of scaled back celebrations because of covid. many parts of the world have already ushered in 2023 with dazzling celebrations. just seconds from now, the clock will strike midnight in paris, the city of lights, especially tonight. let s go live to paris right now. now let s go to times square. how is the crowd looking there, gloria? reporter: pamela, it s so exciting. six hours to go. the big crystal ball is being put up right now. i just want to direct our viewers attention right to the top of one times square. that is where the big crystal ball is coming up. you can see it on the screen. 11,000 pounds of waterford crystal. this tradition goes all the way back to 1907. that is when the first crystal ball went down to mark the beginning of the new year. people here are excited. they have been waiting for hours. six more hours to go. i want to show you some of the crowd here. people have been lining up, bundled up. they re excited. this is a really big moment. we re get
benedict xvi who he says, is very ill. and britain is on course to record its warmest year ever, after a summer of heatwaves, wildfires and drought. hello and welcome to audiences in the uk and around the world. america has become the latest country to impose mandatory covid tests on chinese tourists, after beijing announced it would reopen its borders next week. it comes as china s covid cases surge. tighter measures have also been imposed by italy, japan, malaysia, taiwan and india. our diplomatic correspondent paul adams reports. from the world s most populous nation, alarming scenes china s hospitals overwhelmed, covid infections soaring. the country s abrupt decision to dismantle much of its strict covid regime apparently yielding worrying results. wards full of desperately ill people. outside this hospital in chengdu, a queue for emergency services. government officials say the situation is under control. that s not what these pictures suggest. at this funeral home,
here in the uk, the family of cody fisher, who was stabbed to death at a club in birmingham on monday, say their hearts are broken. and building model plane kits for a new generation of fans we report on the revival of a classic hobby. hello and welcome to bbc news. we start this hour with a special report from ukraine, from the southern port of kherson, which is under increased bombardment from russian forces, and where on tuesday the maternity ward of a hospital was among the places shelled. kherson is often called the gateway to crimea and, because of its strategic importance, it was one of the first places taken by russian forces at the start of the war. it was liberated last month, in a significant gain for ukrainian troops. but civilians are now living with a daily onslaught of russian shelling. our correspondent yogita limaye has spent the last four days in kherson, with colleagues imogen anderson, sanjay ganguly and mariana matveichuk, and they sent this spe
in 2013, benedict became the first pope in six centuries to resign. the united states is the latest country to consider entry restrictions for travellers from china due to soaring covid infection rates after beijing relaxed containment measures this month. here in the uk, the family of cody fisher, who was stabbed to death at a club in birmingham on monday, say their hearts are broken. and building model plane kits for a new generation of fans we report on the revival of a classic hobby. hello, and welcome. we start this hour with a special report from ukraine from the southern port of kherson, which is under increased bombardment from russian forces, and where on tuesday, the maternity ward of a hospital was among the places shelled. kherson is often called the gateway to crimea and, because of its strategic importance, it was one of the first places taken by russian forces at the start of the war. it was liberated last month in a significant gain for ukrainian troops. b
arrested two men on suspicion of murder. the 23 year old was stabbed at a nightclub in birmingham on monday. the un security council has denounced a ban by afghanistan s taliban led administration on women attending universities or working for humanitarian aid groups. and building model plane kits for a new generation of fans we report on the revival of a classic hobby. hello. air raid sirens have sounded across all of ukraine, with civilians being asked to stay in shelters amid reports of russian jets taking off from an airbase in belarus. russia has also stepped up mortar and artillery attacks on kherson, a port city in southern ukraine. kherson is often called the gateway to crimea, and because of its strategic importance, it was one of the first places taken by russian forces at the start of the war. it was liberated last month, in a significant gain for ukrainian troops. but civilians are now living with a daily onslaught of russian shelling. our correspondent yogita