Mary Altaffer / AP
Confetti flies over New York's Times Square as the clock strikes midnight during the New Year's Eve celebration as seen from the balcony of the Marriott Marquis hotel, Saturday, Dec. 31.
See the slideshow of how 2012 was welcomed throughout the world.
Mary Altaffer / AP
A member of the clean up crew clears confetti from Broadway after the New Year's Eve celebration as seen from the balcony of the Marriott Marquis hotel in New York's Times Square, Jan. 1, 2012.
Afolabi Sotunde / Reuters
Women weep over their loved ones who died in the Christmas day bomb explosion at St. Theresa's Catholic church in Madalla, just outside the capital Abuja, Dec. 31. Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan visited the church on Saturday and vowed to "crush the terrorists" who set off a series of bombs across Nigeria on Christmas Day, killing at least 37 people.
AP reports:
The U.S. Embassy had warned U.S. citizens late Friday to exercise caution in Nigeria.
"Violent extremist attacks have continued in various locations, including the states of Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Niger, Plateau, and Yobe, resulting in numerous casualties," the warning read.
Boko Haram's widening terror attacks, though, are only further intensifying religious divisions in Nigeria. In this nation of more than 160 million people, thousands have died in recent years in communal fighting pitting machete-wielding neighbors against each other.
Dan Steinberg / AP
Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters assist a man out of his apartment along with a cage of birds as multiple cars burn in a carport in the Sun Valley neighborhood of Los Angeles on Saturday, Dec. 31. For the third night in a row, a rash of arson fires has sent firefighters scrambling to extinguish car fires in various neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Most of the fires on this night occurred in the San Fernando Valley.
AP reports:
Officials announced at least $35,000 in rewards for information leading to the conviction of the person or persons responsible.
All of Friday's fires were in a 2-square mile area and most were in densely populated residential neighborhoods where residents would likely be asleep.
Mike Meadows / AP
A Los Angeles Fire Department firefighter is shown at a fire in West Hollywood, Calif., on Friday Dec.30.. An arsonist torched car after car early Friday, sending firefighters scrambling to put out more than a dozen blazes in Hollywood and neighboring West Hollywood. The fires started shortly after midnight and occurred over a four-hour span before dawn.
A string of fires in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles were deliberately set, leaving police baffled and firefighters fearful for the safety of residents and their own. NBc's George Lewis reports.
KCNA / AFP - Getty Images
This handout picture taken by North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Dec. 28, 2011 shows the funeral procession for North Korea's late leader Kim Jong-Il arriving at the square of the Kumsusan Memorial Palace in Pyongyang. This picture has created interest, due to the presence of an unusually tall attendee, seen below, lower right, next to the flag pole.
The Telegraph reports:
The "giant soldier" photograph looks less likely to have been manipulated given he can be seen in different images from several angles.
The photo's emergence has led to widespread speculation as to who the soldier might be with, some online commentators suggesting the mystery figure is the 7’ 8” tall North Korean basketball star Ri Myung Hun.
Read the full story here ...
Related:
Despair over Kim Jong Il: Real grief or forced?
AP
News of the North Korean leader's death sparks tears from his followers and concerns around the world as power is handed over to his successor.
Pichi Chuang / Reuters
People cycle their bicycles at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei Dec. 31, 2011.
From Reuters:
Hundreds of thousands people participated in a bike ride around Taiwan on New Year's Eve as part of an attempt to achieve a Guinness World Record of the largest bicycle parade in the world. Various groups began from 1000 starting points around the island and cycled clock-wise towards the next starting point within one hour.
See previous world record PhotoBlog posts and our 2012 Guinness World Record slideshow.
David Moir / Reuters
Up Helly Aa vikings from Lerwick in the Shetland Islands stand with flaming torches during the annual torchlight procession to mark the start of Hogmanay (New Year) celebrations in Edinburgh Dec. 30, 2011. The annual torchlight procession starts at the Parliament Square and finishes with a fireworks display at Calton Hill in Edinburgh.
This appears to be a dress rehearsal for the Up Helly Aa festival, which happens on Tuesday, January 31, 2012 in Lerwick in the Shetland Islands.
© Mariana Bazo / Reuters / REUTERS
We may have different calendars, customs and beliefs, but most of us mark the arrival of a new year. Take a look at the ways cultures around the world celebrate and bring good luck for the year ahead.
Andrew Burton / Getty Images
Republican presidential candidate and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich wipes away a tear while speaking about his deceased mother during a question and answer forum put together by Moms Matter 2012 at Java Joe's, a coffee shop, on Dec. 30, 2011 in Des Moines, Iowa. The GOP presidential contenders are crisscrossing Iowa in the final stretch of campaigning in the state before the January 3rd caucus, the first test the candidates must face before becoming the Republican presidential nominee.
