The New Nation - Internet Edition

AFP, New York

Millions staged midnight parties at iconic landmarks around the world to see in 2008, but bomb attacks and security fears quickly darkened New Year festivities.

In New York, hundreds of thousands of revelers crowded fabled Times Square, braving cold temperatures and stringent security measures to see Mayor Michael Bloomberg release the New Year's Eve ball on its 100th lowering, with a dazzling display of new environmentally-friendly lights.

Hours earlier, more than one million people lined Sydney harbour for fireworks which set off the global party. Hundreds of thousands packed Hong Kong streets and historic European venues such as the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin and the Champs Elysees in Paris.

An estimated 700,000 people were out on the damp London streets and crammed on riverbanks to watch the 10-minute fireworks display on the Thames, which focused on the giant London Eye observation wheel, police said. "It's amazing to be in one of the world's most vibrant cities on a night like this, when the whole of London is just out having fun," said Londoner James O'Shea, 32, who arrived three hours early to secure a good spot.

Meanwhile in Edinburgh, around 95,000 people packed into Princes Street, the Scottish capital's main thoroughfare, for the Hogmanay street party, organisers said.

But bombs planted by suspected separatist rebels at discos and other entertainment centres rocked Thailand's troubled south as revelry was at its peak, killing one person and injuring dozens, police said.

Bombs in the Thai capital at the last New Year's party killed three people.

In Pakistan's biggest city, Karachi, police stopped thousands from attending a traditional gathering on a beach overlooking the Arabian Sea amid security fears after the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto.

Belgian authorities cancelled a traditional fireworks show in Brussels as the country went on maximum alert over possible terror threats.

French authorities put 13,000 police on the streets of Paris and its troubled suburbs to deter any repeat of riots last month. Youths still hurled cans at the car of Interior Minister Michele Alliot-Marie as she toured potential trouble spots.

But an estimated 400,000 French and foreign visitors still turned the Champs Elysees into a mass of car-honking festivities.