this is bbc news. i'm vishala sri—pathma. our top stories: celebrating the new year: this is london, where crowds returned for the first time and edinburgh marked hogmanay with spectacular fireworks over the castle. more russian missiles land in kyiv in the early hours of the new year following a day of attacks. tributes from world leaders to the former pope benedict xvi who's died at the age of 95.

hello, and welcome to bbc news. new year celebrations are taking place across western europe and africa. crowds are in the streets of capitals from warsaw and stockholm in the east to brussels, paris, madrid and also edinburgh and london, where 2023 is now an hour old. it's the first time since the pandemic began that large—scale events have taken place. greg mckenzie has been soaking up greg mckenzie has been soaking up the atmosphere amongst the many thousands of revellers. i am absolutely speechless. that was a 12 minute spectacular. the biggest fireworks display in the entire europe having taken placejust a few minutes ago. an incredible way to start the new year. big ben, the bogs of the

big ben started as did the fireworks over here at the london eye. iconic around the world. a12 minute spectacular extravaganza. i am actually speechless having watched it right here and just behind us are hundreds of thousands of people who managed to get tickets and now you can hear the famous song playing in the background, people cheering and celebrating to 2023. that work messages with those fireworks, a message with the queen, from the mayor, in terms of the year just gone, 2022 is no more. and we now focus on the new year, 2023. and let's try and whizz the camera around and see if we can have a chat with some people here. i mean, what did you make of that?— you make of that? happy new year, everyone! _ you make of that? happy new year, everyone! what - you make of that? happy new year, everyone! what did - you make of that? happy new year, everyone! what did you| year, everyone! what did you make of that? _

year, everyone! what did you make of that? amazing. - year, everyone! what did you make of that? amazing. it. year, everyone! what did you | make of that? amazing. it was areat. make of that? amazing. it was great- wasn't _ make of that? amazing. it was great. wasn't worth _ make of that? amazing. it was great. wasn't worth the - great. wasn't worth the journey? _ great. wasn't worth the journey? the _ great. wasn't worth the journey? the way? - great. wasn't worth the journey? the way? it i great. wasn't worth the i journey? the way? it was worth the wait and — journey? the way? it was worth the wait and the _ the wait and the journey and everything. it was great. it worth_ everything. it was great. it worth it _ everything. it was great. it worth it. it everything. it was great. it worth it— worth it. it was very nice. what about _ worth it. it was very nice. what about yourself? - worth it. it was very nice. what about yourself? i i worth it. it was very nice. | what about yourself? i am worth it. it was very nice. - what about yourself? i am so excited. amazing! _ what about yourself? i am so excited. amazing! thank- what about yourself? i am so| excited. amazing! thank you. amazing. that was a show and a half. say happy new year! happy new year! _ half. say happy new year! happy new year! it _ half. say happy new year! happy new year! it has _ half. say happy new year! happy new year! it has been _ half. say happy new year! happy new year! it has been an - new year! it has been an incredible _ new year! it has been an incredible atmosphere. l new year! it has been an - incredible atmosphere. people have gathered from all over the world. we have people from china, from syria, china, from america, world. we have people from china, from america, croatia, and a once—in—a—lifetime opportunity for many to be here in london tonight. 0f opportunity for many to be here in london tonight. of course, the fireworks were not here two years ago because of the corona pandemic so they are back and have been one of the best shows in europe and one of the

biggest. scotland has also been celebrating the new year, or hogmanay, as it's known there, with its own spectacular fireworks display. as with london, it's the first time in three years that the event has not been limited by covid pandemic restrictions. the event was held in edinburgh, with the fireworks launched from around the castle which stands in the centre of the city. 0ur correspondent alexandra mckenzie was in edinburgh and she sent us this update. edinburgh welcomed in 2023 in style. there is nothing quite like hogmanay in scotland and edinburgh welcomed but the street party this year. because of coronavirus it was the first one in three years. there were around 30,000 people here on princess street in edinburgh when it turned midnight. they sang and danced and just had a great time enjoying the party. it did not matter that it was a

bit dreak as we see in scotland, it was cold and raining, but everyonejust forgot the weather and had a good old party. also, edinburgh castle behind us — there were fireworks there throughout the night, and then the grand finale at midnight to bring in 2023 - finale at midnight to bring in 2023 — six minutes of fireworks. it was just absolutely spectacular, and also, down in princes street gardens, 10,000 people enjoyed the music, the entertainment. pet shop boys are continuing bears. people are continuing to enjoy the party and although we are into 2023, people do not want to go home. they want to still enjoy a great atmosphere here in and brad — hogmanay

