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
newsroom. i m paula reed in washington in for fredricka whitfield. we begin with a machete attack on three police officers in times square. the attack unfolded outside a security screening zone set up for last night s festivities. police say the man wielding the machete was just 19 years old. fortunately, all three officers injured are in stable condition. cnn s correspondent is following this story from new york city. gloria, what else do we know about this violent attack? reporter: certainly a trosh f terrifying attack for these three officers. one of the officers just graduating the police academy last week. this happened, as you mentioned, outside of a security zone because everyone who goes to times square to watch the new year s eve ball drop has to go through these screening points for this reason. they are being checked for weapons, items not permitted into this event. and that is where police say a 19-year-old male approached these officers completely unprovoke
here in the uk, 2022 saw the highest number of excess deaths outside the covid pandemic in half a century. and france tries again to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. it s an unpopular reform that didn t go well last time it tried. we ll be live in paris. we start in ukraine. president volodymyr zelensky has said ukraine s army is facing an extremely difficult situation as fighting continues in the eastern donbas region. the focus is the salt mining town of soledar. the uk defence ministry says it s likely that russian forces including wagner group mercenaries now control most of the town. we ll be taking a look at why it s become central to this conflict. but first, here s president zelensky. translation: and what did russia want to win there? i everything is completely destroyed. there was almost no life left. thousands of their people are gone, the whole land in soledar is covered with the corpses of the invaders and scarred from the strikes. this is what madness loo
blazer who smashed through the glass ceiling. what she said was her true legacy. the suspect in the murders of four idaho college students has now waived extradition, new details on his studies of criminology. he asked former prisoners how they chose their victims fellow students tell us how he behaved the weeks prior to the murders, and our correspondent one on one with the police chief and the suspect s lawyer. did he kill these four students and before you pop that bottle of champagne, watch our report in this blind tasting, do people prefer a $200 bottle, or one for just $18 you both prefer the cheaper one. [ laughter ] announcer: this is nbc nightly news with jose diaz-balart. good evening i m kristen welker in for jose on this christmas eve. on this new year s eve we re remembering two giants who left their mark on history. pope emeritu benedict xvi, and broadcasting legend barbara walters and the world is marking new beginnings, celebrations, biggest we v