From CNN

A pulsing heart of red lights shone from Sydney’s Harbor Bridge early Sunday as tens of thousands watched fireworks ushering in the new year. Revelers around the world began partying, visited places of worship and gathered with family to welcome 2006.

Celebrations were taking place amid tight security as such cities as Sydney and Paris feared repeats of recent ethnic riots and authorities were on guard against terror attacks. In Indonesia, a bomb killed eight people and wounded 45 at a market crowded with holiday shoppers.

Workers in London’s subway system began a 24-hour strike at midday Saturday, complicating travel plans for revelers preparing to celebrate the new year across the city, including at a huge open-air party in Trafalgar Square.

Families in Sydney trooped to vantage points around the harbor to watch a spectacular fireworks show that began at midnight.

The message of love in the celebration, however, went hand-in-hand with a huge police presence aimed at preventing a repeat of mid-December’s two nights of racial violence in beach suburbs. More than 1,700 officers were on duty and police helicopters and boats patrolled.

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