Israel celebrates New Year
(VIDEO) Thousands of Israelis join celebrations to welcome 2006. Police launch wide operation to monitor traffic, ensure law and order are maintained and set up security checkpoints in major cities; some 49 terror warnings received, with 10 based on pinpoint intelligence tips on intensions to target busy sites
New Year’s Eve celebrations
Although celebrations for the New Year are not part of the Jewish calendar, which celebrates the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashana), many secular Israelis join party lovers around the world every year and hit bars, restaurants and nightclubs to party.
In Haifa, police sealed off the Wadi Nisnas and Hadar areas to prevent traffic jams with thousands of cars expected to head to the city’s nightclubs and bars. Thousands of policemen and Border Guard officers have been spread around key sites in the city to secure partygoers.
In Tel Aviv, heavy traffic was reported with thousands of cars flocking to the city’s vibrant nightlife venues, blocking major motorways leading to the costal city.
In addition to traffic control and law enforcement, the Israel Police has received 49 warnings of intensions by terror groups to carry out attacks this evening. Police said 10 of the warnings are based on pinpoint intelligence tips of plans to attack specific busy sites, where security checkpoints have been set up.
World welcomes 2006
Celebrations to welcome 2006 kicked off in Australia where a pulsing heart of red lights shone from Sydney's Harbor Bridge early Sunday as tens of thousands watched fireworks ushering in the New Year.
Revelers around the world began partying, visited places of worship and gathered with family to welcome 2006.
Celebrations were taking place amid tight security as such cities as Sydney and Paris feared repeats of recent ethnic riots and authorities were on guard against terror attacks. In Indonesia, a bomb killed eight people and wounded 45 at a market crowded with holiday shoppers.
Workers in London's subway system began a 24-hour strike at midday Saturday, complicating travel plans for revelers preparing to celebrate the New Year across the city, including at a huge open-air party in Trafalgar Square.
Families in Sydney trooped to vantage points around the harbor to watch a spectacular fireworks show that began at midnight.
The message of love in the celebration, however, went hand-in-hand with a huge police presence aimed at preventing a repeat of mid-December's two nights of racial violence in beach suburbs. More than 1,700 officers were on duty and police helicopters and boats patrolled.
Generally jubilant celebrations planned across Asia were in sharp contrast with last year, when the devastation of the Indian Ocean tsunami led many countries and individuals to cancel festivities.
"It's a bit hard to celebrate when you see people so dejected and hurt, like what people saw on TV. This year is much better," said Ann Ward from the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, who brought her family to watch the fireworks display.
For the millions left homeless by this year's South Asian earthquake, however, the new year was expected to begin with heavy snow and rain. Relief agencies warned that the harsh Himalayan winter could hamper aid deliveries and create conditions ripe for illnesses.
Pakistan's army and aid workers have been using helicopters, trucks and mules to get tents, clothes, food and other provisions to survivors since the October 8 quake killed an estimated 87,000 people and destroyed the homes of 3.5 million more.
In Indonesia, a bomb ripped through a busy meat market Saturday, killing at least eight people and wounding 45 in Central Sulawesi province, officials said. Police said the bomb packed with ball bearings and nails went off as Christians bought pork for the night's festivities.
The attack in Palu followed repeated warnings from Indonesian authorities that the al-Qaida-linked militant group Jemaah Islamiyah was plotting holiday attacks in the world's most populous Muslim nation.
