NEW YORK - A peace descended on planet Earth yesterday after the biggest world party in history.
The fireworks and singing and dancing were over, the multimillion-strong crowds from Rome to Rio de Janeiro had scattered, and the cleanup crews moved in.
London estimated its litter at four times the normal amount,
15 per cent of it empty champagne bottles. There were 35 tonnes of garbage to remove from the streets around New York's Times Square.
Press reports in London yesterday said the Queen and British Prime Minister Tony Blair refused to budge when they were told of a bomb alert at the centrepiece of the country's millennium celebrations.
Several newspapers said they had been told of a telephoned bomb alert to the Millennium Dome, on the River Thames. Organisers were reportedly on the verge of evacuating the vast arena, only for the Queen and Blair to insist the show go ahead until it was certain that a bomb was present.
Downing St denied that either the Queen or Prime Minister knew of the call - which, like others in the run-up to the big night, turned out to be a hoax - until the following morning.
Meanwhile, law enforcement officials in Washington and other major United States cities breathed a sigh of relief as celebrations passed with no major incidents despite widespread fears of possible attacks by extremists.
There were only a few arrests, mostly of drunken revellers. New York police reported 14 arrests, while US Park Police in Washington said two people were held during the gala hosted by President Bill Clinton on the city's National Mall.
In his weekly radio address, Clinton said he was pleased the celebrations ringing in the new millennium were peaceful.
"We're deeply grateful that the celebrations were both jubilant and peaceful, here and all around the world," he said.
Law enforcement officials, concerned about possible violence during the millennium weekend, have been on heightened alert. Seattle had cancelled its planned downtown party but a fireworks display at the city's famed Space Needle went on as planned. - AGENCIES
