New Year 2024: There were snapshots of joy from country to country as the new year was welcomed with optimism that its days will bring more joy than sorrow.
New Year바카라s Day arrived to cheers from tens of thousands of beaming people in New York바카라s Times Square who were showered with confetti and hugs and kisses after watching the descent of the colorful ball marking the birth of 2024 with hope for some, even as the world바카라s ongoing conflicts subdued celebrations and raised security concerns across the globe.
바카라It바카라s beautiful,바카라 Corin Christian of Charlotte, North Carolina, said seconds past midnight as Frank Sinatra바카라s 바카라New York, New York바카라 blared from speakers in the square known as the Crossroads of the World.
바카라It바카라s going very well so far,바카라 said Jacob Eriksson of Salt Lake City, Utah, with the earliest assessment of the New Year.
The march of midnight from time zone to time zone brought the new year first to places like Australia, where more than 1 million people watched a pyrotechnic display centered around Sydney바카라s famous Opera House and harbor bridge 바카라 a number of spectators equivalent to 1 in 5 of the city바카라s residents. It would be another 16 hours before New York reached 2024.
There were snapshots of joy from country to country as the new year was welcomed with optimism that its days will bring more joy than sorrow.
Before midnight arrived in Times Square, December Lee, 26, and Shadayah Lawrence, 25, of Columbus, Ohio, said their New York visit highlighted four years of traveling the globe.
바카라It is a good way to bring in the new year,바카라 Lee said.
Also in Times Square, Tyrell Jacobs, 27, and Sarah Crayton, 26, arrived from New Orleans 15 hours before midnight and got engaged in streets packed with tens of thousands of people counting first the hours and then the minutes until midnight.
바카라It바카라s definitely a must-see,바카라 Crayton said of the colorful cast of strangers nearby in tall hats and blowing noisemakers even before the ball dropped. 바카라At least go once, you know, just to experience the magic.바카라
A small army of thousands of police officers worked to keep New York City safe, just as heightened security had done in the cities midnight hit first. New York has seen near-daily protests sparked by the Israel-Hamas war.
Some 90,000 police and security officers were deployed around France including along Champs-Elysees Avenue, where large crowds took in a multidimensional light show projected onto the Arc de Triomphe showcasing the history of Paris and sports on the menu for next year바카라s Summer Olympics in the city.
FIREWORKS LIGHT UP THE NIGHT
Stunning fireworks displays bloomed at iconic locations like the Acropolis in Athens, Greece; reflected in the sleek glass walls of the world바카라s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates; and accompanied a collective cheer filling the air in Nairobi, Kenya.
China celebrated relatively quietly, with most major cities banning fireworks over safety and pollution concerns. Still, people gathered and performers danced in colorful costumes in Beijing, while a crowd released wish balloons in Chongqing. During his New Year address, President Xi Jinping said the country would focus on building momentum for economic recovery in 2024 and pledged China would 바카라surely be reunified바카라 with Taiwan.
In Taipei, Taiwan바카라s capital, the mood was upbeat as revelers gathered for a fireworks show at the bamboo-shaped Taipei 101 skyscraper and at concerts and other events citywide.
In India, thousands of revelers from the financial hub of Mumbai watched the sun set over the Arabian Sea. Fireworks in New Delhi raised concerns that the capital 바카라 already infamous for its poor air quality 바카라 would be blanketed by a toxic haze on the first morning of the new year.
Across Japan, people gathered at temples such as the Tsukiji Temple in Tokyo, where visitors were given free hot milk and corn soup as they stood in line to strike a massive bell.
About 2 million people gathered at Rio de Janeiro바카라s Copacabana beach under light drizzle to watch 12 minutes of fireworks in one of the world바카라s most popular locations for New Year바카라s Eve.
POPE HIGHLIGHTS THE HUMAN COST OF WAR
At the Vatican, Pope Francis recalled 2023 as a year marked by wartime suffering. During his traditional Sunday blessing from a window overlooking St. Peter바카라s Square, he offered prayers for 바카라the tormented Ukrainian people and the Palestinian and Israeli populations, the Sudanese people and many others.바카라
바카라At the end of the year, we will have the courage to ask ourselves how many human lives have been shattered by armed conflict, how many dead and how much destruction, how much suffering, how much poverty,바카라 the pontiff said.
GAZA AND UKRAINE WARS GRIND ON
In Russia, the country바카라s military actions in Ukraine overshadowed end-of-year celebrations, with the usual fireworks and concert on Moscow바카라s Red Square canceled, as they were last year. Even without the festivities, people gathered in the square, and some cheered and pointed their phones at a clock counting down the year바카라s final seconds.
After shelling in the Russian border city of Belgorod Saturday killed 24 people, some local authorities across the country also canceled their firework displays, including in Vladivostok. Millions were expected to tune in to President Vladimir Putin바카라s New Year바카라s prerecorded address, in which he said no force could divide Russians and stop the country바카라s development.
Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip killed at least 35 people Sunday, hospital officials said, as fighting raged across the tiny enclave a day after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, resisting international calls for a cease-fire, said the war will continue for 바카라many more months.바카라
Skyscrapers in Tel Aviv were lit up in yellow to call for the release of hostages held by Palestinian militants in Gaza for more than 80 days.
바카라While you are counting down until the new year, our time and our lives stopped,바카라 said Moran Betzer Tayar, the aunt of Yagev Buchshtab, a 34-year-old hostage.
In the Gaza Strip, displaced Palestinians huddled around fires in a makeshift refugee camp.
바카라From the intensity of the pain we live, we do not feel that there is a new year,바카라 said Kamal al-Zeinaty, who has lost multiple family members in the conflict. 바카라All the days are the same.바카라
In Iraq, a Christmas tree was decorated with Palestinian flags and symbolic bodies in funeral shrouds, placed beside a liberty monument in central Baghdad. Many Christians in Iraq have cancelled this year바카라s festivities in solidarity with Gaza, and have chosen to limit their celebrations to prayers and rituals.
바카라We hope that the new year, 2024, will be a year of goodness, prosperity and joy,바카라 said Ahmed Ali, a Baghdad resident.
In Muslim-majority Pakistan, the government banned all New Year바카라s Eve celebrations in solidarity with the Palestinians.
GLOBAL TENSIONS SPUR SECURITY VIGILANCE
New York Mayor Eric Adams said there were 바카라no specific threats바카라 to his city바카라s annual bash. Nevertheless, police said they would expand the security perimeter around the party, creating a 바카라buffer zone바카라 that would allow them to head off potential demonstrations. On New Year바카라s Eve 2022, a machete-wielding man attacked three police officers a few blocks from Times Square.
German authorities said they detained three more people in connection with a reported threat of a New Year바카라s Eve attack by Islamic extremists on the world-famous Cologne Cathedral.
In Berlin, some 4,500 police officers worked to keep order and avoid riots like those seen a year ago. They also banned a pro-Palestinian protest in the Neukoelln neighborhood of the German capital, which has seen several pro-Palestinian riots.