this is bbc news. welcome if you're watching here in the uk or around the globe. i'm lukwesa burak. our top stories: three, two, one... celebrations take place around the world to herald the start of 2023. addressing crowds in st peter's square in rome, pope francis has paid tribute to his predecessor pope benedict, who died yesterday. translation: all join together with one heart and one soul - in thanking god for the gift of this faithful servant of the gospel and of the church. as russian missiles strike kyiv — a former international criminal tribunal prosecutor calls for vladimir putin to be tried in ukraine for war crimes.

and croatia begins the new year with a new currency — switching from the kuna to the euro. welcome to the programme. cities around the world have been welcoming in 2023 — with the latest new year celebrations taking place across the united states, canada, the caribbean and latin america. this is rio dejaneiro in brazil. crowds gathered on its copacabana beach — watching the spectacular fireworks display there. this year is in contrast to the previous two years, when celebrations were scaled back because of the pandemic. the bbc�*s louisa pilbeam looks back on how the world has been seeing in the new year.

crowd: 5, 4, 3, 2,1. big ben bongs. times have changed and with covid restrictions lifted in most parts of the world, fireworks lit up skies with crowds able to watch below. in london, 100,000 people on the banks of the thames and a moment of royal reflection. i declare before you all, that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service. people came from around the globe, happy to watch the tradition in person again. amazing, i have goosebumps everywhere. this is my first time in london but it is amazing. that was awesome. happy new year! bagpipes skirl.

in edinburgh, hogmanay was back with a bang, welcoming crowds for the first time in three years, in typically fine spirits. but one of the first to the party, as always, new zealand. and australia turned up in their usual flamboyant style. china recently lifted many of their covid restrictions, meaning people could gather in large crowds. paris was chic as ever. fireworks pop. and in kyiv, muted celebrations, a new year and approaching a year since the russian invasion. then it was time for perhaps the most famous celebrations of all, in new york. auld lang syne plays.

a world in different lights, then, seeing in 2023, with the same hopes for a brighter here. louisa pilbeam, bbc news. the new year's day parade has returned to the streets of london for the first time since 2020. 0ur reporter, nickjohnson is there for us. how is it? it is very loud and busy. the first completely _ how is it? it is very loud and busy. the first completely covid - how is it? it is very loud and busy. the first completely covid free - how is it? it is very loud and busy. the first completely covid free in l the first completely covid free in london since early 2020. here will nerve would want to plant such a large event on newsday? 0ur bodies are so from christmas, we are about to go back to work and school, but it is because it was devised in the

19805 it is because it was devised in the 1980s to bring colour and noise to london, to clear the christmas cobwebs and bring in the new year in a colourful way. it is thought a thousand people will take part in the parade, coming down me, from piccadilly to whitehall and parliament square. we'd been chatting to some of them starting, and one is from el salvador, who's been telling owes about her performance. we have a lot of teenagers, they come from this village in el salvador, they did a lot of things to come here. they win a contest to make money to pay for the trip, they do many things, they sell souvenirs. they could not sleep because they were excited last night, thank you for this beautiful

and excellent day in london. while, she and her— and excellent day in london. while, she and her group, _ and excellent day in london. while, she and her group, one _ and excellent day in london. while, she and her group, one of - and excellent day in london. while, she and her group, one of 8000 - she and her group, one of 8000 performers from around the uk underworld. we will have cheerleaders from the us, other bands from south america. 8000 people performing, organisers estimating 5000 people will be here to witness dead, and half a billion people will be tuning in around the world. not a huge eventjust for london, but a global event. happy new year, nick. pope francis has addressed worshippers in the vatican this morning. his address follows the death of his predecessor, benedict xvi. the former pope will be lying

in state in st peter's basilica from monday to allow mourners to pay their respects — until his funeral on thursday. pope francis celebrated mass for the "solemnity of mary" in the vatican, and afterwards he paid tribute to his predessecor in st peter's square. translation: the beginning of the new year is for _ translation: the beginning of the new year is for mary. _ translation: the beginning of the new year is for mary. let's - translation: the beginning of the new year is for mary. let's invoke l new year is for mary. let's invoke her into intercession, especially for pope benedict xvi, who left this world yesterday morning. letters all join together with one heart and one soul and thanking god for the gift of this faithful servant of the gospel and the church. we saw recently, on the television, his

