ground in the north. but it is looking mild for much of the time through the coming week, perhaps just a little colder as we get into friday. this is bbc news with the headlines. pope francis pays tribute to his predecessor, benedict, as a "faithful servant of the gospel and the church" as a "faithful servant of the gospel and the church". three, two, one... celebrations have taken place around the world to herald the start of 2023. as russian missiles strike kyiv, a former war crimes prosecutor calls for vladimir putin to be tried this year for crimes against humanity. and croatia begins the new year with a new currency, switching from the kuna to the euro.

hello and welcome to bbc world news. pope francis has addressed the thousands of people who gathered at st peter's square in the vatican, a day after the death of benedict xvi. the pope described his predecessor as a faithful servant of the gospel and the church. our religion editor aleem maqbool is at the vatican. we heard from pope francis a couple of times today, first at a mass for peace that was held in st peter's basilica behind me. he talked about entrusting our beloved pope emeritus benedict xvi, to the holy mother, to accompany him from this world to god. and then later, pope francis appeared at a balcony here at the vatican for what is his regular sunday lunchtime homily, where he started this week by asking people to join together, as you rightly say, to pray for the man he called a faithful servant to the gospel

and to the church. extraordinary scenes, though. we saw thousands of people pour into the square from every side. vatican police told us a short while ago that they thought around 40,000 people were here to witness that homily. of course a lot of people happen to be in rome for new year, from around the world, including a man i met from chicago who said in spite of the fact that he knew that pope benedict had been ill for some time, there was still a sense of shock. others did refer to the complicated legacy of pope benedict, but of course many more people will pour into rome and the vatican in the coming days, first for the laying in state and then, of course, for the funeral on thursday morning that will be presided over by pope francis. we will have coverage of course throughout the week here on bbc

world news. 2023 has arrived all over the world by now, with the latest new year celebrations taking place across the united states, canada, the caribbean and latin america. this report does contain flashing images. for 2023, new year celebrations are back around the world. in new york, partygoers in times square relished the moment, thousands squashed together, only a handful wearing masks. in london, thousands filled the banks of the thames, relieved after covid and a difficult 2022. happy new year, and hopefully this year is better than last year. hopefully. after the year we've had, it is phenomenal. years, years we've had. the year we have had in general, with the cost of living, the inflation, the politics of the country, it's just been upheaval. it is the one time we all come together.

this is london... the fireworks welcomed in the new year and marked the losses of the old. i declare before you all, that my whole life, whether it be long or short, shall be devoted to your service. in edinburgh, the first hogmanay events in three years were sold out across the city, despite rain and freezing temperatures. and in paris crowds filled the champs elysees for the fireworks. local media estimated i million people came to cheer in 2023. there were also smiling crowds in the chinese city of wuhan, where the pandemic began nearly three years ago and where covid is back. the chinese authorities say the situation is under control,

but several countries, including the uk, are bringing back covid tests for travellers from china. sanchia berg, bbc news. in ukraine last night, as people marked the turn of the new year, there were further russian missile attacks, including in the capital, kyiv. ukraine's armed forces say they shot down 45 iranian—made explosive drones overnight, most of them since midnight. russia says the attacks targeted sites where it claimed ukraine was producing its own drones. let's get more now on ukraine's front line where many spent new year's eve under attack on the eastern front. the bbc�*s 0lga malchevska reports. singing on the front line. these soldiers are celebrating new year's eve in the bunker during a brief moment of calm. this is bakhmut, eastern ukraine, the area that has seen the fiercest fighting.

