WRAPUP-Pacific enters new century, Yeltsin resigns

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wRAPUP-Pacific enters new century, Yeltsin resigns

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Updated 6:23 AM ET December 31, 1999

By Mark Snelling

SINGAPORE, Dec 31 (Reuters) - A handful of tiny Pacific islands ushered in the 21st century on Friday but the resignation of Russian President Boris Yeltsin and an imminent end to the Indian Airlines hijack drama stole some of the millennium limelight.

At the stroke of midnight, people in Kiribati welcomed the new millennium with traditional song and dance and Tongans first stood in absolute silence and then broke into the Hallelujah chorus from Handel's "Messiah."

New Zealand became the first industrialised nation to enter the New Year, one hour after Tonga -- and the first to be exposed to potential Y2K computer bug problems. However, there were no immediate reports of trouble.

In Russia, Yeltsin said his country needed a new leader for the next century and handed control of the nation -- and its nuclear arsenal -- to Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

"I am going. I am going earlier than my established time," Yeltsin said in a shock announcement on state television.

And in New Delhi, India said it had reached an agreement with the hijackers of an Indian Airlines plane to free three Kashmiri militants in exchange for the release of the more than 150 passengers held hostage for eight days on board the plane.

Away from the day's momentous political developments, revellers geared up for parties and security forces in major cities went on high alert against terrorist attack.

FINAL PREPARATIONS FOR Y2K

While governments, corporations and airlines the world over ran final Y2K checks, U.S. and Russian military experts hunkered down to stave off the biggest millennium bug nightmare of them all -- an accidental nuclear launch.

They will jointly monitor nuclear missile launch warning systems from Colorado to avoid any catastrophic accident prompted by the Y2K bug, which stems from the possibility that computers will read 2000 as 1900.

For millions of office workers around the world, New Year's Eve will be spent glued to office computer screens, fingers crossed that preparations for the Y2K bug have been adequate.

In Britain, thousands of technicians, managers, chief executives, customer support staff and press officers are being herded into "bunkers" to make sure the crucial tick of the clock does not cause too much chaos.

Russia, seen by Western countries as Y2K-vulnerable, said everything from the Mir space station to the country's lifeline railway network would be fine and told people to relax.

In Australia, one of the best-prepared nations for the Y2K computer bug, a government official said it still expected some disruption but believed it would avoid major failures.

"I think the only thing you can guarantee is that there will be some problems," said Ian Campbell, parliamentary secretary to Australia's communications minister.

TERRORISM FEARS ADD TO Y2K WOES

Aside from Y2K jitters, fears of terrorism stalled several planned parties.

Seattle cancelled its main bash after an Algerian carrying suspected bomb-making material was arrested in Washington state two weeks ago.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation stepped up an investigation into a suspected plot to plant bombs at U.S. millennium celebration sites. Security concerns forced two Washington building complexes to temporarily shut down.

Police marksmen prepared to take up rooftop positions to protect Britain's showpiece celebrations from possible attack, particularly the Millennium Dome in London's Docklands where Queen Elizabeth and Prime Minister Tony Blair will see in the new century.

The party risked falling flat because most of the guests had not received tickets and it was too late to send out the rest.

There have been problems of a different kind elsewhere, with reports of lacklustre sales for millennium parties all over the world due to high prices.

And in France, Prime Minister Lionel Jospin cancelled his New Year's Eve party in the wake of recent storms that killed 83 people there.

BUT THE SHOW GOES ON

But ignoring arguments that the millennium does not technically start until 2001, New York expects two million people at its traditional Times Square bash, albeit under massive security.

President Bill Clinton's staff said his party plans were "going full steam ahead." His schedule includes three public speeches and two White House parties.

Party-goers in Sydney Harbour braved cold winds and rain to secure the best vantage point for the celebrations, and revellers shoved around barricades. A noisy fireworks display provided a taster for 20 tonnes of crackers due to erupt at midnight.

Local media reports said Bill Gates, the world's richest man, was going to watch the display as Hollywood stars Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman looked on from their luxury yacht.

And Cape Town remained determined to stage a big party amid high security after police seized bomb-making equipment and arrested the leader of a Moslem vigilante group suspected of a role in recent bombings in the city.

ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE

Getting the new millennium off to a romantic start, 2,000 couples aged from 17 to 82 got married in Bangkok in what was billed as one of the world's biggest millennium love-ins.

And in Beijing, another 2,000 couples tied the knot, with a sports stadium as their cathedral and Communist Party parliamentarians their ministers.

Democracy figurehead Aung San Suu Kyi, whose National League for Democracy won Myanmar's last election in 1990 but was never allowed to govern, marked the New Year with a plea for greater support for democracy from fellow Asians.

In the Holy Land, where New Year's Eve falls squarely into the Jewish Sabbath, Wadee' Abu Nasser, director of the Roman Catholic Holy Land millennium celebrations, accused rabbis of infringing on Christian rights by pressuring hotels to scrap all festivities on New Year's Eve.

As for the promises of a new age of technology and communications, the website www.millennium.com has missed its big moment -- "This site is currently under construction," it says. "Please visit us again in a few days."

-- Uncle Bob (
UNCLB0B@AOL.COM), December 31, 1999

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