Chinese state media covered an exchange of New Year greetings between leader Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin in a reminder of the growing closeness between two leaders facing tensions with the West.
A giant balloon flies in front of the Present Palace in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, ahead of New Year’s celebrations.Credit: AP
Xi told Putin that their countries “will always move forward hand in hand,” the official Xinhua news agency said on Tuesday.
China’s leader, in his annual pre-recorded New Year’s Eve speech, said the country had “deepened solidarity and cooperation with the global South,” while praising the “responsible” role it has played with “the world in crisis.” .
He also headed to Taiwan, the autonomous island claimed by Beijing. “We Chinese people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to the same family. “No one can ever break the bond of kinship between us,” Xi said.
Charging
London was due to ring in the New Year with a fireworks display along the River Thames and a parade through the city centre, but a storm was causing bad weather in other parts of the UK.
Festivities in Edinburgh, Scotland, including the famous Hogmanay street party, have already been cancelled.
In New York City, the organization that runs Occasions Sq. tried out its famous ball drop, anticipating a tradition that dates back to 1907. This year’s celebration was to include musical performances by TLC, Jonas Brothers, Rita Ora and Sophie Ellis -Bextor.
Celebrations will resonate around the world as the New Year arrives in different time zones, with American Samoa being one of the last to welcome 2025, 24 hours after New Zealand.
