thousands of babies. she becomes an 0be, as do actors stephen graham and david harewood and illustrator david sutherland, who's drawn some of the beano's best—known characters for 60 years. becoming mbes — countdown star and campaigner rachel riley, for her work on holocaust education, lissie harper, widow of pc andrew harper, for her campaign to bring in automatic life sentences for anyone killing an emergency worker while committing a crime, and comedian, actor and presenter frank skinner for services to the entertainment industry. while janet kay, known as the queen of lovers rock, says she's deeply honoured to be made an mbe. # to play # your

# silly games...# her single silly games was one of the defining songs of the 1970s. most people being honoured never expected to be in the public eye — people like louenna hood, a nanny who organised supplies and raised tens of thousands of pounds for people fleeing ukraine. she receives a british empire medal. how does it feel to be honoured like this? i mean, it'sjust absolutely amazing. and i think, because we've had a bit of a gap and i'm able to look back and reminisce, it is incredible what you can do in such a short amount of time. i think if i'd planned it, it would never have happened, but we just. we just went with it and, yeah, it was amazing. i we just went with it and, yeah, it was amazing. just one of the many being recognised for making a difference to others. lizo mzimba, bbc news. let's speak now to someone on that list, fiona spargo—mabbs has been awarded an 0be for her services to young people. she set up the dsm foundation,

offering drug education workshops to schoolchildren after her son daniel died from drug use when he wasjust 16. can you tell us about your son and the impact it had on your life and also your decision to get something good out of such a terrible experience? it good out of such a terrible experience?— good out of such a terrible experience? good out of such a terrible exerience? . , w ., , experience? it never really actually felt like a decision, _ experience? it never really actually felt like a decision, it _ experience? it never really actually felt like a decision, itjust - experience? it never really actually felt like a decision, itjust felt i felt like a decision, itjust felt like it was something that we had to do. it is my husband and dan's big brother and when dan died we knew we had to do everything we could to stop any harm of any sort happening to anybody else's child because it is so unnecessary. if there was anything that we could do we just had to do it and we started the charity really early, it was days after dan died before we knew what we were doing. it has been a real community piece of work and it has

happened because we have been surrounded by so many good committed people. it has come very much, to be honest, from our love for dan that has driven the whole thing and still does. and probably always will. dsm is the foundation, and his name is always going to be talked about which is a lovely thing. i'm curious about this, did you find it therapeutic at all?- about this, did you find it therapeutic at all? yes. i denied that at the _ therapeutic at all? yes. i denied that at the beginning _ therapeutic at all? yes. i denied that at the beginning because i l therapeutic at all? yes. i denied i that at the beginning because i did not want it to seem like i was doing it for my own benefit but it has been enormously helpful and being able to make this very bad thing there was much good as it possibly could, it doesn't make the bad thing good but it makes it not pointless. and to be able to put all my energies into something so incredibly positive, and i have got

to meet so many amazing young people and parents and teachers and to be able to feel that i'm part of making able to feel that i'm part of making a difference for them and may be being able to keep them being able to go home safely in one piece, and grow up to be healthy and happy and live long lives and do good in the world themselves, that brings me joy- world themselves, that brings me 'o . ., ., world themselves, that brings me 'o. ., ., ., , ., , joy. fiona, finally, what is the honour you — joy. fiona, finally, what is the honour you have _ joy. fiona, finally, what is the honour you have been - joy. fiona, finally, what is the honour you have been given l joy. fiona, finally, what is the i honour you have been given and joy. fiona, finally, what is the - honour you have been given and what does it mean to you? we have got to be brief, apologies. i does it mean to you? we have got to be brief, apologies.— be brief, apologies. i have got an obe be brief, apologies. i have got an 0be and be brief, apologies. i have got an obe and it _ be brief, apologies. i have got an 0be and it was _ be brief, apologies. i have got an 0be and it was a _ be brief, apologies. i have got an 0be and it was a big _ be brief, apologies. i have got an 0be and it was a big turmoil i be brief, apologies. i have got an 0be and it was a big turmoil of i 0be and it was a big turmoil of emotions because it is bittersweet but it is a huge honour and i really hope that having that as the foundation will open so many more doors and create so many more opportunities for us to reach more young people and families in what is the most amazing thing about this is

that dan has got his name in the new year's honours list because i always knew he would do something amazing in the world. he knew he would do something amazing in the world-— in the world. he certainly has, as have ou in the world. he certainly has, as have you and _ in the world. he certainly has, as have you and your— in the world. he certainly has, as have you and your husband. i in the world. he certainly has, as i have you and your husband. thanks forjoining us. now on bbc news, the weather with ben rich. hello. it is not a straightforward end to the year weather—wise. we've already seen flooding rain in places. there is more rain in the forecast, but also snow across parts of scotland. so this combination could bring some new year's eve travel disruption. this new year's eve travel disruption. is what we have ! rest this is what we have got for the rest of the day. temperatures in northern scotland really struggling. further south, a very different story, 15 degrees in london, and then tonight, the wet weather pushes further north running into the cold air and

further north running into the cold airand giving further north running into the cold air and giving the threat of snow in places. this is how things are likely to look at midnight. strong winds around some coast of england and wales but it will be a mixture of clear spells and the odd shower here. but wait for northern ireland and the far north of england and southern scotland and over the uplands and maybe high spots in the central belt we could see some snow starting to develop. ice is likely to be an issue in the north of scotland and then through the night, this band of rain and snow, most of it over high ground, but maybe some to low levels at times, will continue to affect southern and central parts of scotland which could make for some poor travelling conditions if you are heading home from new year celebrations. a very mild night in the south of the uk and a very cold one in the far north, and then for tomorrow, a band of rain and snow will get stuck across scotland and it is more likely to be rain in eastern scotland but some are snow further west and a bit of cloud and some rain into northern ireland. northern england and wales will have some showers and increasing amounts of cloud into the south and east of

england. temperatures for — 13 north to south. as we look ahead to monday we might have some rain in the south—east corner at times and showers towards the western side of scotland but in between a decent amount of dry weather and some spells of sunshine but feeling slightly colder than it has done of late. 3—9. as we head deeper into the new week we have further frontal systems pushing in from the atlantic with further outbreaks of rain and maybe some strong winds at times. quite mild through the middle part of the week but later in the week it may start to turn a little colder.

this is bbc world news. the headlines: the bells toll in st peter's square as the vatican announces the former pope, benedict the sixteenth, who has died at the age of 95 — his body will lie in state in st peter's basilica from monday. pope benedict led the catholic church for nearly eight years until, in 2013, he became the first pope in 600 years to resign, due to ill health. new covid rules for people arriving in england from china — travellers will need to provide a negative test result, world health officials call on beijing to share accurate coronavirus data.

queen guitarist brian may and members of england's women's