it can display millions of colours and patterns. despite the rain, tens of thousands of people packed into times square.

summit frank sinatra there, and lots of kissing as well. people ringing in the new year in style in new york. some great hats as well. several thousand people there in times square. last year the pandemic restrictions meant a limited crowd. like many cities, coming

back, the revellers, on new year's eve in new york. lots of happy people that. times square is in new york city and the figure of about 20,000 people expected so they all seem to be having a great time there. live music and performers as well. celebrations to mark the start of 2023 are being held around the world. crowds thronged the streets of capitals from warsaw and stockholm in the east, to brussels, paris, madrid and london, where the countdown was projected within the london eye as midnight approached.

a huge firework display lit up the skies for around 12 minutes in what was thought to be the largest display in europe with over 12,000 fireworks. there were tributes to the late queen elizabeth, to ukraine's resistance against russian invasion, and 50 years of pride celebrations. 0ur correspondent greg mckenzie was soaking up the atmosphere amongst the many thousands of revellers on the banks of the river thames. i am absolutely speechless. that was a 12—minute spectacular. the biggest firework display in the entire europe having taken place just a few minutes ago, and in an incredible way to start the new year. big ben, the chimes — the bongs of the big ben started as did the fireworks over here at the london eye — iconic around the world. a 12—minute spectacular extravaganza. i am actually speechless having watched it right here, and just behind us are hundreds of thousands, or 100,000

people, who managed to get tickets, people cheering and celebrating to 2023. there were messages being played out with those fireworks — a message with the queen, a message from the mayor, in terms of the yearjust gone. 2022 is no more. and we now focus on the new year, 2023. 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 fight| 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 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 western elite have i hypocritically assured us of their peaceful intentions, including the resolution of the difficult conflict in donbass. in reality they were encouraging neo—nazis who continue to carry out military and blatantly terrorist actions against the peaceful citizens of the donbass 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. 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 said that there would be increased production of tactical nuclear weapons to counter what pyongyang calls threats from the united states and south korea. earlier, north korea fired a ballistic missile into the sea of japan just hours into the new year. robert kelly is professor of political science at pusan national university in south korea. he says the response from the international community will inevitably be limited. yeah, i'm not really sure there is a whole lot we can do. i think there will be the usual statements about deterrence, that the united states is standing with south korea, that south korea is standing with its partners, right, the big case, the big countries in these case, particular, is south korea,

japan and the us, and so there will be hopefully some kind of statement from those three governments, maybe some kind ofjoint statement, or something like that, but there is not a whole lot we can do, right? if we go and try to get more sanctions at the un, for example, the chinese and the russians will almost certainly veto that. north korea is already sanctioned pretty heavily. the big problem with sanctioning north korea is enforcement and north korean illegal behaviour. they do a lot of sort of mafia, you know, criminal stuff, in order to get the parts that they need, and so there is not a lot we can do i think other than the usual rhetorical things. we can't strike them, of course, it's too risky, so we are kind of stuck. and, traditionally, north korea would look to china for support, and that has been an alliance historically. do you think they are going to receive the same sort of backing now, given what has been going on with ukraine and china's relationship with russia not being entirely clear either? yeah, i think so. i mean, it's kind of strange. china, i think has gone sort of further supporting north korea's nuclear and missile programme than i think a lot of

analysts expected, right? i'll be honest — i'm rather surprised about this myself, and i think many others are, that china has reallyjust not used the leverage that it has over north korea to rein it in, even as the north koreans say, as you said in your report, right, that they are going to build even more nuclear weapons, more tactical nuclear weapons, more missiles — missiles that can strike the united states. all that kind of language is really threatening, and it is going to encourage south korea's neighbours, its democratic neighbours, south korea and china — and japan — to consider more extreme options. there is already a nuclear—weapons debate in south korea, whether or not south korea should build its own nukes now that north korea is not going to roll back, and china could help a lot and it is not. and i am genuinely surprised that china seems to prefer a nuclear north korea to any kind of pressure on north korea, because unless the chinese help us, the north koreans are not going to stop, as you pointed out, because the chinese will bail them out of the un and elsewhere. and on that south korean reaction — and, yes, there will be pressure, presumably, in the region to build up a bank of reserves — and do you expect that to happen? my own sense is that that south korean nuclearization is probably a 50—50 issue right now.

