PARIS: As the world welcomed in
2008, revelries in Thailand were marred by bombings that wounded 27 people. In French cafes,
smokers puffed on their last cigarettes in the run-up to a Jan. 1 smoking ban. And people in Cyprus and Malta had to start using the euro currency.
In Sydney _ one of the first cities to celebrate the New Year _one million revelers cheered as fireworks sprayed from the iconic Harbor Bridge. Fireworks displays were being repeated at the stroke of midnight in cities around the world.
Security was often tight. Traditional fireworks in central Brussels were canceled because of a terror threat after police last week detained 14 people suspected of plotting to help an accused al-Qaida militant break out of jail. In Paris, where festivities centered on the famous Champs-Elysees avenue and the Eiffel Tower, about 4,500 police and 140 rescue officials patrolled the streets.
In Thailand, an army spokesman said he believed that five bombs set off by suspected Muslim insurgents in a Thai-Malaysian border tourist town likely targeted New Year''s revelers.
The bombs, which wounded 27 people, exploded in the hotel and nightlife area of Sungai Kolok, including two inside a hotel discotheque and one hidden in the carrying basket of a motorcycle outside a hotel, spokesman said.
Two EU newcomers, Cyprus and Malta, start using the euro at the stroke of midnight. The Mediterranean islands, both former British colonies, scrap the Cyprus pound and Maltese lira to bring the number of countries using the shared currency to 15. Politicians will ceremonially withdraw euros from automatic teller machines after midnight, with fireworks and outdoor celebrations in the two capitals, Nicosia and Valletta.
In London, people were gathering in Trafalgar Square and alongthe banks of the River Thames to watch a fireworks display and hear Big Ben _ Parliament''s iconic bell _ welcome the New Year with 12 resounding bongs.
In Asia, China started its Olympic year with a New Year party including fireworks, singing and dancing.
The party, put on by the organizers of the Summer Olympics, saw Beijingers flock in the cold to the Millennium Monument, capping a year in which frenzied construction of ultramodern Olympic venues and other projects changed the face of Beijing. From Jan. 1, there will be 220 days until the start of the Aug. 8-24 Olympics.