A huge crowd crammed under tight security into New York’s Times Square to witness the traditional midnight drop of the New Year crystal ball and the first seconds of 2010. For the security services, however, this was no time to relax.
New York is on a heightened state of alert following the Christmas Day alleged attempt by a Nigerian man to detonate explosives on a Northwest Airlines plane flying to Detroit.
Thousands of police officers were deployed in and around Times Square, backed by undercover officers, surveillance cameras, rooftop snipers, and devices able to detect radiation or biological agents.
Partygoers crowding into Times Square were not allowed to carry backpacks or alcohol and were banned from reentering the zone once they left.
Jitters increased Wednesday when police sent bomb disposal experts to check a van parked for two days in Times Square. The van was declared all clear shortly after, but not before police had evacuated the area, including the Nasdaq stock market building.
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