Ecstasy and agony: 2015 begins with fireworks, beach parties…and tragedy

Revellers converged to say good riddance to a turbulent 2014 marred by terror woes, Ebola outbreaks and a horrific series of airline disasters. But Baghdad was on edge, and tragedy struck in Shanghai. In New York, about one million revelers rang in the New Year in Times Square, watching a giant, glittering ball drop as a ton of confetti containing well wishes for the upcoming year fell. Over in the Gulf Arab emirate of Dubai, the country was aiming to break the world record for the largest LED-illuminated facade with its spectacular display centred on the world’s tallest building. Some 70,000 LED panels around the 2,722-foot Burj Khalifa flashed colored lights and projected images of the country’s leaders when clocks there struck midnight as a massive fireworks display erupted.

It was a dream for us.

Argentine tourist Agustina Bernacchia, experiencing the Times Square New Year’s Eve party for the first time

In Iraq’s war-scarred capital, Baghdad authorities ordered a one-off lifting of the overnight curfew in force for more than a decade to allow the population to stay out late on the streets. Traffic was unusually heavy starting shortly after sunset and authorities closed commercial streets to vehicles in the city’s centre as a precaution against possible suicide bombings by militants of the Islamic State terror group. And in Shanghai, 36 people were killed during the New Year celebrations. The deaths — the worst disaster to hit one of China’s showcase cities in years — occurred a half-hour before midnight at Shanghai’s popular riverfront Bund area, when fake money was thrown from a building, causing a stampede.

World new year's eve