joining them, the mayor of kyiv, vitali klitschko, ex—celebrity world boxing champion. he saw in the new year with the troops, his spokesperson told the bbc. bringing some supplies, a more festive mood and a message for the season. translation: the freedom battalion, bakhmut guys, i who defend our motherland and its territorial integrity, independence and peace of every ukrainian. i will do everything to make the next year, 2023, the year of peace. this christmas tree is in kramatorsk, another city on the eastern front line. a soldier shared the footage with the bbc. translation: we have no light, electricity from a generator, - but we have a new year with a christmas tree and presents. svetlana in kyiv was hoping for a peaceful night with herfamily — two kids, a dog and a cat. they didn't want to sleep in the cold, dark basement and instead were sheltering

in their flat. translation: i felt the blasts yesterday- _ translation: i felt the blasts yesterday- we _ translation: i felt the blasts yesterday. we were _ translation: i felt the blasts yesterday. we were sitting - translation: | felt the blasts| yesterday. we were sitting here translation: | felt the blasts - yesterday. we were sitting here on the 31st of december _ yesterday. we were sitting here on the 31st of december instead - yesterday. we were sitting here on the 31st of december instead of. the 31st of december instead of preparing the festive dinner. my two sons and _ preparing the festive dinner. my two sons and i_ preparing the festive dinner. my two sons and i and our dog. we heard the blast right— sons and i and our dog. we heard the blast right after the new year came. russia launched one more attack in the night and early morning of the new year, just hours after shelling the capital and other regions during the day. it was like typical russian terrorism. that was the reason why he struck on new year's eve, because he had, like, 311 days to kill everything. but he can't and he feels that we are stronger than he thought before. and now he willjust want to terrorise us. it will not work, though, says mykola and others we spoke

to on this new year's day, after another russian attack. ukrainians believe 2023 will bring them victory. 0lga malchevska, bbc news. earlier our correspondent in kyiv, hugo bachega, gave us the latest on the attacks. ukrainians are angry and tired of those attacks which have hit places like kyiv, away from the front lines. last night the air raid alert sounded after midnight. there were loud explosions here in kyiv but no casualties, and that happened hours after russia launched missiles targeting cities across the country. one person was killed here in kyiv and the authorities accuse russia of deliberately targeting civilians by launching attacks as people had gathered to celebrate the new year. also last night we heard from president zelensky, who delivered an emotional new year speech praising ukrainians for resisting the russian aggression and saying his country had no option other than to fight until victory. in russia, there was a very different tone in president

putin's new year speech. he was surrounded by soldiers and indicated that the war would continue. new government figures have been released for the number of people who've arrived in the uk by crossing the channel on small boats. just over 16,000 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. 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 highly protected zone, because the taliban have moved many of their military equipment near the airfield. and also the equipment left by the us—led forces, when they left afghanistan in 2021, they were all there. the taliban authorities are not giving any numbers at the moment. what they are saying is several people have been killed and injured but the local media have been giving various figures. but what it shows is that despite the taliban promising that they will bring security to people in kabul and the rest of the country, these kind of bomb blasts and explosions are happening. and no group has admitted responsibility for this blast yet but the islamic state group militants have admitted responsibility for several similar attacks in the past. for example, five chinese nationals were injured when a gunman stormed a hotel in kabul a few weeks ago. it also 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—i9 pandemic that uganda had permitted large new year gatherings. 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. brazil's new left—wing president, luiz inacio lula da silva, will be sworn into office today, 20 years after he first led the country. he narrowly beat his far—right predecessor, jair bolsonaro. mr bolsonaro has now left the country for florida, abandoning his final official duty of handing over the presidential sash at the ceremony. let's talk to our correspondent katy watson. this is... there is no other way of putting it, an extraordinary comeback. putting it, an extraordinary

comeback-— putting it, an extraordinary comeback. , :: , ., , ., comeback. absolutely. 20 years on and certainly _ comeback. absolutely. 20 years on and certainly people _ comeback. absolutely. 20 years on and certainly people here - comeback. absolutely. 20 years on and certainly people here are - and certainly people here are celebrating. it is part glastonbury, part political ceremony that we will see which should start in about an hour, but for hundreds of thousands of people who are queueing up, attending a concert that has been put on, and that will be stopped for the official ceremony and then continue later for the party. the official ceremony and then continue laterfor the party. people here have come from all across brazil to celebrate lula returning to power. we have to remember this is a deeply divided country, plenty of people who are very angry of because he is now back in power, but coming here, you would never guess. there is a sea of red, just the colours of his party. people queueing from very early on just to be able to get into the inauguration and enjoy the musicians and singers who have been invited to take part in today. who have been invited to take part in toda . . ., ., ., ., in today. have we heard at all from mr bolsonaro _ in today. have we heard at all from mr bolsonaro since _ in today. have we heard at all from mr bolsonaro since he _ in today. have we heard at all from mr bolsonaro since he left - mr bolsonaro since he left for