images and all of the activities and life of pope benedict. 0ur europe correspondent bethany bell sent this update. pope francis began this prayer praying for mary's intercession for benedict who died yesterday, and also he said letters thank god for also he said let us thank god for the gift of this servant of the church on the gospel. the prayer was marked by this moment of remembering former pope benedict. also there has been the celebration of us this morning, and in that as well there were prayers for benedict. again, the vatican is preparing for the body of pope benedict to be brought to st peter's basilica to lie in state so the public can pay their respects,

and then of course the funeral will take place on thursday, and it will be presided over by pope francis himself, something that is new territory for the church, in the words of pope benedict's biographer, the first time a sitting pope will preside over the funeral of his predecessor. we saw pope francis being wheeled out in his wheelchair. how is he? this is... pope francis, we know, is an older man himself, he has been carrying out his duties as normal, but one of the things that's been interesting about the death of pope benedict is there's been a lot of speculation as to whether now that benedict has died, whether this now possibly paves the way for francis to resign, to follow in benedict's example.

some catholics will say, no, what benedict did was a one—time thing and won't happen again. other people say maybe it is what francis would like to do, to eventually resign in the same way. people will be watching carefully to see what steps are taken. in ukraine last night, as people marked the turn of the new year, there were further russian missile attacks, including in the capital, kyiv. 0ur correspondent hugo bachega sent this update from there. the air raid alert sounded after midnight here in kyiv and people were told to seek shelter as russia launched another air strike on this capital. the armed forces this morning are saying that the air defence systems shot down 32 of those drones, iranian—made drones that russia has been using to attack this country. there were no casualties. but this latest attack happened hours after russia launched missiles

targeting cities across the country. one person was killed here in the capital. now, the ukrainian officials had accused russia of deliberately targeting civilians by launching attacks on new year's eve, a day when people were gathered to celebrate. now, here in the country, people are tired, angry with these attacks. they say that civilians have become russia's target in this war. also last night, president zelensky delivered an emotional, defiant speech, new year's address, and he said he was proud of how ukrainians have resisted to russia's aggressions. and he said there was no option for this country other than fight until victory. we heard hugo talking there about the ukrainian president's new year address. let's listen to that. translation: we fight and continue to fight. .

for the sake of the main word, victory. it will be for sure. we have been approaching it for 311 days stop we give 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. and here in the uk, the war crimes prosecutor who led the case against slobodan milosevic has called for president putin to be tried for crimes against humanity this year. sir geoffrey nice, who worked with the international criminal tribunal for the former yugoslavia, has told the bbc that the russian military is acting "in accordance" with putin's commands and that civilian targets "should never be bombed or otherwise attacked". it couldn't be clearer. the strangest thing is that politicians and lawyers don't seem to be speaking out against what it is, crimes against humanity because civilian should never be bombed or

otherwise attacked and there can be no doubt about the chain of command leading directly to putin and he knows from the television as we all do that not only is expected at the acting in accordance with his instructions and commands but has said nothing since february to indicate they're not doing that and has not brought them back to be tried for obvious crimes. that is because he is in charge, they are doing what he wants, and he is a guilty man. earlier, the ukrainian political analyst mykola davydiuk shared his thoughts on sir geoffrey nice's comments. i think putin tries to kill ukrainians, but he kills the image of his country and kills his regime and with missiles on new year's night in ukraine, he showed his weaknesses because with missiles and drones he tried to crucify

civilian buildings and i think he showed that he doesn't know what to do and at the same time i saw in the streets of kyiv yesterday night people walking and smiling and in a good mood prepared for the toughest winter in their life, who prepared for everything that may happen and even yesterday civilians had champagne and they had a red — heard air raid sirens in their appartments and shelters. i think the mood is really strong and people are ready to win so it doesn't matter what russia plans, ukraine wants to stand in alignment and i think the hope is the main feeling and we are trying to stand and defend our country and also to liberate her territories and our own people. to touch on the attacks that took

place on new year's eve, i understand there were exploding drones targeting kyiv. can you describe what happens when they come towards kyiv? they tried two days before and yesterday and the day before yesterday and they tried to target a power station and also targeted civilian houses and kindergartens and so on, and even one block from our house and the targeted and struck a civilian home and i think the reason, the main target was not some power station but to break our mood and make us fear and to feel somewhat afraid, and i think

