World greets 2007
2007-01-01 22:43
London - From the slopes of Mount Fuji to the banks of the River Thames, 2007 began on Monday with a common theme: Hope for prosperity, health and peace.
"A dream came true today - a dream for generations of Bulgarians who wished to live together with the free and democratic peoples of Europe in peace and prosperity," Bulgarian Prime Minister Sergei Stanishev said in Sofia.
In Sydney, fireworks exploded over Harbour Bridge as a million onlookers celebrated the New Year. The display was to celebrate the iconic bridge's 75th anniversary.
After Big Ben rang in 2007, hundreds of thousands gathered on Monday morning for London's annual New Year's Day parade. Led by a US high school marching band, it wound its way through central London under clear skies.
At the Vatican, Pope Benedict XVI prayed for peace in the Middle East, asking that people work "courageously" to a lasting end to the Holy Land's conflict.
Death marked the start of 2007 for some
"How can one not turn one's glance yet again to the dramatic situation which characterises the very land where Jesus was born?" the pontiff said on Monday in his homily in St Peter's Basilica during Mass. He described peace as a "gift."
In Copenhagen, Denmark's Queen Margrethe said in her traditional New Year's speech that a year marked by the international uproar over newspaper cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad highlighted the need for Danes to be more tolerant and understanding of foreign cultures.
It was a rowdy New Year in the Netherlands, where riot police were forced to break up crowds of drunken revellers in The Hague and dozens of cars were torched.
In France too, hundreds of cars where torched in riots during New Year's Eve.
Germans reportedly spent about $132m on fireworks to mark the New Year.
But in Iraq and Thailand, death marked the start of the New Year.
In Bangkok, city officials cancelled the city's main celebration after a series of bombs killed three people and wounded more than 30. Thousands of revellers who had gathered at the Central World Plaza shopping mall complex for the event were sent home, officials said.
US vows to keep on fighting
In Baghdad, US military officials announced the death of an American soldier in Iraq, bringing the American death toll in the country to 3 000 since the war began.
In his New Year's greeting, US President George W Bush noted the continuing violence in the region.
"Last year, America continued its mission to fight and win the war on terror and promote liberty as an alternative to tyranny and despair," Bush said in the statement. "In the New Year, we will remain on the offensive against the enemies of freedom, advance the security of our country, and work toward a free and unified Iraq."
In Japan, thousands climbed mountains - some scaling famed Mount Fuji - to greet the first dawn of the year. Police expected crowds at the summits to reach 15 000.
In New York, Amanda Bermudez kissed her husband, Angel - a US army soldier who recently returned from Iraq - as midnight struck. She also hoped for peace in the Middle East in 2007 - "so he doesn't have to go back."
- AP