florida? . , mr bolsonaro since he left for florida? ., , ., .., . ., florida? he has not conceded defeat, so we were not _ florida? he has not conceded defeat, so we were not expecting _ florida? he has not conceded defeat, so we were not expecting him - florida? he has not conceded defeat, so we were not expecting him to - florida? he has not conceded defeat, so we were not expecting him to take j so we were not expecting him to take this graciously i guess. he is meant to be handing over the sash to lula. he will not be doing that. his vice president did speak on national tv overnight and said... people are cheering for lula here now. but he was saying, he criticised bolsonaro, saying the silence leads to chaos and a dig at the soon—to—be ex president but he says that yes, there will be a new government but democracy will remain. with such a divided country there was concern of what would happen with the handover, would bolsonaro supporters accept defeat? it has been a difficult time in brazil and it looks like his inauguration so far is going smoothly. fits inauguration so far is going smoothly-— inauguration so far is going smoothly. inauguration so far is going smoothl. a ., ., ., smoothly. as you said, a lot of bitterness _ smoothly. as you said, a lot of bitterness and _ smoothly. as you said, a lot of bitterness and history - smoothly. as you said, a lot of bitterness and history here - smoothly. as you said, a lot of bitterness and history here on| smoothly. as you said, a lot of. bitterness and history here on the

fact lula was at some point in prison and the court subsequently intervened on that. but some would say even bigger news in brazil has been at the death of pele. has that in a certain way it helps to bring people together? you said the country was very divided by this politics and election? i country was very divided by this politics and election?— politics and election? i think it has overtaken _ politics and election? i think it has overtaken events - politics and election? i think it has overtaken events because| politics and election? i think it l has overtaken events because of course his funeral, his wake will start tomorrow. the funeral will be on tuesday. he was a footballer who very much united this country, whichever side of the political spectrum people have been paying tribute to him. today is very much about politics, returning to if you like what happened in october when lula won and it is all about certainly his fans here today. i think tomorrow will be turning back towards pele and marking his passing

and that of course will be on the coast a good few hours from here but it will be an about turn if you like. this is very much about politics and a new beginning and then monday of course will be saying goodbye to pele. then monday of course will be saying goodbye to pele-— goodbye to pele. katie, in brazil, thank ou goodbye to pele. katie, in brazil, thank you very — goodbye to pele. katie, in brazil, thank you very much. _ goodbye to pele. katie, in brazil, thank you very much. we - goodbye to pele. katie, in brazil, thank you very much. we look. goodbye to pele. katie, in brazil, - thank you very much. we look forward to hearing from you during the course of the next few hours at the ceremony begins. thank you. katy watson there, our correspondent in south america. tiger to look at the sport. here is a man who i have never met but we constantly talk through the television and there you are back in stratford, where bbc sport is based. good to see you. great to see you. you are a lot taller in person! good to see you and good to see you at home as well.

tottenham are hoping to return to the top four this afternoon — they're in action against aston villa at the tottenham hotspur stadium. but the new year not off to the best start at the moment. the second half has not long got under way — 0—i villa. emi buendia capitalising on a mistake by spurs and france goalkeeper hugo lloris. the ball spilled out from a long range shot, which villa picked up on, and buendia converting home. a win for tottenham, they can leapfrog manchester united back into those champions league positions, but villa need the points to put some distance between them and the struggling pack. chelsea manager graham potter says his side have gone through a "real tough period" as they look to close the gap on the champions league places later. they could move to within five points of fourth if they win at nottingham forest. potter's chelsea lost three consecutive games before the world cup break, but came back with a win over bournemouth.

