As the nation welcomed the New Year, app-based cab aggregator Uber on Tuesday noted that Delhi, NCR was the most active city, as it clocked the highest number of trips taken on a single night.

In a report on highlights of services on New Year&#39;s Eve released by the company, Uber noted that over 90,000 riders used UberPOOL to cut down on congestion during this busy night, with over 22,000 riders reported to be from Delhi, NCR, followed by Hyderabad and Bengaluru.

Further, a driver partner from Delhi, NCR completed 18 trips on this one night, making it the highest across the country, followed by one in India&#39;s IT hub, who completed 14 trips.

The highlights also revealed that at the stroke of midnight, close to 15,000 riders were in an Uber across India.

&quot;New Year&#39;s Eve is one of the busiest nights of the year for Uber across the globe. Our goal was to ensure riders can get a reliable ride at the tap of a button and avoid getting behind the wheel. From training driver partners to partnering with traffic police and restaurants across many cities, we wanted to make a difference and reduce cases of driving under the influence in India,&quot; said Sanjay Gupta, Head of Marketing, Uber India and SA.

He also opined that the popularity of ride-sharing portrays a significant change in commuting behavior of riders, which is hinting towards attempting to decongest India&#39;s roads

In a report on highlights of services on New Year's Eve released by the company, Uber noted that over 90,000 riders used UberPOOL to cut down on congestion during this busy night, with over 22,000 riders reported to be from Delhi, NCR, followed by Hyderabad and Bengaluru

As the nation welcomed the New Year, app-based cab aggregator Uber on Tuesday noted that Delhi, NCR was the most active city, as it clocked the highest number of trips taken on a single night. In a report on highlights of services on New Year's Eve released by the company, Uber noted that over 90,000 riders used UberPOOL to cut down on congestion during this busy night, with over 22,000 riders reported to be from Delhi, NCR, followed by Hyderabad and Bengaluru. Further, a driver partner from Delhi, NCR completed 18 trips on this one night, making it the highest across the country, followed by one in India's IT hub, who completed 14 trips. The highlights also revealed that at the stroke of midnight, close to 15,000 riders were in an Uber across India. "New Year's Eve is one of the busiest nights of the year for Uber across the globe. Our goal was to ensure riders can get a reliable ride at the tap of a button and avoid getting behind the wheel. From training driver partners to partnering with traffic police and restaurants across many cities, we wanted to make a difference and reduce cases of driving under the influence in India," said Sanjay Gupta, Head of Marketing, Uber India and SA. He also opined that the popularity of ride-sharing portrays a significant change in commuting behavior of riders, which is hinting towards attempting to decongest India's roads

Uber records maximum trips from Delhi-NCR on New Year's Eve

Everyone has their own style of celebrating New Year&#39;s Eve but the Indonesian style takes away the cake for being the most innovative.&nbsp;

On Sunday night, hundreds of couples gathered in Jakarta&#39;s city centre in what was a mass wedding ceremony.&nbsp;

Almost 450 couples came to be a part of this ceremony which took place in a large tent just hours before midnight.&nbsp;

The couples gathered to first offer their prayers before signing marriage certificates which were overlooked by government officials.&nbsp;

As reported by Reuters, Hartiningish, a 38-year-old East Javanese bride said,&nbsp;&quot;We wanted an unforgettable experience and we&#39;re so happy that we decided to participate today.&quot;

Her husband, Ricky Rangga, 30, said the couple was grateful to the city administration for making the wedding possible.

The tent was smartly decked up to look like a wedding function with a live band performing a set of traditional and pop music in the background.

Many couples wore matching colours and colourful traditional Indonesian outfits, with some brides donned elaborate headdresses and grooms carried traditional daggers called keris.

Speaking on the occasion, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan congratulated those who participated and said the &quot;city would now host the event every New Year&rsquo;s Eve&quot;. The city government raised donation funds to pay for token gold dowries for the couples to exchange.

It is locally said that grooms in Indonesia traditionally have to present gold jewellery or money to brides on the wedding day.

&nbsp;

Mass wedding took place in the capital city Jakarta of Indonesia

Everyone has their own style of celebrating New Year's Eve but the Indonesian style takes away the cake for being the most innovative. On Sunday night, hundreds of couples gathered in Jakarta's city centre in what was a mass wedding ceremony. Almost 450 couples came to be a part of this ceremony which took place in a large tent just hours before midnight. The couples gathered to first offer their prayers before signing marriage certificates which were overlooked by government officials. As reported by Reuters, Hartiningish, a 38-year-old East Javanese bride said, "We wanted an unforgettable experience and we're so happy that we decided to participate today." Her husband, Ricky Rangga, 30, said the couple was grateful to the city administration for making the wedding possible. The tent was smartly decked up to look like a wedding function with a live band performing a set of traditional and pop music in the background. Many couples wore matching colours and colourful traditional Indonesian outfits, with some brides donned elaborate headdresses and grooms carried traditional daggers called keris. Speaking on the occasion, Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan congratulated those who participated and said the "city would now host the event every New Year’s Eve". The city government raised donation funds to pay for token gold dowries for the couples to exchange. It is locally said that grooms in Indonesia traditionally have to present gold jewellery or money to brides on the wedding day.

Hundreds in Indonesia celebrate New Year by getting married

The CEO of Britain&#39;s Compass Group CEO, Richard Cousins, was among six people who died after a seaplane crashed into a river in Sydney on New Year&#39;s Eve.