tonight. turning to ukraine now, and the new year celebration has been rather more restrained. in the capital kyiv there was a curfew an hour before midnight. there have been reports of missile strikes in the city in the early hours of sunday morning, and air raid sirens have been sounding across the country. president zelensky released his new—year message before that happened. here's what he had to say to his fellow ukrainians. translation: we face and will continue to fight for the sake of the main word — victory. it will be for sure. we have been approaching it for 311 days. we gaveit approaching it for 311 days. we gave it a lot of strength, but at the moment, when it seems that you can't go any further, remember that we have already passed with you. there has also been a muted new year celebration in moscow. residents have had to go without any firework display after authorities closed the red square citing covid restrictions. russia's president vladimir putin has also broadcast a new year's message, filmed standing in front

of a group of russian military personnel and putting across his view of the invasion of ukraine. translation: for years, the translation: foryears, the western elite have hypocritically assured us of their peaceful intentions, including the revelation of the difficult conflict in dunbar. in reality they were encouraging neo—nazis who continue to carry out military and blatantly terrorist actions against the peaceful citizens of the donbas people's republic. the west lied about peace but was preparing for aggression and they are not ashamed to admit it openly and they cynically use ukraine and its people to weaken and divide russia. we have never allowed anyone to do that. we will not allow anyone to do that. well, we will come back to new year coverage later in the programme but first some of the days of

headlines. there were reports in ukraine of more explosions. their defences have shot de cruise missiles heavy garage on friday night. residents have been told to remain in shelters. 0n on new year's eve, kyiv is pounded. a hotel is set. luckily, no—one is here. in this district, more description. this was filled moments after the attack. this woman was at home when it happened. translation: me at my husband was literally _ happened. translation: me at my husband was literally thrown - husband was literally thrown into the corridor. we heard glass shattering and then there was an explosion, one after another. we came to the street and saw ambulances and

casualties. you can see brett debris fell from the sky. 0ne you can see brett debris fell from the sky. one woman was killed there, a woman making dinner to celebrate the new year. president zelenskyy accused russia of deliberately targeting civilians. translation: several| waves of missile strikes missiles against the people. those who did this are inhuman and they've lost. but in ukraine, after another day of attacks, people wonder when they will finally have peace and security. hugo bachega, bbc news, kyiv. north korean state media says the country's leader kimjong—un has ordered the development of new intercontinental ballistic missiles with the capability to carry out a nuclear counter attack. the report also says he has ordered massive production of tactical nuclear weapons. the statement comes after a series of rocket tests carried out by north

korea in recent days. mr kim is also reported to have said that his country's new rocket launchers are capable of carrying tactical nuclear weapons, with all of south korea in range. north korea is banned from developing long—range missiles and nuclear weapons by the international community. there hasn't yet been any response to these new claims. we'll bring that to you as soon as we have it. president biden is among world leaders who have paid tribute to pope benedict xvi, who has died at the age of 95. the former pontiff will lie in state at st peter's basilica in the vatican from monday. his funeral will take place on thursday. 0ur religion editor aleem maqbool looks back now at his life. 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. bell tolls the passing of the man considered by hundreds of millions around the world to represent a direct link to jesus is announced by his successor. translation: we are moved as we recall him as such - a noble person, so kind. and to feel such gratitude in our hearts, gratitude to god for having given him to the church and the world. 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. as a cardinal, he upheld traditional catholic teaching on abortion, contraception and homosexuality. he even spoke against rock music and the harry potter books. whenjohn paul ii died in april 2005, he was one of the church's longest serving cardinals and presided over the funeral. 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. 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. he was probably one of the outstanding theologians of the 20th century. he was a great scholar, but he had this clarity of expression, so he was a philosopher, a thinker, and a european, but francis is quite different. he's from latin america,

he brings a whole different resource to the life of the church, one which pays more attention to what you might call popular movement. they're quite different and complimentary in a way. 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. we arejoined by we are joined by bishop we arejoined by bishop dryden from new york. you actually met with pope benedict xvi. tell us about that. aha, with pope benedict xvi. tell us about that-— with pope benedict xvi. tell us about that. �* , ., , , ., ,, about that. a number of bishops would have _ about that. a number of bishops would have had _ about that. a number of bishops would have had the _ about that. a number of bishops would have had the opportunityl would have had the opportunity to visit with him. my experience was shortly after

being ordained a bishop in 2012. he was the pope who called me to that service. at the end we had to meet with the holy father and he spoke to us as a group and then met each one individually. in the short conversation, one could see that he had a sense of his gentleness, almost a grandfatherly approach, and interest in you. it would ask questions, he would ask me about the bike i was doing and what i enjoyed doing. —— the work stopped for a man with so much responsibility, it is nice to take an interest in individual people. to take an interest in individual --eole. ~ ., individual people. what impact has his passing _ individual people. what impact has his passing had _ individual people. what impact has his passing had in - individual people. what impact has his passing had in the - has his passing had in the community in new york? fin

