2009 Begins …
World bids a relieved adieu to a rocky year
SYDNEY, Australia - Fireworks exploded in a kaleidoscopic shower of light over Sydney’s shimmering harbor Wednesday, as the world’s first major city to ring in 2009 celebrated the end of a decidedly rocky year with cheers, beers and a sense of relief.
Spectator Randolph King, 63, of York, England, whose retirement fund was gutted in the global financial crisis, summed up the feeling of many across the world as 2008 came to a close: “I’m looking forward to 2009,” he said. “Because it can’t get much worse.”
Facing the end of a year that saw global markets come crashing down - taking the world’s morale with them - partygoers everywhere struggled to forget their troubles on what is typically a joyous night.
In the Philippines, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo spoke of hope for better days to come, while in Hong Kong, some admitted they were too depressed over their monetary woes to join in the revelry. And in Malaysia, the government - mindful of the shaky economy - opted against sponsoring any celebration at all.
In Sydney, the midnight pyrotechnic extravaganza, which organizers hoped would give revelers a brief respite from the global gloom, drew a cheering crowd of more than a million people. Fireworks zigged and zagged against the backdrop of Sydney’s famed Harbor Bridge and simulated rain, thunder and lightning built toward a booming “creation storm,” in keeping with the evening’s theme of new beginnings.
“It is about reflecting and looking at what’s happened in the past and moving forward,” the celebration’s creative director, Rhoda Roberts, said of the night’s “creation” theme, chosen in part to reflect the struggles of 2008. “It’s a time for the community to gather, to reflect, and also to move on and to simply have a little bit of joy and celebration in their lives.”
But in Hong Kong, where thousands were expected at popular Victoria Harbor for a midnight fireworks display, those who had investments linked to collapsed U.S. bank Lehman Brothers said there was little joy to be found.
“I don’t think there’s any reason for me to celebrate after knowing that my investment is worth nothing now,” said electrical repairman Chan Hon-ming, who had purchased a $30,000 Lehman-backed investment.
In India, many were happy to see the end of 2008, during which the country was rocked by a series of terrorist attacks in several cities culminating in a three-day siege in Mumbai in which gunmen killed 164 people.
“The year 2008 can best be described as a year of crime, terrorist activities, bloodshed and accidents,” said Tavishi Srivastava, 51, an office worker in the northern city of Lucknow. “I sincerely hope that 2009 will be a year of peace and progress.”
The year was also tough on India’s economy. Rising inflation and the global meltdown slowed the growth needed to lift hundreds of millions out of poverty, while stock exchanges plummeted, hitting the rich and middle class.
In Tokyo, dozens of volunteers stirred huge pots of New Year’s rice-cake soup, pitched tents and doled out blankets and clothing to the needy.
The “New Year’s Village for Temporary Workers” was set up for the first time this year to provide free meals and shelter in a park. About 100 people signed up to spend New Year’s Eve at the village, which will hold a countdown ceremony and be open through Jan. 5.
Japan has long boasted a system of lifetime employment at major companies, but that has unraveled this year amid the financial crisis.
“There’s no work,” muttered Mitsuo Kobayashi, 61, picking up a wool scarf, a coat and pants at the village, and stuffing them in his paper bag. “Who knows what next year will bring?”
In Thailand, after a year of near-daily protests - and six months in which demonstrations all but paralyzed the government - the country was finally calm on the last day of 2008 as loyalists of ousted ex-Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra took off for a five-day national holiday. Many of the protesters come from Thailand’s rural northeast and have few opportunities to get home except for longer holidays like New Year’s.
Celebrations were muted in China, where fireworks and feasting are reserved mainly for the Lunar New Year, which in 2009 begins on Jan. 26.
In Beijing, President Hu Jintao summed up the year’s challenges and successes ranging from the devastating Sichuan earthquake - that left nearly 90,000 people dead or missing - to the Beijing Olympics, calling 2008 extraordinary and unusual.