This moment on the campaign trail today reminds a bit of the famous "my mother was a saint" line Richard Nixon uttered in his farewell speech to his staff after resigning the presidency. Newt Gingrich, like Nixon, is known for his hard-nosed political style.
Watch the video below and let us know (via the poll) if you think Gingrich is really being sincere.
While speaking to a group of mom's in Des Moines, Iowa, Newt Gingrich gets choked up while talking about his own mom.
David Guttenfelder / AP
In this April 15, 2011 photo, North Korean children dressed as panda bears prepare to take part in a dance performance to mark the birthday of late leader Kim Il Sung at a park in Pyongyang.
The Associated Press released a series of images today from the last year in North Korea. AP writes:
It's hard to imagine a North Korea without Kim Jong Il, who led the nation for 17 years until his death on Dec. 17. His death marks the end of an era for North Korea, which has known only two leaders: Kim and his father, Kim Il Sung. Already, a new era has begun under the leadership of his young son, Kim Jong Un. Still, Kim Jong Il's presence is felt in every frame of a series of images made by AP photographer David Guttenfelder. During the last months of Kim's life, Guttenfelder, along with AP Korea Bureau Chief Jean H. Lee, made several trips to North Korea.
David Guttenfelder / AP
In this Oct. 24, 2011 photo, North Korean women work at looms at a thread factory in Pyongyang, North Korea.
David Guttenefelder / AP
In this Oct. 11, 2011 photo, a North Korean diners, one holding a pet puppy, enjoy dinner at a restaurant in Pyongyang.
David Guttenfelder / AP
In this Sunday Oct. 9, 2011, a North Korean cashier helps customers at Pyongyang Department Store No. 1 in downtown Pyongyang.
David Guttenfelder / AP
In this Oct. 10, 2011 photo, a North Korean man weeps and holds a hand of a young girl as they stand before a statue of the late North Korean leader Kim Il Sung on the 66th anniversary of the communist nation's ruling Workers' Party in Pyongyang.
See more of David Guttenfelder's images from North Korea in this slideshow, and previously in PhotoBlog.
Related: North Korea in PhotoBlog.
Kai Pfaffenbach / Reuters
A combination of six pictures shows Norway's Tom Hilde crashing during the final of the first event of the 60th four-hills ski jumping tournament in Oberstdorf, December 30, 2011. Austria's Gregor Schlierenzauer won the competition ahead of his compatriots Andreas Kofler and Thomas Morgenstern.
Daniel Karmann / EPA
Norway's Tom Hilde is stretchered away following a crash during the second round, at the Schattenberg ski-jump at the 60th Four Hills Tournament in Obertsdorf, Germany on Friday.
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How Hwee Young / EPA
Participants take part in a pillow fight party in the One Club in Beijing.
How Hwee Young / EPA
Participants hold up pillows as they watch a rock band performing at a pillow fight party in the One Club in Beijing, China on Friday. Revelers consisting mainly of young Chinese white collar workers and students enjoy a good pillow bash to blow of steam at the capital city's first pillow fight party ahead of the new year celebrations on 30 December. Pillow fight parties are gaining popularity among young office workers and students in China as an outlet for stress release as they face increasing pressure at work and school.
How Hwee Young / EPA
Participants throw up their pillows in the air at a pillow fight party in the One Club in Beijing.
Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Left to right, Dan Greteman and his daughter Kiran Greteman, 9, of West Des Moines; David Lister of Cumming, Georgia; and Greg Finch and his children Lizzy Finch, 8, and Ben Finch, 7, of Waukee, Iowa, wait for the arrival of former Massachusetts Governor and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney before the start of a campaign rally at a Hy Vee supermarket Dec. 30, in West Des Moines, Iowa. Despite cold wind and rain, hundreds of Romney supporters came out to see the candidate just days before the "first in the nation" Iowa Caucuses.
Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Marcella Yochum, center, and her son Scott Yochum of West Des Moines take shelter under a camoflauge sleeping bag while waiting for the arrival of former Massachusetts Governor and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney before the start of a campaign rally at a Hy Vee supermarket December 30, 2011 in West Des Moines, Iowa.
Adnan Abidi / Reuters
Muslims offer evening prayers inside a mosque in New Delhi, India. Dec.30.
Bulent Kilic / AFP - Getty Images
Kurds carry the coffins of victims of a Turkish air raid, outside Uludere Hospital in Uludere, Sirnak province, on Dec. 30. The weeping mourners accompanied the coffins to the cemetery in Gulyazi village, near the Iraqi border, from the nearby town of Uludere where a service was held at the mosque.
