New Year's revellers around the world usher in 2019
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People are bringing in the new year with spectacular fireworks displays and public gatherings as the globe closes out 2018.
Across the world, people have celebrated the new year while others waited for the countdown in their times zones.
Asia was among the first to begin celebrations. In Malaysia, the country’s landmark Petronas Twin towers, shining in a haze of exploding colours above Kuala Lumpur.
The Pacific island nation of Kiribati was the first in the world to welcome the new year, greeting 2019 with muted celebrations after spending 2018 on the front line of the battle against climate change.
The new year was welcomed in the capital, Tarawa, with church services and mostly quiet private celebrations.
While, Indonesia’s skyline was another to light up at the close of midnight with a fireworks display.
In Paris, locals and tourists have gathered on the Champs-Elysees avenue to celebrate New Year’s Eve under heavy security.
Before midnight, a light show illustrating the theme of brotherhood is to take place on the Arc de Triomphe monument at the top of the Champs-Elysees.
President Emmanuel Macron has given his traditional New Year address to briefly lay out his priorities for 2019.
Anti-government protesters from the “yellow vest” movement have issued calls on social media for “festive” demonstrations on the famous avenue.
In Berlin, people were queuing in the hope of attending Germany’s biggest New Year’s Eve party.
Bonnie Tyler, DJ Bobo, Alice Meron, Nico Santos and Eagle Eye Cherry are all set to perform, with a fireworks and laser display to take place at midnight.
Earlier, some 30,000 people in Japan welcomed in the New Year at Saitama Super Arena with Floyd Mayweather.
The American boxer soundly defeated his opponent, Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa, in the first round of what was billed as three rounds of entertainment.
And as Russians raised toasts to celebrate across the country’s 11 time zones, President Vladimir Putin stressed the need to rely on internal resources to improve living standards.
In a televised address just before midnight, Putin said, “we can achieve positive results only through our own efforts and well co-ordinated teamwork”.
Meanwhile, hundreds of Thais travelled to Takien Temple in a suburb of Bangkok to lie inside coffins for traditional funeral rituals.
Participants believe the ceremony – symbolising death and rebirth – helps rid them of bad luck and allows them to be born again for a fresh start in the new year.
They held flowers and incense in their hands as monks covered them with pink sheets and chanted prayers for the dead.
In Auckland, tens of thousands gathered around Sky Tower as fireworks exploded from the top of the 328m structure.
Across the country thousands took to beaches and streets, becoming the first major nation to usher in 2019, with fireworks booming and crackling above city centres and harbours.
Thousands of South Koreans filled the streets of Seoul for a traditional bell-tolling ceremony near City Hall.
A “peace bell” was tolled at Imjingak, a pavilion near the border with North Korea.
In New York, Snoop Dogg, Sting and Christina Aguilera will welcome 2019 in a packed Times Square along with revellers from around the world who come to see the traditional crystal ball drop.
Spectators began assembling early in the afternoon for the made-for-TV extravaganza.
The celebration will take place under tight security, with partygoers checked for weapons and then herded into pens, ringed by metal barricades, where they wait for the stroke of midnight.
Article source: https://www.smh.com.au/world/middle-east/syria-strikes-keep-home-fires-burning-for-uk-s-may-and-france-s-macron-20180415-p4z9p0.html?utm_medium=rss&utm_source=rss_world
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