has his passing had in the community in new york? on one level, community in new york? on one level. there _ community in new york? on one level, there is _ community in new york? on one level, there is always _ community in new york? on one level, there is always the - level, there is always the sadness that comes with a death. and having been prepared for it are asking for prayers from pope francis. there is something very beautiful and human about the whole thing. but we also felt tremendous gratitude. looking back at the legacyjust gratitude. looking back at the legacy just described gratitude. looking back at the legacyjust described in your report, realising the impact he had on the church over a good part of the 20th century because even as a young priest he was an assistant, a bishop in the deliberation of vatican to and many suggestions of his were incorporated into the doctrines and letters. —— vatican two. he really had a huge impact on the church. and serving in the congregation and as a pope, same thing, he took

that deep intellect, that interest in people and most of all his love for god. he was a very holy and prayerful kind of man you could hear it in his tone of voice.— man you could hear it in his tone of voice. you mentioned his legacy- — tone of voice. you mentioned his legacy- in _ tone of voice. you mentioned his legacy. in that _ tone of voice. you mentioned his legacy. in that report, - tone of voice. you mentioned his legacy. in that report, he| his legacy. in that report, he talked about a different approach as a pope. what will be his legacy or would he have liked it to be? i be his legacy or would he have liked it to be?— liked it to be? i am a great believer — liked it to be? i am a great believer in _ liked it to be? i am a great believer in fact _ liked it to be? i am a great believer in fact that - liked it to be? i am a great believer in fact that the - liked it to be? i am a great. believer in fact that the lord gives us the hope we need at the time and so a figure like john paul during the communist times and really coming into the modern era, pope benedict xvi brought us i think a sense of spirituality, an invitation to come to knowjesus christ more deeply, to understand him,

to listen to what the lord has to say and the gospels, a sense of prayer, some updating of the liturgy draws us more deeply into the mystery. so i think it was a time when we needed some kind of reflection, some kind of deeper understanding, deeper roots so that a church that could enter into this next phase which pope francis is taking into a much more open phase into the world.- taking into a much more open phase into the world. thank you forjoining _ phase into the world. thank you forjoining us— phase into the world. thank you forjoining us and _ phase into the world. thank you forjoining us and telling - phase into the world. thank you forjoining us and telling us - forjoining us and telling us of your experience with the late pope. of your experience with the late pope-— of your experience with the late poe. . ~' , ,, late pope. thank you, god bless ou. this is bbc news, our latest headlines: new year is being celebrated around the world — this is london where crowds returned for the first time since the covid pandemic. as midnight struck on new years eve in ukraine, there were reports of more russian missile explosions. earlier a civilian was killed in a strike on kyiv.

violent protests have broken out in bolivia following the arrest of a powerful opposition politician. emily brown reports a scene of anger in santa cruz. protester locking street and lighting cars. it is in response to the treatment of the opposition leader. translation: the opposition leader. tuna/mom- the opposition leader. translation: they are repressing _ translation: they are repressing people - translation: they are repressing people at - translation: they are repressing people at a l translation: they are - repressing people at a peaceful march. the governor was detained for political unrest. the president evo morales flee the country into thousand 19. luis fernando camacho's supporters say he was detained in an which resembled a kidnapping, something the prosecutors have denied. the governor has maintained his innocence. it has let the tensions between demonstrators

and bolivian list which is quickly turned into violence. translation: we quickly turned into violence. translation:— quickly turned into violence. translation: ~ , ., . translation: we must denounce the abuse of _ translation: we must denounce the abuse of the _ translation: we must denounce the abuse of the police, _ translation: we must denounce the abuse of the police, who - the abuse of the police, who have beaten me, afraid me and have beaten me, afraid me and have come close to throwing a blood object at my head. the blood ob'ect at my head. the strikes blood object at my head. the strikes have _ blood object at my head. the strikes have seen _ blood object at my head. the strikes have seen protesters take to the street through the night as well, torching cars and hurling fireworks a police who responded with tear gas to try to disperse the crowds. meanwhile, some companies said they would pause sales while luis fernando camacho remained injail. the mood in santa cruz is tense. the arrest as a potential to cause disruption across the country. —— has the potential. emily brown, bbc news let's turn to the covid outbreak in china now which has seen canada become the latest country to impose travel restrictions on visitors. the number of cases has been increasing after china dropped its zero—covid policy, which had seen millions of people placed into lockdowns. in the city of wuhan,

where the coronavirus was first recorded, people released balloons to mark the beginning of 2023. president xi jinping also touched on the pandemic in his new year address, insisting that his change in policy was justified. translation: after strenuous efforts, translation: after strenuous efforts. we _ translation: after strenuous efforts, we have _ translation: after strenuous efforts, we have overcome - efforts, we have overcome unprecedented difficulties and challenges which are not easy for everyone. at present, the epidemic prevention and control has entered a new stage. it is still a difficult period but everyone is working hard, with perseverance, and there is light at the end of the tunnel. croatia is beginning the new year with a new currency. it's switching from the kuna to the euro. at the same time, it's alsojoining the borderless schengen area, allowing passport—free travel to neighbouring countries. croatia committed to adopting the euro when it became the newest member of the european union in 2013.

