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 c
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
and croatia begins the new year with a new currency, switching from the kuna to the euro. if you have just joined if you havejustjoined us, welcome to bbc 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. extraordinar
an immigration centre in southern england has been firebombed, with the suspect reported to have killed himself. officials in india say at least 68 people have died after a suspension bridge collapsed in western india. at least 150 people were thought to be on the bridge in morbi in gujarat state at the time, but it s feared that number could have been far higher. the bridge had onlyjust re opened to the public following extensive renovations. in a tweet, the prime minister of india, narendra modi said he had spoken to local officials regarding the incident and that the rescue operation was ongoing. he pledged to give all possible help to those affected. our south asia editor anbarasan ethirajan gave us the latest a short while ago. it isa it is a very tragic and unfortunate incident in the state of gujarat because hundreds of people were out on a holiday, today is a sunday and also a hindu religious festival, the post diwali period, people still enjoying their holidays and t