HAPPY NEW YEAR 2008!

HAPPY New Year to all the readers of the Irish Examiner!

While the nation will be waking up this morning full of joy or dread for 2008 spare a thought for the 1,500 inhabitants of Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean on the other side of the world.

Thanks to the international dateline they were the first on the planet to celebrate the arrival of 2008 — at 10am our time yesterday, giving them ample opportunity to celebrate New Year over and over again.