People around the world welcomed New Year 2018 with fireworks displays, partying and an array of local traditions.
One of the first countries to welcome the new year was Australia, where fireworks exploded over the iconic Sydney Opera House as people watched from boats in the harbor nearby.
Hundreds of couples took part in a mass wedding ceremony in Jakarta, Indonesia, on New Year’s Eve designed to help the poor who were unable to afford a proper wedding.
Buddhists lit candles during New Year celebrations at Jogyesa temple in Seoul, South Korea.
In some other places, the tone was more somber. Just hours after a fireworks display over the Taedong River in Pyongyang, North Korea, leader Kim Jong Un said in a New Year’s Day speech the country had achieved the historic feat of “completing” its nuclear forces despite US opposition.
Some 100 people gathered outside the Reina nightclub in Istanbul, Turkey, to remember victims of a New Year’s mass shooting a year ago. The group, holding carnations, observed a moment of silence for 39 people killed in the attack.
In India, people across metro cities thronged to landmark locations, malls and restaurants to celebrate New Year. Several historical landmarks were lit with bright coloured lights to mark the end of 2017 and to welcome 2018.
In Scotland, a torchlight procession began Edinburgh’s famed Hogmanay New Year’s Eve celebration.
A woman in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, threw flowers into the water to ask Yemanja, goddess of the sea, for good luck in the new year.
Revelers gathered for the annual ball drop in New York’s Times Square bundled in several layers of clothes to keep warm in frigid temperatures.
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