a man in the uk who vowed to complete a marathon every day of 2022 to raise a million pounds for charity, has completed his final run. gary mckee from cumbria, in north west england, began his challenge last january. howard johnson reports. let's go. he's run more than 9500 miles, often finished his daily 26.2 mile route before starting work and has gone through more than 20 pairs of trainers. meet cumbrian marathon man gary mckee, speaking here to bbc breakfast before he set off this morning for his 365th marathon. a little bit nervous. it's not about the distance, it just about. .. ..it is the last one and i've got all these people out to support me and it's incredible that everybody came out on my last day. but it went without a hitch, running the distance injust overfour hours. the streets were lined.

it was raining, but everybody was still out, just clapping and shouting. all the cars had stopped, we had the whole road. and it was fantastic, coming up and seeing everybody there and being out. it was something i'll always remember. and all that effort was worth it. the father of three has hit his target of raising £1 million for cancer charities. his late father had suffered from the disease. tomorrow, gary will put up his feet for the first time ina year. but he's already indicated he's ready to run again to help those in need. howard johnson, bbc news. let's return to new year celebrations now, and countries around the world have been ringing in 2023 with fireworks set against some spectacular backdrops. take a look.

(music playing) music playing fireworks pop music playing

a lot of emotion and i have never seen such great fireworks. music playing fireworks pop some great shots from around the world. london tops it for me but perhaps i am a little bias. you can reach me on twitter and we will be back a

little later on. thank you very much for watching and happy new year! hello there, and a very happy new year to you. well, we ended 2022 on a very unsettled note. there was lots of heavy rain around, which led to localised flooding and also some snow and ice, particularly across scotland, but things look a lot better across the southern half of the country for new year's day, the 1st of january. there will be some sunshine around, but further showers further north. and we hold on to the rain, and sleet and snow across much of scotland. so further disruption possible from localised flooding and also from icy conditions. now, you can see why on the pressure chart, low pressure sits to the north of the uk. it's within here and the cold air mixed in with it where we'll see further snow, certainly over the higher ground of scotland, north of the central belt. rain to lower levels but it looks like that rain and snow will tend to clear

away through the day. furthersouth, it's a bright start to the day. there will be some blustery showers across southern and western areas, but then it clouds over into the afternoon with rain starting to push back into southern and southeast england. another mild day in the south. very cold, though further north. it looks like the sleet and snow will tend to peter out slowly across scotland. there'll still be a few wintry showers around and a couple of showers dotted around but, again, a milder night to come across the southeast, but some colder air further north. some of that chillier air working its way into irish sea coastal areas and into wales as well. and the reason for it is because this bump, this ridge of high pressure, will nose in, bringing some cooler north westerly winds, and you can see the blue colours indicating a slightly colder wedge of air there, with the ridge of high pressure for monday. but it won't last long, milder air will be waiting in the wings as we move through the week. so we'll have a couple of showers across northern and eastern parts of the country. otherwise, for most, it's a much drier, brighter day. quite a lot of sunshine around to start the new week. a few showers, wintry in nature

across western scotland, a few showers down towards the channel islands, but it will be a chilly day despite more sunshine, around 3—8 celsius will be typical, but low pressure sets back in as we roll through the week. it'll turn quite wet and windy for a while around the middle part of the week, and as that low starts to pull away, it starts to drag in some colder north westerly winds towards the end of the week. so i think as we move through tuesday, wednesday, thursday, it will tend to be on the mild side, wet and windy at times, but then signs of itjust turning a bit colder across all areas towards the end of the week. bye— bye.

this is bbc news. the headlines: london is amongst the latest capitals to mark the new year with a firework display. this is the first time in three years that crowds and revellers have been able to attend since the coronavirus pandemic restrictions. blasts have been heard in kyiv in the early hours of the new year. the head of the ukrainian armed forces said they shot down 12 of 20 cruise missiles. earlier, president zelensky said ukraine won't forgive russia for a wave of missile attacks in which one civilian was killed and many injured. president biden is among world leaders who have paid tribute to pope benedict xvi, who died on new year's eve

at the age of 95.