New York (Reuters): Officials and security forces around the world could breathe sighs of relief on the first day of 2003 after tight security prevented incidents at major New Year's events.

Canberra (Reuters): Australian politicians and refugee advocates appealed for calm on Wednesday after violence and arson attacks swept through detention centers holding asylum seekers and illegal immigrants.

Seoul (Associated Press): Showing no willingness to ease tensions over its nuclear weapons program, North Korea vowed on Wednesday to build an army based "powerful nation" and defy pressure from the United States.

Singapore (Agence France-Presse): A bomb attack on ethnically diverse Singapore might spark racial unrest,Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong warned on Wednesday as he called for stronger bonds among the city-state's Chinese, Muslim and Indian communities.

Caracas (Reuters): Tens of thousands of foes of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez greeted the new year early on Wednesday with a big street party in Caracas, vowing to vote the leftist leader out of office in 2003.

Washington/Baghdad (Reuters): The U.S. military ordered more than 11,000 desert-trained troops to begin moving to the Gulf and Western jets struck an Iraqi defense radar as pressure mounted on Iraq. defense officials said on Wednesday.

Shanghai (Reuters): German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder said on Tuesday the country had clinched a coveted deal with China to extend the world's first commercial magnetic levitation train after a successful test ride in Shanghai.

Singapore (Agence France-Presse): Singapore's economy grew 2.2 percent this year, overcoming last year's recession, but several challenges lay ahead for the city-state, Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong said Tuesday.

Doha (Agence France-Presse): Yevgeny Kafelnikov, the former world number one who abandoned retirement plans after helping Russia to win the Davis Cup for the first time, may be regretting having changed his mind.

Perth, Australia (Agencies): Serena Williams and James Blake put in a pair of pulsating performances at the Hopman Cup on Wednesday to oust champions Spain from the mixed team contest.

Stuttgart, Germany (Deutsche Presse-Agentur): Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher has been spending the Christmas and New Year holidays far from the motor racing circuits as he mulls his goals for 2003.

Washington (Reuters): His team is mediocre, the media glare has faded and he is prone to shoot the odd air ball but Michael Jordan is not approaching retirement on a lukewarm note.