our correspondent rebecca ritter's was branding brigade when the clock struck midnight here's what she had to say about the festivities. i look maybe i was up for another yeah but the party just beginning here in central. italy a million revelers have joined in this year's festivities and right here at the foot of the brandenburg gate. despite something here you can sense this here this is said to days have gone off without a hitch and despite all the out moving can seem to night the mood here is brenly and people just want to have fun. german chancellor angela merkel has used her new year's address to urge the country to pull together she says she was aware of fears that a rift was opening up in german society and that people were becoming divided over a range of issues she also outlined the key challenges facing the country this year . it was a difficult political year for chancellor angela merkel at the very beginning of her speech she addressed the social atmosphere in germany and the tensions all files i think i know from many conversations and encounters this year that a lot of y