Times Square ball takes final test for New Year's Eve

NEW YORK (AP) — The crystal-covered ball that descends down a pole in Times Square to ring in the new year was taken for a test run Monday, as New York City officials laid out their plans for the iconic New Year's Eve event.

Officials flipped a switch to light up the dazzling geodesic sphere — weighing almost 6 tons (5.4 metric tons) and featuring 2,688 crystal triangles — which then successfully ran up and down a 139-foot (42-meter) pole atop the One Times Square skyscraper.

Monday's rehearsal was just one of many pre-ball drop promotional events: On Sunday, fistfuls of confetti were flung toward crowds in the square in anticipation of the 3,000 pounds (1,360 kilograms) of brightly colored paper that will fill the air at midnight on New Year’s Eve. Some of those pieces will include wishes written by people ahead of 2025.

“This is the crossroads of the entire planet right here in New York City,” New York City Mayor Eric Adams said earlier Monday as he and law enforcement leaders discussed their plans for security at the celebration. “People tune in at different locations and celebrate as we do the countdown for the New Year.”

Police Commissioner Jessica Tisch said that although there were “no specific credible threats” to the Times Square celebrations, “the public can expect to see a tremendous amount of police resources deployed throughout the area and across the city.” Plans range from “dedicated pickpocket teams” patrolling the square to sealing off all mailboxes and vending machines in the area.

A New Year's Eve ball has dropped in Times Square for nearly 120 years, with the exception of 1942 and 1943 when nightly “dimouts” occurred during World War II to protect the city from attacks.

Times Square New Year's Eve Ball is displayed at One Times Square, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Times Square New Year's Eve Ball is displayed at One Times Square, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Times Square New Year's Eve Ball is displayed at One Times Square, Friday, Dec. 27, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

New Year's Eve preparations are underway at One Tims Square in New York, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

Kids collect confetti off the ground ahead of New Years Eve in Times Square, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

People in the crowd catch confetti ahead of New Year's Eve in Times Square, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

People in the crowd pose for photos with confetti ahead of New Year's Eve in Times Square, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Organizers throw confetti ahead of New Year's Eve in Times Square, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

People in the crowd catch confetti ahead of New Year's Eve in Times Square, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Organizers throw confetti ahead of New Year's Eve in Times Square, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

Organizers throw confetti ahead of New Year's Eve in Times Square, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)

New Year's Eve preparations are underway in Times Square in New York, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

New Year's Eve preparations are underway in Times Square in New York, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

New Year's Eve preparations are underway in Times Square in New York, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

New Year's Eve preparations are underway in Times Square in New York, Monday, Dec. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey)

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — A court in southeastern Bangladesh on Thursday rejected a plea for bail by a jailed Hindu leader who led large rallies in the Muslim-majority country demanding better security for minority groups.

Krishna Das Prabhu, 39, faces sedition charges after he led huge rallies in the southeastern city of Chattogram. Hindu groups say there have been thousands of attacks against Hindus since early August, when the secular government of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was overthrown.

Prabhu didn't appear at the hearing, during which Chattogram Metropolitan Sessions Judge Saiful Islam rejected the bail plea, according to Public Prosecutor Mofizul Haque Bhuiyan. Security was tight, with police and soldiers guarding the court.

“He faces serious charges like sedition and others involving the security and sovereignty of our country," Bhuiyan told The Associated Press by phone. "We argued in the court that if he gets bail it could create anarchy as we saw in the past that he triggered violence on the court premises by calling thousands of his supporters to protest.

"So, we moved against his bail plea as we believed that he could misuse his bail.”

Apurba Kumar Bhattacharjee, a lawyer representing Prabhu, said that they would appeal the decision.

The court rejected an earlier request for bail made while Prabhu didn't have lawyers. Lawyers who sought to represent him at that hearing said they were threatened or intimidated, and many of them are facing charges related to the death of a Muslim lawyer during clashes outside the court when Prabhu appeared there shortly after being arrested in Bangladesh's capital, Dhaka, in November.

For Thursday's hearing, 11 lawyers traveled from Dhaka, arriving and leaving with a security escort.

Hindu groups and other minority groups in Bangladesh and abroad have criticized the interim government led by Nobel peace laureate Muhammad Yunus for undermining their security. Yunus and his supporters said that reports of attacks on Hindus and other groups since August have been exaggerated.

Prabhu’s arrest came as tensions spiked following reports of the desecration of the Indian flag in Bangladesh, with some burning it and others laying it on the floor for people to step on. Protesters in India responded in kind.

Prabhu is a spokesman for the Bangladesh Sammilito Sanatan Jagaran Jote group. He was also associated with the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, widely known as the Hare Krishna movement.

Radharamn Das, vice president and spokesman of the group in Kolkata, the capital of India's West Bengal state, told the television station India Today that Prabhu's health is deteriorating.

Das said that the jailed Hindu leader "has become a face of minorities in Bangladesh. The minorities see him as a ray of hope. He represents their voice."

Police officials block a street leading to the court during the hearing of the bail plea by Krishna Das Prabhu, a jailed Hindu leader, in Chattogram, Bangladesh, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo)

Police officials clear the way for the vehicle carrying Krishna Das Prabhu, a jailed Hindu leader, after a court rejected his plea for bail, in Chattogram, Bangladesh, Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025. (AP Photo)