0urjob now is to try and get as many people back as we can. it's been a real tough period. as challenging as it's been, i'd say come in my time as a coach. but, you know, we are chelsea and people don't want to hear those reasons/excuses. you've got to get on with it and you've got to try your best to get the answers. chelsea will obviously be tough, had a good _ chelsea will obviously be tough, had a good win_ chelsea will obviously be tough, had a good win at last i'm up against bournemouth on their return but we have it _ bournemouth on their return but we have it really backed ourselves and if we _ have it really backed ourselves and if we are _ have it really backed ourselves and if we are going to do anything in games— if we are going to do anything in games that ends up getting as positive — games that ends up getting as positive results have to do it ourselves _ positive results have to do it ourselves and for me, as i said numerous _ ourselves and for me, as i said numerous times, it starts with belief— numerous times, it starts with belief and _ numerous times, it starts with belief and commitment to what we can brin- belief and commitment to what we can bring positively to a game. preparations are under way in the brazilian city of santos ahead of the funeral of footballing legend pele on tuesday. the three—time world cup winner died in hospital in sao paulo on thursday. workers have been building the staging area at the vila belmiro stadium, home of the club where pele

scored over 600 goals. there'll be a banner in the stands that reads "long live the king — pele, 82 years old". great britain have made it to the knockout stages of tennis�*s united cup, after beating spain to top group d, and move into the quarterfinals. great britain took a 2—0 lead into new year's day, after wins for cameron norrie and katie swan a day earlier. it meant that britain needed just a win from the second day's play, which started with harriet dart against paula badosa. dart took the first set of that match, but then fell away, losing the match in three, which gave dan evans the chance to seal the series victory. and evans came back from a second set to forget — to beat albert ramos vinolas, in three sets. 6—3, 1—6, 6—3 he won, giving britain an unassailable lead. evans broke his opponent in his first service game of the deciding set and rallied again after the spaniard hit back to level the set at 2—2. that's all the sport for now. hope to see you again in person

again soon! i said in stratford, it is salford! irate again soon! i said in stratford, it is salford! ~ ., is salford! we could meet halfway in stratford. trains _ is salford! we could meet halfway in stratford. trains are _ is salford! we could meet halfway in stratford. trains are very _ is salford! we could meet halfway in stratford. trains are very good - is salford! we could meet halfway in stratford. trains are very good to . stratford. trains are very good to stratford. the uk housing market is expected to "cool down" in 2023, but prices will still remain higher than before the start of the coronavirus pandemic — that's according to a number of property market experts. analysts are also predicting some stand—offs between buyers and sellers in the new year as the market adjusts, with homes potentially taking longer to sell. earlier i spoke to richard donnell, head of research and insight at the property website zoopla, about what to expect this year. the big story in the housing market was in the follow—up to the mini budget when mortgage rates that were already heading towards it or 5% went up to 6.5% and on our numbers that sort of demand for housing dropped by half, almost a christmas slowdown came eight weeks early. so we are ending the year quite weekly. sales are still happening and obviously a lot of buyers were pushed out of the market, but i think people still need

to move, those pandemic impacts continue, working from home is here to stay, we've had a big spike in people retiring which is a big move, a trigger for people moving. so i think next year it might prove better than people think. mortgage rates are set to come back down towards 5% as we start next year and hopefully we will not see some of these worst falls people are predicting for next year. halifax was predicting house prices falling by 8% in the year ahead. they also made the point, of course, that would not wipe out a lot of the gains that people had enjoyed previous to that, but if you take into account the prospect of the market softening a bit and you add in things like inflationary pressures and people's just sense of unease, that must have an impact, mustn't it? it will and look, we think housing transactions next year are going to be 20% lower than this year, just over a million. we think prices will fall by up to 5% and i think the real focus, because we do not have one housing

