New Year’s Eve celebrations kick off in Auckland

Auckland has become the first major city to ring in 2024, with thousands cheering a fireworks display sprouting from New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower, and a downtown light show. This year’s New Year’s Eve celebrations are overshadowed by the ongoing wars in Ukraine and Gaza, which have cast a pall over festivities and heightened tensions across parts of the world. Many cities are deploying extra security and some places have cancelled New Year’s Eve events altogether. In Auckland, light rain throughout Sunday had cleared as forecast by midnight over the city of 1.7 million people before the countdown began…