North Korea vowed to launch three new spy satellites, build military drones and boost its nuclear arsenal in 2024 as leader Kim Jong Un said U.S. policy is making war inevitable, state media reported on Sunday.

Kim Jong Un and Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed to further develop the relationship of cooperation between the two countries in New Year messages exchanged on Monday, South Korea’s Yonhap News reported, citing North Korea’s state radio.

The Vatican: At his Sunday prayers, Pope Francis said: “I wish everyone a peaceful end of the year, and please do not forget to pray for me”.

France: French President Emmanuel Macron in a televised address ahead of New Year celebrations said 2024 would be “the year of our French pride” marked by the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games and the reopening of Notre Dame cathedral after a devastating fire.

Germany: Chancellor Olaf Scholz said in his traditional year-end address that 2023 held “so much suffering and bloodshed,” but promised, “we in Germany will get through this.”

Police on Sunday detained three more suspects in an alleged Islamist plot to attack Germany’s famed Cologne Cathedral on New Year’s Eve.

The alleged attackers had planned to use a car to attack the 800-year-old Gothic cathedral, Cologne police said.

Britain: London ushered in the New Year with the bongs of its famous Big Ben bell, fireworks and a display of news highlights that featured King Charles’ coronation.

United States: In New York, tens of thousands of revellers are gathered in Manhattan’s Times Square to wait for the lighted ball to drop at midnight, after scheduled performances by musicians including Megan Thee Stallion and LL Cool J.

President Joe Biden said in an interview ahead of the ball drop that he hoped celebrants realized “we’re in a better position than any country in the world to lead the world.”