
Pictured: New York Times Square will replace the crystal ball used for New Year’s Eve. \Reuters
Times Square in New York, USA, will hold the New Year’s countdown and crystal ball landing celebration as usual. About one million people are expected to gather at the scene. The Crystal Ball Drop Celebration is a New York City tradition that originated in 1907 and has replaced the crystal ball seven times. The crystal ball used this time has accompanied New Yorkers through 18 New Year’s Eve and will be retired after 2025.
On January 20, 2025, Trump will officially take office as President of the United States and begin his second term. His “America First” policy is expected to have an impact on the world’s economy and politics, and will also intensify the confrontation between the two parties and social divisions in the United States. Trump said he would launch the “largest deportation operation” against illegal immigrants on his first day in office, and even threatened to use the U.S. military. He also threatened to impose additional tariffs on China, Canada, Mexico, Europe, etc. US media revealed that after Trump takes office, the United States may once again stage a farce of withdrawing from the Paris Agreement and the World Health Organization.
New Year’s Eve celebrations in many places in the UK have been affected by bad weather, with outdoor celebrations canceled in places such as Edinburgh and Blackpool. Data recently released by the British Office for National Statistics show that the British economy’s quarter-on-quarter growth rate in the third quarter of 2024 was zero. The latest survey shows that British private companies are pessimistic about the first quarter of 2025. (AFP)
source: china