World begins welcoming 2025 with light shows, embraces and ice plunges

News Snapshot:

From Sydney to Mumbai to Nairobi, communities around the world began welcoming new year 2025 with spectacular light shows, embraces and ice plunges. Auckland became the first major city to celebrate, as thousands thronged downtown or climbed the city’s ring of volcanic peaks for a fireworks vantage point. Countries in the South Pacific Ocean were the first to ring in the New Year, with midnight in New Zealand striking 18 hours before the ball drop in New York’s Times Square, where revelers donning silver top hats emblazoned with “2025” gathered hours early. Advertisement Conflict muted acknowledgements of the start of...