Bulent Kilic / AFP - Getty Images
Women mourn for victims of a Turkish air raid, at the cemetery of Gulyazi Village, Sirnak province, near the Iraqi border, on Dec. 30. Thousands of Kurds buried 35 civilians killed in a Turkish air raid and branded Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan a murderer.
AP reports:
Thousands of mourners gathered in southeast Turkey on Friday for the funerals of 35 Kurdish civilians who were killed in a botched raid by Turkish military jets that mistook the group for Kurdish rebels based in Iraq.
Turkish television footage showed people, many weeping and lamenting the dead, as they gathered after the air strikes Wednesday that killed a group of smugglers along the border, one of the deadliest episodes in the conflict between the Turkish state and Kurdish rebels who took up arms in 1984. Continue reading...
Detroit's struggles with a declining population and the near-death of the U.S. auto industry are well documented, but less well known are the travails of the local Catholic church, the latest institution in this failing city to face up to downsizing.
Reuters photographer Mark Blinch and reporter John Stoll visited two churches in the run-up to Christmas, one abandoned, another under threat of closure.
Mark Blinch / Reuters
The inside of the Martyrs of Uganda Catholic Church, which closed in 2006, is seen in Detroit on Dec. 18, 2011. When a Catholic church closes, the land and buildings go back to the archdiocese. The neighboring parishes can come and take their pick of relics or ecclesiastical equipment. If a new tenant doesn't materialize, criminals sometimes do. Thieves often strip the building of copper or pluck out stained glass.
Mark Blinch / Reuters
A damaged organ at the abandoned Martyrs of Uganda Catholic Church.
The Martyrs of Uganda church, closed by the archdiocese in 2006, is today littered with rubble, collapsed confessionals and a broken organ. Moss grows on its floors. The windows are gone and support pillars are crumbling because stones have been removed.
Mark Blinch / Reuters
Chris Mitchell walks up the stairs at the St. Leo Catholic Church, which was built more than 120 years ago.
Mark Blinch / Reuters
People stand as they take part in the Sunday mass at the St. Leo Catholic Church in Detroit on Dec. 18, 2011. St. Leo, located in one of the most abandoned pockets of the nation's most depressed city, is operating on life support.
The second church they visited, St. Leo, is on life support. It remains an integral part of the community, helping to keep its neighborhood afloat with a soup kitchen as well as free medical and dental care for local residents. But it is among nine parishes earmarked for closure in the Detroit area within the next few years.
Mark Blinch / Reuters
Larry Finklea eats his lunch at the soup kitchen in the basement of the St. Leo Catholic Church.
Mark Blinch / Reuters
Jerry McCullough, left, gets a check up by Dr. Ed Jelonek, who is working on his own free time, at the Order of Malta Medical and Dental Clinic for low income Michigan residents in the basement of St. Leo Catholic Church.
The archdiocese has cut its parish count in Detroit's city limits to 59, down from 79 in 2000. The man in charge of the downsizing is Archbishop Allen Vigneron, who says he understands what's on the line at St. Leo and other churches.
"I am very attentive to the good work that the Holy Spirit has already got us doing ... it's not my job to rip that apart, it's my job to keep these good things going in the future," he said.
Mark Blinch / Reuters
A woman walks past the St. Leo Catholic Church, which is among nine parishes earmarked for closure in the Detroit area within the next few years.
Mark Blinch / Reuters
A woman prays during the Sunday mass at the St. Leo Catholic Church.
Read John Stoll's full report, Dark holiday in Detroit as church downsizes, and see more of Mark Blinch's pictures at Reuters' Photographers Blog.
Mohammed Salem / Reuters
Palestinians carry the body of militant Momen Abu Daf during his funeral in Gaza City, Dec. 30. Israel killed the leader of an al-Qaida-inspired faction in the Gaza Strip on Friday, accusing him of involvement in firing rockets and a planned attack on the Jewish state from the neighboring Egyptian Sinai.
Israel killed the leader of an al-Qaida-inspired faction in the Gaza Strip on Friday, accusing him of involvement in firing rockets and a planned attack on the Jewish state from the neighboring Egyptian Sinai.
The deadly air strike was Israel's second against a Salafi Islamist militant this week. Militants identified him as Momen Abu Daf, chief of the Army of Islam, among a loose network of Palestinian groups which profess allegiance to al Qaeda and have been reinforced by volunteers who slip in from the Sinai. Full story.
Morteza Nikoubazl / Reuters
EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.
Parvin Ahmadinejad,center, sister of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, speaks to the media while registering as a candidate for Iran's 2012 parliamentary election at the Interior Ministry building in Tehran, Dec. 30. Candidates began registering for Iran's parliamentary elections in March, the first litmus test of the clerical establishment's popularity since the 2009 disputed presidential vote.
