VATICAN CITY: Pope Francis prayed for his predecessor’s passage to heaven as he presided over a special New Year’s Day Mass Sunday in St. Peter’s Basilica, a day after Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI died in retirement at the Vatican.
The huge basilica will host Benedict’s coffin starting on Monday. Thousands of faithful are expected to attend the first of three days of viewing.
Benedict, 95, died Saturday morning in the Vatican where he had lived since retirement. He was the first pope in centuries to resign, citing his increasing frailty.
Francis looked weary and sat with his head bowed as Mass began on the first day of the year, an occasion the Catholic church dedicates to the theme of peace.
He departed from his written homily to pray aloud for Benedict, imploring the Virgin Mary to “accompany him in his passage to the hands” of God.
The pontiff will lead Benedict’s funeral on Thursday in St. Peter’s Square. That rite will be a simple one, the Vatican has said, in keeping with the wishes of Benedict, who for decades as a German cardinal had served as the Church’s guardian of doctrinal orthodoxy before he was elected pope in 2005.
In the last years, Francis has hailed Benedict’s stunning decision to become the first pope to resign in 600 years and has made clear he’d consider such a step as an option for himself.
Hobbled by knee pain, Francis, 86, on Sunday arrived in the basilica in a wheelchair, before taking his place in a chair for the Mass, which was being celebrated by the Vatican’s secretary of state.
Francis, who has repeatedly decried the war in Ukraine and its devastation, recalled those who are victims of war, passing the year-end holidays in darkness, cold and fear.
“At the beginning of this year, we need hope, just as the Earth needs rain,” Francis said.
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Pope Francis marks New Year as Vatican prepares to mourn Benedict
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Pope Francis marks New Year as Vatican prepares to mourn Benedict
- Benedict died Saturday morning in the Vatican where he had lived since retirement
- Pope Francis has repeatedly decried the war in Ukraine and its devastation
Bangladesh police deploy to guard ‘risky’ polling centers
DHAKA: Bangladesh’s police chief said Tuesday that more than 150,000 officers will be deployed for this week’s elections, warning that more than half of polling stations were flagged as vulnerable to violence.
Police records show that five people were killed and more than 600 injured in political clashes during the campaign period from December 11 to February 9.
More than 157,000 police officers, backed by 100,000 soldiers and other security forces, will guard Thursday’s vote — the first since a mass uprising toppled the autocratic government of Sheikh Hasina in 2024.
“We are 1,000 percent confident about doing our part,” Inspector General of Police Baharul Alam told reporters in Dhaka.
The country of 170 million has remained in political turmoil since the uprising against Hasina, when police carried out a deadly crackdown during her failed bid to cling to power.
Alam said police had assessed that “more than 24,000 polling centers have been marked as either high-risk or moderately risky” for possible unrest, violence or ballot stuffing — more than half of the 42,000 centers nationwide.
“The location of some centers is very remote, and there is intense competition, and hostility among candidates and their supporters,” he said, adding that 1,300 police guns looted during the 2024 unrest have still not been recovered.
“In high-risk and moderately risky centers, police will carry out patrol duty with body-worn cameras for the first time.”
Rights organization Ain o Salish Kendra counted 158 people killed and more than 7,000 injured in political violence between August 2024 and December 2025.
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) raised concerns over the law-and-order situation, accusing parties of forming “mobs” and setting up roadblocks.
Alam said the police were determined to ensure the polls were peaceful, but said he accepted that distrust of his force remained.
“It is quite understandable why people do not trust the police,” he said. “Over the last 15 years, based on what we have delivered — in fact, for the last 150 years, our predecessors mostly beat people.”
Police records show that five people were killed and more than 600 injured in political clashes during the campaign period from December 11 to February 9.
More than 157,000 police officers, backed by 100,000 soldiers and other security forces, will guard Thursday’s vote — the first since a mass uprising toppled the autocratic government of Sheikh Hasina in 2024.
“We are 1,000 percent confident about doing our part,” Inspector General of Police Baharul Alam told reporters in Dhaka.
The country of 170 million has remained in political turmoil since the uprising against Hasina, when police carried out a deadly crackdown during her failed bid to cling to power.
Alam said police had assessed that “more than 24,000 polling centers have been marked as either high-risk or moderately risky” for possible unrest, violence or ballot stuffing — more than half of the 42,000 centers nationwide.
“The location of some centers is very remote, and there is intense competition, and hostility among candidates and their supporters,” he said, adding that 1,300 police guns looted during the 2024 unrest have still not been recovered.
“In high-risk and moderately risky centers, police will carry out patrol duty with body-worn cameras for the first time.”
Rights organization Ain o Salish Kendra counted 158 people killed and more than 7,000 injured in political violence between August 2024 and December 2025.
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) raised concerns over the law-and-order situation, accusing parties of forming “mobs” and setting up roadblocks.
Alam said the police were determined to ensure the polls were peaceful, but said he accepted that distrust of his force remained.
“It is quite understandable why people do not trust the police,” he said. “Over the last 15 years, based on what we have delivered — in fact, for the last 150 years, our predecessors mostly beat people.”
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