not injapan, althouthapan, you may have noticed, your viewers may know that around three weeks ago the japanese announced a defence strategy and are still going to substantially build up their ability to strike off shore, and that means particularly north korea and china, and they are going to sort of expand defence spending generally. but, i mean, this is what you get if the north koreans just keep going and going and going like this, right? they won't stop, and no matter how much we talk to them — you know, donald trump met kim jong—un three times, the previous south korean president met him three times — we have been talking to the north koreans about nuclear weapons for 30 years, and we are trying to get them to sort of brake or pull over or slow down orjoin some sort of arms control accord, and they will not, and so inevitably you are going to get more and more extreme responses, and, again, here is why i am just surprised that china is willing to countenance this increasing anxiety in south korea and japan by not doing more to help us on north korea, but if they won't, here we are. and adjust briefly — how are people feeling professor robert. let's turn to the covid outbreak in china now which has seen canada and australia become the latest countries 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, 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. violent protests have broken out in bolivia following the arrest of a powerful opposition politician. russell trott reports. angry scenes in santa cruz. protesters have attacked buildings, lit cars and blocked roads. it's in response to the arrest

of regional governor, right—wing opposition leader luis fernando camacho. translation: the police - who serve the mas communist regime in bolivia are repressing the people at a peaceful march. the governor was detained by armed police for an alleged role in political unrest which saw president evo morales flee the country in 2019. luis fernando camacho's supporters say he was detained in an operation which resembled a kidnapping — something prosecutors have denied. the governor has maintained his innocence. it's led to tensions between demonstrators and bolivian police, which has quickly turned into aggression. translation: we must denounce the abuse of the police _ to the movement to socialism, who have beaten me, thrown me and have come close to throwing a blunt object at my head. the strikes have seen protesters take to the streets

through the night, too, torching cars and hurling fireworks to police, who responded with tear gas to try to disperse the crowds. meanwhile, some companies said they would pause sales while camacho remained injail. the mood in santa cruz is tense. the unrest in bolivia's capital has the potential to cause disruption across the country. russell trott, bbc news. 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 was announced by his successor. translation: we are moved as we recall him as such - a noble person, so kind, and we 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... bells toll. habemus papam! ..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. 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. and aleem maqbool is at the vatican. it is an unusual situation, this extraordinary, historic week that will culminate on thursday with a sitting pope presiding over the funeral of his predecessor. presiding over the funeral of his predecessor — highly unusual, but as you say, lots about this week was unusual because so many of the rituals that we associate with the death of a pope were already carried out when pope benedict

stepped down in 2013. like the sealing, like the closing of the papal apartmentjust over my left shoulder, like the breaking of the ring he wore as pope. but what we do know over the coming days is that lots of people will get their chance to pay their respects because he will lie in state from monday for three days. it's expected that around 30,000 people a day will come here to file past to pay their respects. and then on thursday, tens of thousands more from around the world are likely to come here to pay their respects to a man who, as we've been hearing in the reports, as we've been hearing from people all day, really was a thinker, a theologian, an intellectual. and whatever you think about his, what was a complex legacy, he was an incredible vessel of this accrued learning, accrued knowledge over decades, this lived experience that really was unrivalled in the catholic world. and i've noticed that many of the tributes

croatia has become the 20th member to join the eurozone and has now adopted the euro as its currency. emily brown reports. a new year, a new currency. croatia says goodbye to its kuna currency as it adopts the euro. this is the moment the country's finance minister pulls out the first euro bill from a cash machine. and croatia will become the 20th member of the eurozone after nearly a decade since hejoined the eu. the nation of 4 million people joins the schengen zone, which allows people to move freely around its member nations, but croatians have mixed feelings about the change. translation: it was always great for me to have kuna i when i came to croatia but the euro is easier — it's easier when you're in europe. translation: we can be emotionally attached - to the kuna because of history but one has to live realistically. it's always better to be with someone who is strong, who is something, than to be on the sidelines. translation: i love kuna and, as you can hear, we will have i

as much as our pension allows. meanwhile, experts say adopting the euro will help protect croatia's economy at a time when inflation has been soaring globally since russia's invasion of ukraine. and it's hoped its entry into a borderless area will provide a boost to the tourism industry. it's an important milestone in the history of croatia, the euro and the eu as a whole. emily brown, 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. dance music plays

theatrical music plays. joyful music plays. fireworks pop. dance music plays. i cried because of a lot of emotion and i have never seen such great fireworks.

joyful music plays. fireworks pop. triumphant music plays. scotland has also been celebrating the new year — or hogmanay, as its 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 head shop boys headlined a party, it was scaled back to

30,000 tickets. —— pet shop boys. the event was held in edinburgh, with the fireworks launched from around the castle which stands in the centre of the city. before we go, let's take another look at the scenes of celebration on the banks of the river thames in london as 2023 dawned. big ben bongs. cheering. fireworks pop. big ben bongs. music swells. that's it from us for now. you can reach me on socials — i'm @bbcvishalasp.

and from all of us, thanks for watching. very 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 south east england. another mild day in the south. very cold, though, further north. and 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 central and southern areas but, again, a milder night to come across the south—east 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'll 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.

a this is bbc news. the headlines: celebrations in times square as new york welcomes 2023. starting with the ball drop countdown and ending with fireworks. previously celebrations were restricted due to the pandemic. blasts have been heard in kyiv in the early hours of the new year. earlier the head of the ukrainian armed forces said

they shot down 12 cruise missiles. president zelensky said ukraine won't forgive russia for the wave of missile attacks in which one civilian