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
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
hgppy message for you this morning. happy new year! in other news, two men have been charged with the murder of cody fisher who was stabbed to death in a nightclub in birmingham on boxing day. it s a very happy new yearfor arsenalfans. their team are seven points clear at the top of the premier league, after beating brighton. a hero s welcome for gary mckee. he s raises £1 million by running 365 marathons one every day in 2022. we start the new year with quite a bit of snowfall sunshine elsewhere, mixed in with some showers. we have your forecast for the start of the new year here on a breakfast. happy new year. it s sunday the 1st of january. our top story: cities around the world have been welcoming in 2023, with large crowds gathering for fireworks and light displays, many for the first time since the start of the pandemic. in london, big ben signaled the start of a spectacular display, which included a tribute to queen elizabeth. louisa pilbeam reports. big ben bongs.
celebrations have taken place around the world to herald the start of 2023. we start in brazil, where crowds of people are gathering in the capital, brasilia, ahead of the inauguration of luiz inacio lula da silva as president. the veteran left wing politician, known widely as lula, also led the country between 2003 and 2010, and defeated jair bolsonaro in 0ctober s poll. there is tight security for sunday s ceremony, amid fears that bolsonaro supporters may try to disrupt it. in the last few minutes, it s been reported a man has been arrested trying to enter the inauguration with explosives and a knife. we are monitoring that for you. 0ur south america correspondent katy watson is outside the inauguration venue in brasilia. around 300,000 people are expected to turn up to this inauguration. there s a concert that is being put on, it has already started. that concert will stop for the official ceremony to begin and will continue later in the night. but certainly, you know, hu
paid tribute to the late queen, elizabeth ii. you are watching bbc news. now it s time for sportsday. hello, and welcome to sportsday, i m gavin ramjaun. a miserable start to the new yearfor spurs unai emery s aston villa come away with the points at the tottenham hotspur stadium. sterling s on the mark for chelsea, but did they hang on to beat forest and continue the kick start to their season. and high fives all around, as great britain reach the play off round of the inaugural united cup. hello there, and welcome along to sportsday. it s a been a new year s day to forget for tottenham fans the opening game of 2023 saw them beaten at home by an aston villa side, enjoying a resurgence under unai emery. the loss piles the pressure on spurs boss antonio conte, yet to win since the season resumed last month. jo currie was watching. inconsistent form left tottenham starting to entry three in fifth, a win against aston villa would take them back into the top four. a lackluste