Wary World Welcomes 2008

In New York, Times Square ball makes 100th fall
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 1, 2008 5:05 AM CST
Wary World Welcomes 2008
In this photo released by the Florida Keys News Bureau, thousands of New Year's Eve revelers gather in front of the Bourbon Street Pub Complex in Key West, Fla., for the Big Red Shoe Drop late Monday, Dec. 31, 2007. Female impersonator Gary Marion, portraying "Sushi," sits in the shoe for the takeoff...   (Associated Press)

From Baghdad to Berlin to Beijing and Boston, the world said farewell to 2007 and cheered the arrival of 2008. The famous Times Square ball descended for the 100th time, and a million revelers gathered to watch. New technology meant the crystal-studded sphere was twice as bright this year.

Tight security at celebrations worldwide were an all too obvious reminder of the troubles the world faces in the New Year. Brussels authorities, wary of terror plots, canceled fireworks, and bombs injured 27 in Thailand. In Baghdad, Iraqis enjoying the relative calm gathered at hotels for the first New Year's Eve parties since the fall of Saddam Hussein. (More New Year's Eve stories.)

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