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Revelers throng to New Year’s parties after COVID

New year celebrations are in full flow in parts of the world where 2023 has already arrived in many countries around the world. The Pacific nation of Kiribati was the first to welcome in the new year, followed by New Zealand an hour later. And thousands gathered in Sydney for the Australian city’s renowned fireworks display. The Associated Press has the story:

Revelers throng to New Year’s parties after COVID

Newslooks- MELBOURNE, Australia (AP)

Revelers in major city centers across Europe and the Middle East were ushering in 2023 with countdowns and fireworks, as many cities around the globe celebrated New Year’s Eve without restrictions for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic.

Viking reenactors use flaming torches to write 2023 at the Flamborough Fire Festival, a Viking themed parade in aid of charities and local community groups, held on New Year’s Eve in Flamborough near Bridlington, England, Saturday Dec. 31, 2022. (Danny Lawson/PA via AP)

Children crowded a metro station in Kharkiv, Ukraine, to meet with St. Nicholas and enjoy a special performance ahead of the new year. Meanwhile, some soldiers who said they usually celebrate the holiday with family decided to stay in the trenches as they sought to defend their country.

A man in a Santa Claus costume meets children at the subway station “University” decorated for Christmas and New Year in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

Others in Ukraine returned to the capital, Kyiv, to spend New Year’s Eve with their loved ones. As Russian attacks continue to target power supplies, leaving millions without electricity, no big celebrations were planned. A curfew was to be in place as the clock struck midnight.

A women take a selfies on the main business district celebrate New Year’s Eve, in Jakarta, Indonesia, Saturday, Dec 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

French President Emmanuel Macron delivered “a message of unity and trust” in a televised address Saturday. Referencing the war in Ukraine several times, Macron also sent a message to France’s “Ukrainian friends,” saying “we respect and admire you.”

Women dressed in costumes pose with a boy for a photograph at the subway station “University” decorated for Christmas and New Year in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Evgeniy Maloletka)

“During the coming year, we will be unfailingly at your side. We will help you until victory and we will be together to build a just and lasting peace. Count on France and count on Europe,” he said.

A woman tosses flower offerings into the waters of Urca beach for the African goddess of the sea Yemanja, as part of New Year celebrations in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022. As the year winds down, Brazilian worshippers honor Yemanja, offering flowers and launching large and small boats into the water in exchange for blessings for the coming year. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado)

Turkey’s most populous city, Istanbul, was bringing in 2023 with street festivities and fireworks. At St. Antuan Catholic Church on Istanbul’s popular pedestrian thoroughfare Istiklal Avenue, dozens of Christians prayed for the new year and marked former Pope Benedict XVI’s passing. The Vatican announced Benedict died Saturday at age 95.

Fireworks explode over Sky Tower in central Auckland as New Year celebrations begin in New Zealand, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023. (Dean Purcel/NZ Herald via AP)

The Pacific nation of Kiribati was the first country to greet the new year, with the clock ticking into 2023 one hour ahead of neighbors including New Zealand.

Fireworks explode over the Chao Phraya River during New Year celebrations in Bangkok, Thailand, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

In Auckland, large crowds gathered below the Sky Tower, where a 10-second countdown to midnight preceded fireworks. The celebrations in New Zealand’s largest city were well-received after COVID-19 forced them to be canceled a year ago.

Fireworks are seen over Victoria Harbour at midnight on New Years Sunday Jan. 1, 2023 in Hong Kong. (AP Photo/Anthony Kwan)

There was a scare in the North Island coastal city of Tauranga, about 225 kilometers (140 miles) from Auckland, when a bouncing castle was blown 100 meters (yards). Tauranga City Council reported one person was hospitalized and four people were treated on site.

People light up their smartphones as they celebrate the New Year’s eve in front of the Bosingak pavilion where its annual New Year’s bell-ringing ceremony is held in Seoul, South Korea, Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Over 1 million people crowded along Sydney’s waterfront for a multi-million dollar celebration based around the themes of diversity and inclusion. More than 7,000 fireworks were launched from the top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge and a further 2,000 from the nearby Opera House.

A women wearing a mask gathers on the main business district to celebrate New Year’s Eve, in Jakarta, Indonesia, Saturday, Dec 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)

It was the “party Sydney deserves,” the city’s producer of major events and festivals Stephen Gilby told The Sydney Morning Herald.

South Korean people strike a big bell during New Year celebrations in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023. (Jeon Heon-Kyun/Pool photo via AP)

“We have had a couple of fairly difficult years; we’re absolutely delighted this year to be able to welcome people back to the foreshores of Sydney Harbor for Sydney’s world-famous New Year’s Eve celebrations,” he said.

People walk in the Red Square prior to its closure for celebrations on the New Year’s Eve, with the St. Basil’s Cathedral, left, and the Spasskaya Tower, right, in Moscow, Russia, Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)

In Melbourne, Australia’s second largest city, a family-friendly fireworks display along the Yarra River as dusk fell preceded a second session at midnight.

Children ride bycile during the last sunset of 2022 in Lahore, Pakistan, Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)

Authorities in military-ruled Myanmar announced a suspension of its normal four-hour curfew in the country’s three biggest cities so residents could celebrate New Year’s Eve. However, opponents of army rule urged people to avoid public gatherings, fearing that security forces might stage a bombing or other attack and blame it on them.

A commercial aircraft approaches the runway as the sun sets for the last time in 2022, in New Delhi, India, Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Concerns about the Ukraine war and the economic shocks it has spawned across the globe were felt in Tokyo, where Shigeki Kawamura has seen better times but said he needed a free, hot meal this New Year’s.

Revellers take photos after a count down to the new year at the Shougang Park in Beijing, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

“I hope the war will be over in Ukraine so prices will stabilize,” he said. “Nothing good has happened for the people since we’ve had Mr. Kishida,” he said, referring to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

A firework display explodes off Taiwan’s tallest skyscraper Taipei101 to usher in the New Year in Taipei, Taiwan, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)

He was one of several hundred people huddled in the cold in a line circling a Tokyo park to receive free New Year’s meals of sukiyaki, or slices of beef cooked in sweet sauce, with rice.

“I hope the new year will bring work and self-reliance,” said Takaharu Ishiwata, who lives in a group home and hasn’t found lucrative work in years.

The Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, is illuminated during New Year’s Eve celebrations in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

Kenji Seino, who heads the meal program for the homeless Tenohasi, which means “bridge of hands,” said the number of people coming for meals was rising, with jobs becoming harder to find after the coronavirus pandemic hit, and prices going up.

A woman prepares a traditional turkey meal for New Year dinner at a restaurant in Turkish capital Ankara, Turkey, Saturday, Dec. 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)

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