Israel police on alert ahead of New Year’s Eve celebrations

Police were on alert throughout the country Sunday night as Israelis prepared to celebrate New Year’s Eve.

Officials said extra units, special patrol units and border police were patrolling city centers. Traffic police and volunteers were also spread out to conduct alcohol inspections on drivers.

While New Year’s Eve is not officially celebrated in Israel, many secular Israelis do mark the end of the civil year, known locally as “Sylvester” — the December 31 anniversary of the death of Pope Sylvester I.

Restaurants, bars and clubs are usually filled to the brim with revelers. Timeout recently published a list of Tel Aviv events.

Spectacular fireworks have already lit up the skies in Hong Kong, Australia and elsewhere in Asia as revelers ring in 2018.

Celebrations will move through Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and finally the Americas, with dazzling light shows bidding farewell to 2017.

Stricter security has been a key focus amid fears that crowds could be targets for vehicle and other terror attacks.

In Australia, the stronger police presence included some officers carrying semi-automatic rifles in Sydney and bollards used as barriers against vehicles.

Earlier in December, one man was killed and more than a dozen hurt when a man plowed a car into a crowd of pedestrians in Melbourne.

“You’re going to see more police than ever out, it will be our largest contingent… (given) the current security environment,” said Victoria state police acting chief commissioner Shane Patton.

Other cities are also on alert following deadly vehicle assaults over the past two years in Barcelona, Nice, and London.

New York’s Times Square celebrations are set to go ahead, despite the Arctic chill gripping much of the central and northeastern United States and Canada.

But revelers there will be guarded by the strongest security presence in years, after two recent attacks apparently inspired by the Islamic State group.

IS’s defeat in Iraq and Syria was one of the key stories this year, although the jihadists remain a threat and numerous attacks around the world were claimed by them or al-Qaeda-linked groups.

Donald Trump stole the news spotlight after making his debut as US president in January 2017, with “America first” policies and a bombastic personal style that has shaken up international diplomacy.

The former reality television star is likely to continue dominating headlines in 2018, with escalating tensions over North Korea among a host of global challenges.

Other political and diplomatic earthquakes set to rumble into 2018 include the crisis in the Middle East between Saudi Arabia and its allies against Qatar, and the humanitarian disaster in Yemen.

In Europe, further talks on Brexit will help shape the region’s future trade relationship while Russia is set to host the football World Cup amid frictions with the West.