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Fireworks lighted up the sky from The Sydney Harbour Bridge at midnight during New Years Eve celebrations in Sydney, Australia, December 31.
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Tens of thousands of people lined Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour to view a $1.6m fireworks display, said to be the biggest ever in the city.
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After nearly five decades under military rule that discouraged or banned big public gatherings, about 90,000 people witnessed Myanmar's first New Year's Eve countdown in a field in the largest city of Yangon.
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People gathered to celebrate the New Year at Imjingak in Paju near Panmunjom, which borders South and North Korea.
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Two revellers kissed each other as they celebrated the new year during a count-down event at the Summer Palace in Beijing.
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Indians lighted candles to welcome the New Year across cities like Allahabad. Celebrations in the country were muted following the recent gang rape of a young woman that triggered mass protests.
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Egyptian activists held candles as they took part in a rally on the second anniversary of the attack on the All Saints Church (al-Qiddissine) in the city of Alexandria.
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Pope Benedict XVI visited the Nativity at St Peter's Square in the Vatican. He said that despite all the death and injustice, goodness prevails.
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Palestinians waved their flag as they celebrated New Year's Eve in the West Bank city of Ramallah.
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Spanish inhabitants of Campello, a town near the southeastern city of Alicante, posed with a banner reading "Happy New Year 2013" as they welcomed the New Year.
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Tens of thousands of people gathered to celebrate the New Year in front of St Basil cathedral at Red Square in Moscow.