New Yorkers have seen in the new year in their own familiar way. Bill and Hilary Clinton and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg took care of formalities.

Hundreds of thousands of people packed Times Square despite freezing temperatures. Nivea had run a kissing contest through social networking sites to bring people together for the evening. It was altogether different weather in Rio de Janeiro, where up to two million people flocked to Copacabana beach to watch the massive firework display. Twenty tons of fireworks were launched to synchronised music. 650,000 foreign tourists had made the journey just to be there.

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