New Yorkers Celebrate

Fireworks rang out and confetti rained down as about one-million revelers welcomed the year 2011 in Times Square Friday night.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, his girlfriend Diana Taylor, his daughter and Medal of Honor Recipient Staff Sergeant Salvatore A. Giunta triggered the traditional ball drop, which was followed as usual by a recording of "Auld Lang Syne" and then Frank Sinatra's "New York, New York."

John Lennon's "Imagine" was performed by pop star Taio Cruz in its customary spot leading up to midnight.

Revelers began gathering as early as 10 a.m. to locate the best spot.

"It's on my bucket list," said one Times Square visitor.

"I turned 21 in November so this is my 21st birthday present," said another.

This year, the famed crystal ball featured 2,500 Waterford crystals illuminated with LED lights.

The agency estimated the crowd left more than 40 tons of party hats, noisemakers, confetti and streamers following the celebration. Officials said nearly 150 sanitation workers armed with dozens of mechanical sweepers, trucks and leaf blowers helped clear everything out for New Year's Day.

Security in the area was typically tight, with the New York City Police Department using radiological and biological detectors as part of the security operations.

Police Commissioner Ray Kelly says while there were no specific threats, the department takes no chances.

"Anyone who enters the area will receive a magnitometer check and it may be more than once quite frankly," said the police commissioner. "Women will have to open their purses, men will have to open their jackets. We find that this is helpful and the way to make certain it's a safe and peaceful event."

Around the world Friday, revelers gathered to bid farewell to 2010.

In Australia more than a million revelers lined the Sydney Harbour Bridge to watch the massive fireworks display over the water as the clock struck 12.

While in nearby New Zealand, fireworks lit up the Auckland sky at midnight.

In South Korea, the celebrations were a little more subdued.

As the New Year hit, more than a 100,000 people gathered to watch as officials rang a giant bronze bell. It tolled 33 times -- a tradition that dates back to the 1300s.

In Hong Kong, a large crowd gathered in Victoria Harbour to watch a dazzling display, as fireworks appeared to bounce off of buildings across the skyline.

A similar display was also seen by revelers in Taiwan.

A large, upscale mall in Bangkok provided the backdrop for the big fireworks show as the clock struck 12 in Thailand.

And, at the Vatican, thousands were in attendance as the pope presided over the traditional New Year's Mass.

(source:ny1.com)

Moscow joins global New Year Eve,Fireworks over Kremlin

MOSCOW: A blaze of fireworks erupted over the Kremlin in Red Square on Friday as Moscow joined people around the globe welcoming in 2011 with a glittering array of parties.

But as President Dmitry Medvedev vowed in his regular New Year's Eve address to create a "powerful, open and friendly" Russia, celebrations in the country were marred by the arrests of nearly 120 protesters during New Year's Eve opposition rallies held in central Moscow and Saint Petersburg.

In Europe large crowds were set to throng landmarks like London's Big Ben and the Eiffel Tower, following a big freeze that paralysed travel and cut power and water supplies for tens of thousands.

On the Champs Elysees in Paris, thousands were gathering to welcome the New Year on one of the world's most famous streets.

"This is the place to be!" said Gillian Lancaster, 46, who had come to Paris from Britain with her husband to ring in the New Year, adding that she was hoping for "health and happiness" in 2011.

Security forces were out in full force in Paris and the rest of France, where officials said 54,000 police had been deployed to maintain order during the New Year's festivities.

In New York, workers were scrambling to plough snow out of Times Square for the famous New Year countdown, after a blizzard dumped 32 inches (80 centimetres) on the city and surrounding areas.

As many as a million people -- monitored by a high-tech police presence -- were expected to mass in Times Square.

As Sydney rung in the New Year, a fiery waterfall plunged from the landmark Harbour Bridge as seven tonnes of fireworks ignited in the night sky, thrilling 1.5 million people crammed on the city's foreshore.

Party-goers carrying blankets and camping equipment began descending on Sydney harbour more than 12 hours before the main fireworks display, with new arrivals turned away as early as 3:00 pm (0400 GMT).

"It's absolutely beautiful," said Shirley Marlin, as she watched the pyrotechnics, while her husband Ron added: "We're very, very lucky to have this harbour."

