AP News, December 31st, 2006
Fireworks showered over Sydney's iconic Harbor Bridge as a million onlookers cheered the New Year. Crowds scaled Japan's Mount Fuji for a view of the first 2007 dawn, but the Thai capital canceled its major celebration and sent thousands of people home after a series of evening bombings.
The celebrations in Sydney, one of the world's first major cities to greet the new year, focused on a fireworks display over Sydney Harbor.
Police estimated a million people crammed the shore for the fireworks and daylong festivities, some staking their claims to the best view before dawn Sunday and pitching tents in case of rain.
A series of evening bombings in Bangkok, Thailand, left two people dead and 26 injured, and the city canceled its major New Year's celebration at the Central World Plaza shopping mall complex, where a crowd of about 5,000 dispersed calmly.
"No, I'm not scared. I'm from England. There are bomb scares all the time," said Keith Waters, who had hoped to celebrate the first New Year's with his Thai bride.
Further west, Philippine police tried to curb New Year casualties by threatening to arrest anyone who set off oversize firecrackers. Television networks were encouraged to show gory footage of fireworks accident victims.
Despite the warning, 284 people were injured by firecrackers and celebratory gunfire in the two weeks ahead of New Year's Day, a 75 percent rise from last year, said Health Secretary Francisco Duque III.
"I have campaigned every day against firecrackers," Duque said. "But this has become a deeply rooted part of our culture."
Many Filipinos believe noisy New Year celebrations drive away evil and misfortune.
In Japan, thousands climbed mountains, some scaling the famed Mount Fuji, to greet the first dawn of the year. Police expected crowds at the summits to reach 15,000.
Japanese _ ranging from families with children to elderly couples _ usually start climbing during the night so they can reach the top in time for sunrise.
Japanese police anticipated the country's major Buddhist temples and Shinto shrines to receive nearly 95 million visitors over the first three days of the new year, as people offer prayers for peace, health and prosperity in one of the few religious rites in which most Japanese regularly take part.
