good evening, welcome to the programme, we have got a packed two hours for you this evening. including a special investigation tonight into the execution of an unarmed ukrainian soldier. we will tell you who he was and who was involved. and we will get the thoughts of a formerjudge who sat on the panel of the international criminal court. big developments in scotland today, where police have arrested peter murrell, nicola sturgeon s husband, in connection to the snps fundraising and finances. but we will start with the split screen events we have watching through the day, president zelensy in warsaw, emmanuel macron in beijing. it s his first visit to china in four years. and from a chinese perspective, emmanuel macron is probably the most important politician in europe. it is the french president in particular, who has continued to engage with putin to find a diplomatic solution to this war in ukraine. and they see him as the man who can push the european union towards a mor
nominations in the scottish national partly leadership national party leadership race close at midday, with humza yousaf, kate forbes and ash regan expected to appear on the ballot paper. and new research for the bbc suggests the price of pasta has nearly doubled in two years for uk consumers with the rate of food price rises still running at almost 17%. hello and welcome if you re watching in the uk or around the world. president volodymyr zelensky has said ukraine will do everything it can to defeat russia this year in a statement marking the anniversary of vladimir putin s full scale invasion. ceremonies are taking place across the country remebering those killed or forced to flee from the conflict. here in the uk, rishi sunak will urge allies to increase military support to ukraine, during a meeting of g7 countries. there will also be a minute s silence across the uk at 11 o clock. ourfirst report comes from our ukraine correspondent james waterhouse. a thud, marking the
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 was 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. the queen: 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. ama
hello and welcome to bbc news. it is good to have your company here. we begin with international news. 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 mary most holy, who we celebrate today as mother of god. at this time, let s invoke her intercession, especially for pope benedict xvi, who left this world yesterday morning. let us alljoin together with one heart and one soul in thanking god for the gift of this faithful servant of the gospel and of the church. we saw recently, on the television, his images and all of the activities and life of pope benedict. o
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