that was typical russian terrorism. they want to send a message to the media and i think that was the reason he struck on new year's eve because he had 311 days to kill everything but he can't and he feels we are stronger than he thought before and now he willjust want to terrorise us. i think when people prepare for that, they are not scared, they prepare for new year and are prepared to make this year the year of winning so i think he didn't break holiday and it was a fantastic new year's night but it was completely different to what we had before. at least ten people have been killed in the afghan capital kabul in an explosion at the entrance

of the military airport. the taliban government has been battling an insurgency by islamic state militants who have targeted a number of key installations in the city in recent weeks. 0ur south asia editor, anbarasan ethirajan, has the latest. the taliban authorities are saying there was a loud explosion outside the entrance of the military airfield in kabul which is a very protected zone. and when the forces left afghanistan in 2021 they were all there. the taliban say several people have been killed and injured and local media have given various figures. it shows that despite the taliban are promising they would bring security to people in kabul and the rest of the country,

these kind of bomb blasts and explosions are happening. no group has admitted responsibility yet. the islamic state group militants have admitted responsibility for several similar attacks in the past, for example, five chinese nationals were injured when five gunmen stormed a hotel in kabul a few weeks ago. it poses a security challenge for the taliban authorities. the colombian president, gustavo petro, has announced a ceasefire with five armed groups until the end ofjune. president petro, a former rebel himself, has previously pledged to end six decades of violence between government forces and armed militias in which hundreds of thousands of colombians have lost their lives. at least nine people have died in a crush at a new year's firework display in uganda. police said crowds got stuck in a narrow corridor in a shopping mall near the capital kampala.

some were trampled to death while others suffocated. some of the dead are children. it was the first time since the start of the covid—19 pandemic that uganda had permitted large new year gatherings. kimjong un has called for a significant increase in north korea's nuclear arsenal in response to perceived threats from the us and south korea. he said his country would focus on mass producing tactical nuclear weapons and hours into the new year he fired a ballistic missile into the sea of japan. south korea's president says the military should respond to north korea's constant missile provocations. new government figures have been released for the number of people who've arrived in the uk by crossing the channel by crossing the channel on small boats. a total of 45,756 migrants made the crossing

during the whole of 2022. the last crossings of the year happened on christmas day, when 90 people made the journey from france in two boats. there's still reported to be a backlog of 100,000 applications from people seeking asylum in the uk. croatia has become the 20th country to join the eurozone and has now adopted the euro as its currency. the bbc�*s 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 when i camel 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. low sales growth is predicted for the uk in 2023 —

that's according to the british retail consortium. retail sales growth remained below inflation in 2022 — which suggests the number of sales were down compared to the previous year. sales are expected to pick up in the second half of 2023 as inflation slows and consumer confidence improves. i'm joined by kris hamer, director of insight at the british retail consortium. hgppy happy new year, and thank you for joining us. as far as those predictions go, pretty confident that will happen? just how much more pain we likely to feel? it's been a very difficult and challenging year for consumers and retailers with the cost of goods and inflation coming through, the supply chain and consumers having to bear the brunt

of the energy costs and cost of food. no doubt this is the reason why we've seen falling volumes over the past year, and relatively low levels of retail sales growth, but we do expect to see a similar picture for the year ahead, between 2.5 and 3.5%. the first half of the year will be difficult and challenging, between 1—1.2%, on the second half is a period of optimism in terms of overall growth, we are expecting to see food sales recovering as people have higher degrees of confidence, and inflation goes up. degrees of confidence, and inflation noes u -. ., . degrees of confidence, and inflation u-oesu. ., . , ~ ., , goes up. confidence... nobody knows what is going — goes up. confidence... nobody knows what is going on- _ goes up. confidence... nobody knows what is going on. there _ goes up. confidence... nobody knows what is going on. there is _ goes up. confidence... nobody knows what is going on. there is that - what is going on. there is that confusion, and confidence in what? what will inspire that confidence?

