Spectacular New Year celebrations across the world

Revellers welcomed 2019 on Tuesday with fireworks displays and festivities as a celebratory wave swept westward across the globe from Asia to Europe and the Americas, putting to bed a tumultuous 2018.

Sydney, Australia – The global partying had kicked off on Sydney’s waterfront with the Australian city’s biggest- ever fireworks display, thrilling 1.5 million people.

Hong Kong -It then moved on to Hong Kong, where hundreds of thousands packed streets along Victoria Harbour for a spectacular 10-minute show that illuminated the night.

Jakarta, Indonesia – In the Indonesian capital Jakarta, more than 500 couples tied the knot in a free, mass wedding organized by the government to mark the arrival of a new year.Fireworks shows, however, were cancelled out of respect for victims of a December 22 tsunami that killed more than 400 people.

Russia – Russia saw in the new year over several time zones. Concerts and light shows featured in Moscow city parks, and more than 1,000 ice rinks opened for merrymakers.

London , United Kingdom – London ushered in the new year by celebrating its relationship with Europe, despite Britain’s impending departure from the European Union.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – In Rio de Janeiro, the city’s famed hilltop Christ the Redeemer statue briefly came to colorful 3D life through light projections as it peered over Copacabana Beach, where pyrotechnics lit up more than two million white-clad Brazilians dancing to free concerts.

Newyrok, USA – New York was to follow with its iconic Times Square Ball drop, the highly mediatized epicenter of US jubilation.

As the world celebrates, many are wondering whether the turmoil witnessed in 2018 will spill over into the next year.

The political wrangling in Westminster over Brexit was one of the key stories of this year, with a resolution yet to be reached ahead of Britain’s scheduled March 29 departure.

US President Donald Trump dominated headlines in 2018, ramping up a trade war with China, quitting the Iran nuclear deal, moving the US embassy to Jerusalem and meeting his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong Un. North Korea’s commitment to denuclearization will remain a major political and security issue into next year, as will Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s reassertion of control after Trump’s shock announcement of a US troop withdrawal from the country. The war in Yemen, which has killed about 10,000 people since 2014 and left some 20 million at risk of starvation, could take a crucial turn in 2019 after a ceasefire went into effect in
mid-December.

Numerous countries go to the polls in the coming year, including Afghanistan, Argentina, Australia, India, Indonesia, Nigeria and South Africa.

Major sporting events on the calendar include the Rugby World Cup in Japan, the cricket one-day international World Cup in England, and the athletics World Championships in Qatar.

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