World welcomes 2024 with hope & joy

The world welcomed 2024 with a mix of celebration and somber reflection. Sydney sparkled under a shower of silver and gold fireworks commemorating the 50th anniversary of its iconic Opera House, while the mood in Gaza remained bleak, with residents more concerned with survival. In Europe, Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II announced her abdication after over half a century on the throne. Here’s how places and people around the world bid farewell to 2023 and welcomed the New Year. AUSTRALIA – Sydney hailed 2024 with a dazzling fireworks display featuring silver and gold pyrotechnics to mark the 50th anniversary of its famous Opera House. GAZA – People in Gaza had little hope that 2024 will bring much relief after 12 weeks of Israel’s war to eliminate Hamas. In Rafah on Gaza’s border with Egypt, which has become the biggest focal point for Palestinians fleeing other parts of the enclave, people were more preoccupied on Sunday with trying to find shelter, food and water than with thinking about the New Year. “In 2024 I wish to go back to the wreckage of my home, pitch a tent and live there,” said Abu Abdullah al-Agha, a middle- aged Palestinian man whose house in Khan Younis was destroyed and who lost a young niece and nephew in an Israeli air strike. DENMARK – Denmark’s Queen Margrethe II used her annual New Year’s speech on Sunday to announce that she will abdicate on Jan. 14 after 52 years on the throne and will be succeeded by her eldest son, Crown Prince Frederik. RUSSIA – Russian President Vladimir Putin, facing an election in March, made only passing reference in his New Year address on Sunday to his war in Ukraine, hailing his soldiers as heroes but mostly emphasising unity and shared determination. CHINA – China President Xi Jinping, speaking on Sunday in a televised speech to mark the New Year, said the country will consolidate and enhance the positive trend of its economic recovery in 2024, and sustain long-term economic development with deeper re