World welcomes in 2006
Despite chilly temperatures in many countries in the world, millions of people converged on their capital cities to welcome the New Year in the hope that the world will live in peace and enjoy prosperity in 2006.
From Sydney to London, Moscow to New York, crowds of people have been cheering in the New Year.
In his New Year greetings, Chinese President Hu Jintao reconfirmed that China will pursue the policy of expanding external relations, further improving the investment environment, opening its market and supporting developing countries in their development strategies, together with other countries in the world, for the sake of mutual benefit and victory.
Together with people worldwide, he said Chinese people will promote the establishment of a new international socio-political order toward equality.
New Year celebrations spread throughout the world and were generally jubilant.
In New York's Times Square, fireworks burst above the packed crowds, in an event that included tributes to the victims of Hurricane Katrina and the rescue workers involved.
The US city of New Orleans said goodbye to 2005 with a jazz funeral procession for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Four months after the devastation which killed more than 1,000 people, the southern city welcomed 2006 with concerts and music, putting on a show that officials hope will help draw back the tourists.
Hundreds of American soldiers in Iraq got a special show from "American Idol" singer Diana DeGarmo and other entertainers at Camp Victory in Baghdad.
In London, thousands of partygoers gathered in Trafalgar Square and outside the Houses of Parliament, to hear Big Ben chime midnight. Revelers lined the banks of the River Thames to watch a massive fireworks display set against the backdrop of the giant, futuristic Ferris wheel, the London Eye.
Hundreds of thousands of people in Germany celebrated in chilly temperatures around Berlin's Brandenburg Gate, while the Spanish capital Madrid put on a huge street party.
Revellers in the Australian city of Sydney welcomed in the New Year with a huge firework display. An estimated one million people watched as huge plumes of colour lit up the sky on the stroke of midnight.
Hundreds of thousands of Brazilians gathered on Rio de Janeiro's famed Copacabana Beach for the largest fireworks extravaganza in the city's history. Officials had planned to set off 25 tonnes of fireworks.
In Japan, police said thousands of people were climbing the 12,387-foot, snowcapped Mount Fuji and other mountains before dawn to see the first sunrise of the new year.
In parts of Asia, the threat of terrorism loomed large, and a bombing at a market in Indonesia killed eight people and wounded 45. Meanwhile, in the Philippines, two people were reported killed by bullets fired during celebratory gunfire and two others died after eating a popular sparkler that looks like candy.
VOVNews/BBC/CNN