that's a good question. in terms of economic outlooks, it is often on the basis of how confident consumers feel. if consumers feel their prospects in terms of the money in their pocket is looking better for their pocket is looking better for the future, they are more likely to spend. we've seen over the past six months interest rates rise, people having to bear the brunt of increases in mortgage costs. they are seem a cost of goods increasing, which will stabilise as we move into the new year. and effectively, as things settle down, and there's less uncertainty in the economy, that will drive higher levels of confidence that consumers will see in the second half. it is confidence that consumers will see in the second half.— in the second half. it is a fine balance. _ in the second half. it is a fine balance, because _ in the second half. it is a fine balance, because retailers i in the second half. it is a fine | balance, because retailers are feeling the pinch as well, they are putting up their prices. consumers

don't have the money in their pockets to spend. how bad are things for the retailers?— for the retailers? retailers had been trying _ for the retailers? retailers had been trying to _ for the retailers? retailers had been trying to hold _ for the retailers? retailers had been trying to hold back- for the retailers? retailers had been trying to hold back the i for the retailers? retailers had . been trying to hold back the effect of inflation for a long time, so when receiver cost pressures coming in, they are far in advance of the cost in prices on the shelf. retailers are going to continue to do that in terms of trying to make their businesses more efficiently, make sure their supply chains are as efficient as possible. clearly, there's only so much they can do. we are pleased the government listen to the business rates challenge we faced for the year ahead, that's been done, but we are looking at direction over the energy price power, which is additional costs retailers will bear at the end of march unless the government intervenes. march unless the government intervenes-— march unless the government intervenes. , ., , ., intervenes. kris, i am so sorry to interrunt. — intervenes. kris, i am so sorry to

interrunt. but — intervenes. kris, i am so sorry to interrupt, but thank _ intervenes. kris, i am so sorry to interrupt, but thank you - intervenes. kris, i am so sorry to interrupt, but thank you for - intervenes. kris, i am so sorry to interrupt, but thank you for the l interrupt, but thank you for the analysis. you are watching bbc news, tuesday with us because there is so much more coming up. —— do stay with us. whilst the new year has begun cold and wintry in much of scotland and across the rest of the country it's still fairly mild and that mild weather even more enhanced across europe. this chart shows how temperatures compare to normal — the deeper the reds, the higher average temperature. the temperatures across much of europe, we've got places from ten to 15, nearly 16 degrees higher than it should be for the stage injanuary and that will continue for a few days yet. the warmer air will become more confined to parts of southern england and wales for us, though, through today. south—westerly winds bringing in a few showers and some longer spells of heavy thundery rain for north—west england in north—west wales especially. more showers in northern ireland this afternoon. the rain, sleet, snow mix easing a bit across scotland and some sunshine in the far north and west,

but still chilly here with temperatures one or two, just above freezing, but a very mild 12 or 13 celsius towards in the south—east corner, above the eight degrees we should be. we do finish with more persistent rain this late afternoon and evening, clearing into the night. showers elsewhere become fewer, mainly confined to south and eastern scotland but even here some breaks in the cloud lead to some ice. another very cold one — northern scotland —8, —9. not as mild towards east anglia and the south—east but still comparatively mild for the stage of the year. as we go through monday, a quieter day in store. this little bump on the isobars an indication of high pressure, which actually kills off most of the rain showers but actually allowing slightly colder air to get as far south as southern england. not substantially so, only bringing temperatures back to where we should be the stage of the year but actually for monday one of the quietest weather days for the entire christmas period. some showers and cloud building in south—east scotland first thing and showers in western scotland later on but for most early morning fog and mist patches clearing and dry and sunny with temperatures back down

to where we should be for this stage in the year. but actually for monday, probably one of the quietest weather days from the entire christmas period. we'll still have some clouds, some showers, northern england, south east scotland, especially first thing showers in western scotland later on. now we'll see temperatures initially dip through monday night but into tuesday we open the door to the atlantic once again, fronts spiralling in with wet and windy weather at times repeated through this coming week. the start of 2023 as we finished 2022 with temperatures generally above average, bouts of windy weather pushing from west to east, too. that's how it's looking.

this is bbc world news. the headlines: celebrations have been taking place around the world to herald the start of 2023. the firework display in london also paid tribute to the late queen, elizabeth ii. addressing crowds at st peter's square, pope francis has described his predecessor, benedict xvi, as a faithful servant of the gospel and the church. pope benedict died yesterday at the age of 95. as russian missiles strike kyiv — a former war crimes prosecutor calls for vladimir putin to be tried this year for crimes against humanity. sir geoffrey nice said the case against the russian leader "could not be clearer". and croatia begins the new year with a new currency —