The celebrations followed devastating floods that have hit 200,000 in the country's northeast, muting the festivities there, while extreme heat prompted wildfire warnings around Melbourne and Adelaide in the south.

Earlier, the 6,000 residents of the tiny Pacific nation of Kiribati were the first to see in the new year, while New Zealand's Auckland also marked the occasion with fireworks.

In New Zealand's Christchurch, hit by a powerful earthquake in September, officials only approved celebrations after late checks and modifications, including removing the city cathedral's crucifix in case it fell on revellers.

In Asia hundreds of thousands of people gathered to watch a glittering fireworks-and-laser display along neon-lit Hong Kong's harbour. Dozens of boats also moored in Victoria Harbour for the intense five-minute display.

In Japan millions of people visited Shinto shrines to "purify" themselves.

Although Lunar New Year is a much bigger event in the continent, thousands braved Beijing's cold for the countdown at an upmarket shopping centre, while about 7,000 people had been expected at a kite-flying event in central Shanghai.

In Myanmar democracy champion Aung San Suu Kyi, released this year after more than seven years of house arrest, called for the country's people "to struggle together with new strengths, new force and new words in the auspicious new year".

Police were on high alert for attacks in major cities in Pakistan, where New Year celebrations are traditionally quiet, private affairs.

Violence had flared earlier on Friday as police and demonstrators clashed during a mass protest strike that closed businesses across the country over a bid to end the death penalty for blasphemy.

In the financial hub Karachi -- where police fired tear gas to quell demonstrations -- thousands of Pakistanis were set to celebrate the new year on the shores of the Arabian Sea.

Revellers in India's financial and entertainment capital Mumbai -- scene of a 2008 attack that killed 166 people -- were given the go-ahead to party through the night despite intelligence about a possible militant strike.

Despite chilly and misty weather, tens of thousands of people were expected to gather in London to watch the annual New Year's Eve fireworks display set against the backdrop of the London Eye big wheel.

However with the government's austerity measures set to bite early in 2011, a survey suggested that most Britons were planning low-key festivities to save money.

(source:indiatimes.com)

New Year’s texts, calls expected to clog global cellular networks

MIAMI — At the stroke of midnight, millions of people — twice as many as last year — will be typing on their phones instead of kissing a loved one.

Carriers say texts and voice calls are expected to triple from 11:59 to midnight New Year’s Eve. And compared to last year’s countdown, there will be twice as many texters and three times as many people sending photos.

Don’t be surprised if that text message wishing Mom a happy New Year isn’t delivered until well into 2011, or doesn’t make it on the first try, especially if you’re in a crowded area.

Put simply, the current technology isn’t designed to flawlessly handle everyone sending a text message at the same time, despite continual improvements. It isn’t easy to keep up with the growing demand for bandwidth in a smart-phone-armed society.

“If money was no object ... there still would be customers who would not get all their text messages precisely at 12:01 on New Year’s Day,” said Sprint spokesman John Taylor.

Carriers say they’re prepared for the deluge of messages, but say it’s more likely that delays will happen for messages that travel between different carriers, rather than between two people under the same network.

But in the case of an event bigger than the ball drop — such as a Super Bowl or hurricane — the carriers deploy extra mobile cell sites to handle the demand. That’s not seen as being necessary for a 10-minute burst of messages.

Even if carriers had the money to build a data highway that would never have a voice or data traffic jam, they are limited in how much airwave real-estate they can use, called wireless spectrum.

Spectrums are frequencies assigned to radio, television, satellites, the military — and another chunk is assigned for phones. The slice of spectrum available for cell phones has grown 10 times larger since the 1970s, but there’s still not enough, said Stu Lipoff, an engineering consultant and board member of the IEEE Consumer Electronics Society.

“It turns out the demand and the need are growing faster than the available spectrum,” Lipoff said.

Lipoff offers a tip: On New Year’s Eve, users might have more luck sending a midnight greeting via photo message or e-mail versus a plain text message.

That’s because plain text-only messages travel on a separate, smaller pathway than other phone voice and data services. So in theory, if everyone is backed up on the texting road, users could have an easier time sending a message on the larger voice and data super-highway.

But Lipoff has a better method of welcoming his family into the New Year:

“I can use the highest-bandwidth system I know, which is shouting across the room and giving everyone a hug.”

(source:vancouversun.com)