Metanews: In New York, a crystal ball with 32,000 lights descended at midnight, setting off a wild and noisy confetti-filled New Year's celebration. Nearly a million revellers crowded New York's Time Square to witness the traditional dazzling ball drop and welcome in the new year. The crowd hollered as a ball with 32-thousand lights descended in the run-up to midnight local time (0500 GMT). The celebration took place just days after a blizzard paralysed the city and amid security concerns eight months after a Pakistani immigrant tried to detonate a car bomb in Times Square. Police had a strict security plan in place, with sealed manhole covers, counter-snipers on rooftops and checkpoints for partygoers.