market in this country, there are many housing markets, higher interest rates, higher cost of living will have a bigger impact on the south—east of england than other areas of the country where affordability is less stretched and less exposed to higher mortgage rates, so absolutely we are going to have a slowdown, but i think talk of a slump or some big huge recorrection in house prices is certainly wide of the mark. the resolution foundation, when i was speaking to them, the chief executive, on friday was saying, there are a significant number of people who in the coming year are due to renegotiate an existing mortgage because theirfixed rate is coming to an end, that must be a worrying time for some people who maybe extended themselves quite far in the first place and effectively are seeing an environment in which they are going to have to pay considerably more if they want to keep servicing their mortgage? absolutely. look, when mortgage rates go from 2% at the beginning of 2022 to sort of 6% where they are now, that is going to cause concern

for people looking to refinance. i think anyone who took a mortgage in the last five years had to prove to their bank they could afford 6.5 or 7% mortgage rates, but when you get used to paying 2% is still a shock none the less. banks are working with their customers, working what they can afford and it is becoming far more of an almost individualised service that banks are offering their customers to make sure that they can support them as far as possible to get over any payment shock. just very briefly, i should have asked you this i think as well given lots of people do not own a home, lots people may not want to own a home, does this, any changes in the buying and selling, have much of an impact on the rental market? well, the rental market is under a lot of pressure just because the supply of homes for rent has not increased very much. rents are up by i2% in the last year and i think higher mortgage rates make it harder for people to buy a property, especially first—time buyers, and that will keep pressure on the rental market,

so whilst people are talking about house prices falling next year, transactions volume down, rents will keep rising and that will be a concern for renters who are looking to rent smaller properties and look further afield to get better value for money, because it is just adding to the cost of living pressures. one of the original members of the pointer sisters, anita pointer, has died aged 7a. #jump...# the singers were known for hits including jump and automatic, both of which won grammys, and i'm so excited. they won three grammy awards during their career. her publicist said she had cancer and was surrounded by family when she died. now on bbc news, the weather with ben rich. hello. we welcomed in 2023 with a real range of conditions across the uk. parts of scotland had snow and temperatures in the highlands got very close to minus nine celsius.

compare that with 11 degrees last night in the south of england and it is mild air that will win out for much of the time. i think through this coming week. there will be some rain at times, but equally some drier and chillier interludes. so for the rest of today, we will see thickening cloud and some patchy rain across the channel islands and fringing into the south coast of england. elsewhere, some showers, some of which will be heavy and thundery and some rain still with some snow over high ground affecting northern parts of scotland. temperatures four degrees for aberdeen and glasgow, 13 in london. and then tonight, we will see this area of wet weather pushing across southeast england into east anglia, some showers further north. most of them will fade. there will be some clear spells, ice likely to be an issue through northern ireland, northern england and up into scotland where it is going to be another really cold night, minus eight in the highlands and even further south, it will be chillier than it was last night. now into monday, some showers likely to move across south eastern parts of england.

first thing, we will see some further showers pushing into western scotland. some of those wintry over high ground. but in between, a slice of sunshine, relatively light winds, decent weather to get out and about for a bank holiday stroll. although it will be a chillier day in the south, highs of nine degrees and further north, just two or three degrees in northern scotland. now, as we head through monday night into tuesday, we'll see frontal systems pushing in from the atlantic, bringing some outbreaks of rain and some strengthening winds. it is going to be quite a windy day on tuesday. we may see some hill snow for a time in the north of the uk, but i think it will tend to turn back to rain as the air turns milder. temperatures on tuesday will be a little bit higher for many places with five or six degrees in northeast scotland, 12 or 13 across south wales and the south of england. now that weather system moves away, drier for a time as we move through wednesday and into the first part of thursday. but then this next weather system pushes in and that will bring more outbreaks of rain and again, perhaps some snow over high ground in the north.

but it is looking mild for much of the time through the coming week, perhaps just a little colder as we get into friday.

persons the headlines. 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 age of 95. 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. as russian missiles strike kyiv — a former war crimes prosecutor calls for vladimir putin to be tried this yearfor 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 — switching from the kuna to the euro, and entering the europe's schengen zone, which allows internal travel without border checks. it's just ten years since croatia joined the eu.