Europe celebrates New Year amid heightened security
Pope’s Christmas eve message laments ‘futile logic of war’
Pope Francis said in a Christmas Eve homily that “the clash of arms even today” prevents Jesus “from finding room in the world.”
Recalling Jesus’ birth in a stable in Bethlehem, the pontiff delivered a poignant message to the 6,500 people who watched on: “Our hearts are in Bethlehem, where the Prince of Peace is once more rejected by the futile logic of war”, he said, while taking time to warn against “the quest for worldly power and might, fame and glory, which measures everything in terms of success, results, numbers and figures, a world obsessed with achievement.”
‘We think of Palestine, Israel, Ukraine...’
When the Christmas Eve Mass had ended, the Pope, who has been suffered from knee ligament pain, was pushed in a wheelchair and moved down the basilica with the life-sized statue of Baby Jesus on his lap.
“We are close to our brothers and sisters suffering from war. We think of Palestine, Israel, Ukraine. We also think of those who suffer from misery, hunger, slavery,’ the 87-year-old said. “May the God who took a human heart for himself infuse humanity into the hearts of men”.
During his traditional Sunday blessing from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square, he offered prayers for “the tormented Ukrainian people and the Palestinian and Israeli populations, the Sudanese people and many others.”
“At the end of the year, we will have the courage to ask ourselves how many human lives have been shattered by armed conflict, how many dead and how much destruction, how much suffering, how much poverty," the pontiff said.
“Whoever has interest in these conflicts, listen to the voice of conscience.”
Ramped up police presence in France
In France, 90,000 law enforcement officers were set to be deployed, domestic intelligence chief Céline Berthon said on Friday.
Of those, 6,000 will be in Paris, where French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said over 1.5 million people are expected to attend celebrations on the Champs-Elysees.
Darmanin cited a “very high terrorist threat” because, in part, of “what is happening in Israel and Palestine,” referring to the Israel-Hamas war.
New Year’s Eve celebrations in the French capital will centre on the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, including DJ sets, fireworks and video projections on the Arc de Triomphe.
Other planned events include “the largest Mexican wave ever performed” and a “giant karaoke.”
In Berlin, some 4,500 police officers are expected to keep order and avoid riots like a year ago.
Police in the German capital issued a ban on the traditional use of firecrackers for several streets across the city.
They also banned a pro-Palestinian protest in the Neukoelln neighbourhood of the city, which has seen several demonstrations since the 7 October attack by Hamas.
New Year's celebrations called off in Russia
In Russia, the country's military actions in Ukraine have overshadowed end-of-year celebrations, with the usual fireworks and concert on Moscow’s Red Square cancelled, as last year.
After shelling in the centre of the Russian border city of Belgorod on Saturday killed 24 people, some local authorities across Russia also cancelled their usual firework displays, including in Vladivostok.
Millions throughout Russia are expected to tune into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s New Year’s address.
Sydney and Auckland were the world's first major cities to ring in 2024, with more than a million revellers cheering spectacular fireworks displays that lit up the skies over Sydney Harbor and New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower.
“It’s total madness,” said German tourist Janna Thomas, who had waited in line since 7:30 a.m. to secure a prime waterfront location in the Sydney Botanic Garden. “It’s not so easy to find a good place to sit, but the view is incredible.”
At the Vatican, Pope Francis recalled 2023 as a year marked by wartime suffering. During his traditional Sunday blessing from a window overlooking St. Peter’s Square, he offered prayers for “the tormented Ukrainian people and the Palestinian and Israeli populations, the Sudanese people and many others.”
- “At the end of the year, we will have the courage to ask ourselves how many human lives have been shattered by armed conflict, how many dead and how much destruction, how much suffering, how much poverty,” the Pontiff said.
- “Whoever has interest in these conflicts, listen to the voice of conscience.”
- At the Tsukiji Temple in Tokyo, visitors were given free hot milk and corn soup as they stood in line to strike a big bell, and a pipe-organ concert was held before a majestic altar.
- Mayor Eric Adams said there were “no specific threats” to the annual New Year’s Eve bash, which was set to feature live performances from Flo Rida, Megan Thee Stallion and LL Cool J, as well as televised appearances from Cardi B and others.
- Organizers said in-person attendance was expected to return to pre-COVID levels, even as foot traffic around Times Square remains down slightly since the pandemic.
Officials also planned to monitor any protests with drones, the mayor said.
“We will be out here with our canines, on horseback, our helicopters, our boats,” Adams said. “But as we saw last year, after having no specific threats, we get a threat.”
During last year’s New Year’s Eve party, a machete-wielding man attacked three police officers a few blocks from Times Square.
Security also will also be heightened across European cities on Sunday.
- Of those, 6,000 will be in Paris, where French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said over 1.5 million people are expected to attend celebrations on the Champs-Elysees.
- Darmanin cited a “very high terrorist threat” partly because of the Israel-Hamas war. Police for the first time will be able to use drones as part of security work, he said, and tens of thousands of firefighters and 5,000 soldiers would also be deployed.
- New Year’s Eve celebrations in the French capital will center on the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, including DJ sets, fireworks and video projections on the Arc de Triomphe, highlighting “changes in the city and faces of the Games,” according to the press service of the City of Paris. Other planned events include “the largest Mexican wave ever performed” and a “giant karaoke.”
- The security challenge ahead of the Olympics was highlighted when a tourist was killed in a knife attack near the Eiffel Tower on Dec. 2. Large-scale attacks — such as that at the Bataclan in 2015, when Islamic extremists invaded the music hall and shot up cafe terraces, killing 130 people — also loom large.
- Police in the German capital issued a ban on the traditional use of fire crackers for several streets across the city.
- They also banned a pro-Palestinian protest in the Neukoelln neighborhood of the city, which has seen several pro-Palestinian riots since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.
- After shelling in the center of the Russian border city of Belgorod Saturday killed 24 people, some local authorities across Russia also canceled their usual firework displays, including in Vladivostok.
- Millions throughout Russia are expected to tune into Russian President Vladimir Putin’s New Year’s address.
- In an overnight televised message, caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar urged Pakistanis to “show solidarity with the oppressed people of Gaza” by beginning the new year with simplicity.
- Kakar said Muslims across the world were saddened over Israel’s attacks on Gaza that resulted in the killings of thousands of innocent people.
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