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Sydney and Auckland ring in 2024 as war shadows celebrations elsewhere

Wars in Ukraine and Gaza hanging over celebrations in many cities

Sydney and Auckland were among the world’s first major cities to ring in 2024, with revelers cheering spectacular fireworks displays that lit up the skies over Sydney Harbor and New Zealand’s tallest structure, Sky Tower.

As the clock struck midnight in Australia, tons of explosives erupted in a 12-minute display that focused on the Sydney Harbor Bridge. More than 1 million people — a number equivalent to one in five of the city’s residents — watched from the shore and from boats in the harbor.

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