In the Philippines, President Arroyo looked toward the future.
“I pray for greater peace and stability,” Arroyo said. “I hope that we can all work together as a global community to weather these storms.”
(AP)
Egypt cancels New Year’s Eve over Gaza ‘massacres’
Egypt has cancelled official New Year’s Eve events in solidarity with the suffering of the Palestinians being “massacred” in Gaza, the state-owned Al-Ahram daily reported on Wednesday.
“In solidarity with the painful events in the Palestinian territories and the massacres which Gazans are faced with … the ministries of culture and information have decided to cancel New Year’s festivities,” the paper said.
Cancelled events include a special concert by famed Egyptian singer Mohammed Munir set to be held at Cairo’s Opera House and a variety performance hosted by the ministry of information due to be broadcast on state television.
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Egyptian state television official Ossama al-Sheikh said on Tuesday that the launch of new channel “Nile Comedy,” set for January 1, would be delayed “out of solidarity with the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip.”
Since Israel unleashed its massive aerial attack on Hamas and the Gaza Strip on Saturday, at least 374 Palestinians, including 39 children, have been killed and 1,720 wounded, Gaza medics say.
During the same period, four Israelis have been killed by rockets fired from Gaza.
(AP)
Dubai calls off New Year’s Eve extravaganza
by David Byers
Dubai’s opulent, multimillion-pound New Year’s Eve celebrations have been cancelled due to the Gaza violence, leaving hordes of expatriates hastily making alternative plans.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of the Gulf state, called off festivities late last night.
He said “all public New Year’s celebrations” should be stopped “in solidarity with the Palestinian people, who are currently enduring death, suffering and destruction in Gaza”.
The city, home to thousands of Western expatriate businesspeople and tourists, usually holds spectacular public firework displays and open-air entertainments worth millions.
British and other foreigners living in the city were today planning alternative celebrations. Hotels were said to be holding revised indoor entertainments, but any outdoor elements would be called off.
A spokesman for the five-star Le Meridien hotel, which is known for all-you-can-drink champagne brunches, said: “Normally we have outdoor entertainment but this year it will be just indoors.”
A spokesman for the four-star Arabian Courtyard said there would be no music or dancing to ring in the New Year, although the hotel’s restaurants and bars would stay open.
Kelly Frost and Lisa Welsh, 28-year-old Britons who both live in Dubai, had planned to attend a party at an Irish pub but this has now been cancelled.
“The only alternative is to have a party indoors,” said Miss Frost, a sales, marketing and events coordinator from Cardiff who emigrated to Dubai with her parents at the age of three.
“I think people are just gutted they’re not able to celebrate New Year as they would’ve done.
“Facebook is awash with people saying: ’What are you doing tonight?’. Sometimes being spontaneous is the best way to be.
“At this rate, we probably won’t know what we’re doing until ten to midnight.”
Miss Welsh, a public relations executive who moved to Dubai from Liverpool two-and-a-half years ago, said: “Expats are aware of the situation and are up-to-date with what’s happening in Gaza and are sympathetic about the situation.
“But the New Year is something we can’t stop happening. I think everyone is a bit stuffed about what to do. You feel a little bit bad if you do go out and celebrate.
“I think we’re just going to stay in or maybe find a house party.”
Dubai’s celebrations were the best known internationally among a host of Arab events to be cancelled in solidarity with Palestinians caught up in the Hamas-Israeli fighting.
Egypt cancelled official events, including a special concert by famed Egyptian singer Mohammed Munir set to be held at Cairo’s Opera House and a variety performance hosted by the ministry of information due to be broadcast on state television.
Syria and Jordan also called off celebrations, with Syria’s capital Damascus set to host a concert by singer Sabah Fakhri in a hotel.
A concert by Colombian star Shakira in the emirate of Abu Dhabi, however, is still scheduled to go ahead. Events at hotels in Beirut, the Lebanese capital, were also set to proceed as planned.
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