Fireworks soared into the sky above the Sydney Opera House, but the harbour below was a deserted ghost town, a fittingly creepy send-off for a year that will not be missed. No light show illuminated Beijing from the top of the TV tower. St Peter's in Rome was almost empty for vespers. London's Trafalgar Square, Moscow's Red Square, Madrid's Puerta del Sol and New York's Times Square were all barricaded off. Good riddance, 2020. Hello, 2021.
The US says an independent Palestinian state should be established through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority and not through UN action