The world's eight billion people ushered in 2023, bidding farewell to a turbulent 12 months marked by war in Europe, stinging price rises, Lionel Messi's World Cup glory and the deaths of Queen Elizabeth, Pele and former pope Benedict. Many were ready to set aside pinched budgets and a virus that is increasingly forgotten but not gone and embrace a party atmosphere on New Year's Eve after a few pandemic-dampened years. In New York, confetti rained down on crowds after the famous ball drop in Times Square, a tradition dating back to 1907, with visitors from across the world waiting...