Boris Johnson: ‘Things will get better’ in 2023
Former prime minister Boris Johnson has said he is confident “things will get better” in the year ahead after a “pretty tumultuous” 2022.
In a brief new year greeting posted on Twitter, the former prime minister made no mention of his ejection from Downing Street earlier this year – swiftly followed by his successor Liz Truss – or the cost-of-living crisis.
Instead he delivered a boosterish message on his predictions for the economy and the opportunities opened up by Brexit following the end of the pandemic.
He said he was “more convinced than ever” that Russia’s President Vladimir Putin will be defeated in Ukraine while there were signs that inflation around the world was coming down.
“2022 is tip-toeing towards the exit after a pretty tumultuous year in which we lost our beloved Queen and saw the start of the worst war in Europe for 80 years,” he said.
“I want to tell you why I am looking forward to 2023 and why I am confident that things will get better.
“Our post-Covid, post-pandemic UK will finally start to take advantage of all our new freedoms, lengthening our lead as the best place on earth to invest, to start a business, raise a family or to just hang out in the pub which is what I propose to do this New Year’s Eve.”
A new year begins in India
India saw in the new year at 6.30pm GMT. Happy new year, India!
A person lights candle on a sand sculpture to welcome the New Year at the Sangam area, the confluence of the rivers Ganges, Yamuna and mythical Saraswati, in Prayagraj
/ AFP via Getty ImagesCrowds begin to gather by the Thames for London’s fireworks display
With around six hours to go before London’s main fireworks display kicks off at midnight, crowds have begun to gather.
Tonight will mark the first time the capital’s world-famous New Year’s Eve celebrations have returned to the banks of the River Thames since before the pandemic broke out.
People gather on the Embankment opposite the London Eye in central London
/ PAMore than 100,000 people are due to gather near the London Eye to welcome in the new year and witness the display.
Many of those queuing around 6pm were seen clutching umbrellas, as it shapes up to be a drizzly night in London.
Xi Jinping says China entering ‘new phase’ of Covid pandemic in New Year address
China “stands on the right side of history”, Xi Jinping said in a New Year’s address despite questions over his government’s handling of Covid-19 and economic and political challenges at home and abroad.
Speaking on national television, Xi largely avoided directly addressing issues confronting the country, pointing instead to successes in agricultural production, poverty elimination and its hosting of the Winter Olympics in February.
However, he later turned to the challenges facing the world’s most populous country and second-largest economy, saying: “The world is not at peace.”
China will “always steadfastly advocate for peace and development and unswervingly stands on the right side of history”, he said.
Recent weeks have seen street protests against Mr Xi’s government, the first facing the ruling Communist Party for more than three decades.