2023-12-31 22:08:50
At 11 a.m. Swiss, the inhabitants of the Kiritimati atoll were the first in the world to greet the new year. The Chatham Islands, a New Zealand archipelago, followed 15 minutes later. In Australia, in Sydney, self-proclaimed “New Year’s capital of the world”, more than a million revelers invaded the harbor foreshore.
In New Zealand, landmarks in Auckland, the largest city, were the focus of elaborate fireworks displays, including the 328 meter high Sky Tower. A laser and animation show was also planned.
Sydneysiders gathered throughout the day at important sites, defying unusually wet weather, and they were not disappointed when the Harbor Bridge and other landmarks were lit up and colored by eight tons of fireworks.
Fireworks over the Sydney Harbor Bridge during the 2024 New Year celebrations. [Mark Baker – Keystone]
The Sydney show set the stage for 2024, a year that will see elections for half the world’s population.
More than four billion people in total will be called to the polls, notably in the United Kingdom, the European Union, Russia, India, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, Venezuela and of course the United States , where Democrat Joe Biden, 81, and Republican Donald Trump, 77, intend to face each other once more next November.
Prayer of the Holy Father
In Rome, Pope Francis prayed for the victims of wars and conflicts, recalling the suffering of Israelis, Palestinians, Ukrainians and Sudanese, but also that of the Rohingya Muslim minority in Myanmar.
After his Angelus prayer in St. Peter’s Square, he called for questions: “how many lives have been torn apart by armed conflicts, how many deaths” and “how much destruction, how much suffering, how much poverty”. “Let those who have an interest in these conflicts listen to the voice of conscience,” the pope asked.
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