The other five who died in the crash were Emma Bowden, 48, Heather Bowden, 11, Edward Cousins, 23, William Cousins, 25, and the 44-year-old pilot Gareth Morgan, Detective Superintendent Mark Hutchings from the New South Wales Police said.

Hutchings said Heather was with her father onboard and that all passengers knew each other. He added that police had already been in contact with UK authorities.

Police are working with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau to recover the wreckage of the plane, which is submerged in 13 metres of water near Cowan, north of Sydney.

An investigation into the cause of the crash has begun, with a preliminary report expected within 30 days. Authorities have warned that it may take up to a year to find out what happened.

The seaplane was part of the Sydney Seaplanes business, which has operated since 2005 with no previous record of mishap. Seaplane flights have been cancelled until further notice.

Police are working with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau to recover the wreckage of the plane, which is submerged in 13 metres of water near Cowan, north of Sydney.

The CEO of Britain's Compass Group CEO, Richard Cousins, was among six people who died after a seaplane crashed into a river in Sydney on New Year's Eve. The other five who died in the crash were Emma Bowden, 48, Heather Bowden, 11, Edward Cousins, 23, William Cousins, 25, and the 44-year-old pilot Gareth Morgan, Detective Superintendent Mark Hutchings from the New South Wales Police said. Hutchings said Heather was with her father onboard and that all passengers knew each other. He added that police had already been in contact with UK authorities. Police are working with the Australian Transport Safety Bureau to recover the wreckage of the plane, which is submerged in 13 metres of water near Cowan, north of Sydney. An investigation into the cause of the crash has begun, with a preliminary report expected within 30 days. Authorities have warned that it may take up to a year to find out what happened. The seaplane was part of the Sydney Seaplanes business, which has operated since 2005 with no previous record of mishap. Seaplane flights have been cancelled until further notice.

Compass Group CEO, five others dead in Sydney seaplane crash

German police said on Sunday they had prevented a repeat of the assaults and robberies suffered by hundreds of women in Cologne a year ago by screening 650 mostly North African men on New Year&#39;s Eve.

Police detained and screened many of the men at the main railway station as they headed towards the centre of Cologne in western Germany, where the attacks a year earlier fuelled criticism of Chancellor Angela Merkel&#39;s&nbsp;migrant policy.

Cologne police chief Juergen Mathies did not say how many of the men were subsequently allowed into the city centre, but denied that the checks amounted to racial profiling. He also said many of those detained had been aggressive.

&quot;This was clearly about preventing similar incidents to last year,&quot; he told a news conference. &quot;A large part of this group that was checked was such that criminal acts were to be expected. That is why we took this clear approach.&quot;

Police arrested 92 people - including 16 Germans and 10 Syrians - during Saturday night&#39;s celebrations in Cologne. Police also installed new video surveillance cameras to monitor the station square.

Political context

Many of the suspects in the attacks a year ago were of North African and Arab appearance, the police have said.

Those attacks helped fuel the rise of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which hurt Merkel&#39;s conservatives in a series of regional polls last year and threaten to erode her support in this year&#39;s national election.

In her New Year&#39;s address to the nation, Merkel said Islamist terrorism was the biggest test facing Germany, and she vowed to improve security after an Islamic State attack in Berlin before Christmas that killed 12 people.

Although the migrant flow into Germany has slowed sharply, Merkel is under pressure from the AfD and her party&#39;s conservative Bavarian allies to take tougher action after more than one million asylum seekers arrived here in 2015 and 2016.

(Reuters)

They screened and detained 650 mostly North African men, denied it was racial profiling

German police said on Sunday they had prevented a repeat of the assaults and robberies suffered by hundreds of women in Cologne a year ago by screening 650 mostly North African men on New Year's Eve. Police detained and screened many of the men at the main railway station as they headed towards the centre of Cologne in western Germany, where the attacks a year earlier fuelled criticism of Chancellor Angela Merkel's migrant policy. Cologne police chief Juergen Mathies did not say how many of the men were subsequently allowed into the city centre, but denied that the checks amounted to racial profiling. He also said many of those detained had been aggressive. "This was clearly about preventing similar incidents to last year," he told a news conference. "A large part of this group that was checked was such that criminal acts were to be expected. That is why we took this clear approach." Police arrested 92 people - including 16 Germans and 10 Syrians - during Saturday night's celebrations in Cologne. Police also installed new video surveillance cameras to monitor the station square. Political context Many of the suspects in the attacks a year ago were of North African and Arab appearance, the police have said. Those attacks helped fuel the rise of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, which hurt Merkel's conservatives in a series of regional polls last year and threaten to erode her support in this year's national election. In her New Year's address to the nation, Merkel said Islamist terrorism was the biggest test facing Germany, and she vowed to improve security after an Islamic State attack in Berlin before Christmas that killed 12 people. Although the migrant flow into Germany has slowed sharply, Merkel is under pressure from the AfD and her party's conservative Bavarian allies to take tougher action after more than one million asylum seekers arrived here in 2015 and 2016. (Reuters)

German police claim to have stopped repeat of New Year Cologne assaults

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Uber records maximum trips from Delhi-NCR on New Year's Eve

Hundreds in Indonesia celebrate New Year by getting married

Compass Group CEO, five others dead in Sydney seaplane crash

German police claim to have stopped repeat of New Year Cologne assaults