A security blanket was thrown over Asian cities as millions prepared to celebrate the coming of the New Year -- an event some fear could be targeted by terrorists.
Malaysian police guarded Kuala Lumpur's twin towers, the world's tallest buildings. Special forces were deployed in Manila to guard the US and other embassies.
In Australia, officers closed Sydney's downtown to traffic as hundreds of thousands of people flocked to its harbor for a fireworks display. And Pakistan's most populous city, Karachi, banned parties in hotels in deference to Islamic sensitivities.
One of the first nations in the world to see in the New Year, New Zealand, celebrated peacefully. In the largest city, Auckland, fireworks erupted from the 328m Sky Tower on the stroke of midnight while crowds cheered on the streets below.
The region has been on heightened alert since Oct. 12, when bombs tore through two nightclubs on the Indonesian island of Bali, killing 192 -- mostly Western vacationers and 88 of them Australians.
The blasts are blamed on Jemaah Islamiyah, a group linked to Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda terrorist network.
In a defiant gesture, Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri will lead national celebrations on Bali, not far from the attack site.
Overall, more than 200,000 security personnel will be on duty across the world's most populous Islamic nation. In the capital, Jakarta, bomb squad and armed officers will watch over revelers.
"We are all on full alert," said police spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Zainuri Lubis.
Nonetheless, nervous Western embassies told their citizens to stay at home.
Megawati praised police for tracking down suspects in the Bali bombings.
"Our security forces have successfully revealed the terrorist ring suspected in the attack based on convincing confessions and preliminary evidence," she said. "We hope that the terrorist network can be uncovered to its roots to reveal its supporters and all those who are behind it."
In Sydney, a security operation was put in place, rivaled only by that imposed during the 2000 Olympics, after the government said it had received a "credible" warning of a terror strike sometime soon. Despite the tough measures, authorities urged people not to surrender to fear.
"Don't be a prisoner in your home -- get out and enjoy New Year's Eve no matter where you want to go," New South Wales state Assistant Police Commissioner Dick Adams told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.
But many families later went home disappointed after a fireworks display at 9pm was canceled due to strong winds, said the Nine Network, official broadcaster of the event. Police said they had not been informed of the cancellation. More fireworks were due at midnight.
Adams said crowds were down by up to 30 percent on recent year but blamed the high winds rather than the terror threat.
In the Philippines, Manila police chief Pedro Bulaong said police sharpshooters and plainclothes agents on motorcycles had been posted near the US and other embassies.
Although there were no specific threats, "emergency units were on standby to respond to anything that could happen," Bulaong said.
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