The Turkish Weekly reports:
Parvin Ahmadinejad, who is currently a member of Tehran City Council, told the Mehr News Agency that she is fielding her candidacy for the March parliamentary elections from Garmsar (Semnan Province).
On the sitting parliament's attempt to impeach the president, she said that "our president is a justice-seeker and I do not agree with his impeachment." Continue reading...
From AP:
The March 2 elections will be the first nationwide balloting since Ahmadinejad's disputed re-election in 2009, which the opposition said was heavily rigged. That vote set off months of near-daily protests in which hundreds of thousands took to the streets in support of opposition leader Mir Hossein
Mousavi who they claimed was the rightful winner.
Philippe Huguen / AFP - Getty Images
People carry a man on a stretcher as they take part in a traditional sea bath during New Year's celebrations on Jan. 1, 2011 at Malo-Les-Bains beach in Dunkirk, France.
New Year's Day quickly approaches and with it the pressure to make this coming one the best year ever. We all have different traditions we believe will help us achieve this goal. Some more than others. My family comes from Peru, where there is a long list of essential New Year's customs that are guaranteed to bring you health, wealth, love, prosperity... you name it. This usually begins with the yellow underwear. Yellow is considered a lucky color that symbolizes hope and happiness. It is no coincidence that it is the same color as the Sun. By ringing in the new year while wearing yellow underwear you encourage good luck to come your way. You then proceed to:
Mariana Bazo / Reuters
We may have different calendars, customs and beliefs, but most of us mark the arrival of a new year. Take a look at the ways cultures around the world celebrate and bring good luck for the year ahead.
While everyone has different ways of bringing in good luck, there are also some common themes that run through the various customs. Water is involved in several traditions. This can be attributed to the fact that water is associated with cleansing and rebirth. In Thailand, during the Songkran festival celebrating the New Year, complete strangers splash water on each other throughout the streets. While this is certainly aided by the fact that the Thai New Year takes place during the hottest time of the year, the tradition began with people pouring fragrant water on their Buddha images as a New Year cleansing. This "blessed" water was then gently poured over family members for good fortune.
Noel Celis / AFP - Getty Images
Roasted pigs at a store in Manila, Philippines on Dec. 23, 2010. Pork and ham are also a very popular New Year's food in Austria, Germany, and Sweden, among others. The pig is known for rooting forward for food with their snouts, and their feet planted. This is seen as a symbol of moving forward in the new year.
During Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, people visit an open body of water to cast away their sins of the past year. Typically, the sins are represented by small pieces of food that are thrown into the water.
One of the most popular water-related traditions is the New Year's plunge into icy water. In New York City's Coney Island, thousands gather on Jan. 1 to run into the Atlantic Ocean as part of the Polar Bear Club's yearly tradition. The same happens all over Europe.
It can be said that most of these traditions ultimately are about getting rid of negativity and starting anew. Hence, the desire to scare away evil spirits through dragons and drum beats (Chinese New Year), dressing up in costumes (Switzerland), or fireballs (Scotland).
To see what others do on New Year's see our slideshow: New Year's traditions around the world.
What New Year's traditions will you be doing this year? Do you think it makes a difference? Leave your comments below.
Prakash Singh / AFP - Getty Images
South Korean Kim Young-Shik, a lookalike of the late North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, shows newspaper clippings in his shop in Seoul on Dec. 26, 2011.
Prakash Singh / AFP - Getty Images
Kim Young-Shik poses in front of his print shop in Seoul on Dec. 26, 2011.
He's been cursed in the street, appeared in a movie and perfected the wave of North Korea's "Dear Leader". Now Kim Jong Il's leading look-alike feels that part of himself died along with the late ruler, Agence France Presse (AFP) reports.
South Korean shopkeeper Kim Young-Shik has been impersonating Kim Jong Il for over 15 years, making appearances in advertisements and at birthday parties and even singing at weddings.
NBC News' Ian Williams visited the pot-bellied pseudo dictator at his shop in Seoul just over a year ago, when the signs were already looking ominous for his acting career. Now, he wistfully admits that it may be time to hang up his dark glasses, and for a younger man to step forward to play the role of the new "Great Leader", Kim Jong Un.
"I feel very empty," he told AFP. "I'd like to do more acting as Kim Jong Il, but they'll find someone new for Jong Un. They asked if my son looked like him but he doesn't or I would have sent him to an audition,'' he said.
Related content:
The North Korean leader has a Seoul brother in the South, who, until recently, made a very good living impersonating the Dear Leader. NBC's Ian Williams reports in December, 2010.
AP
News of the North Korean leader's death sparks tears from his followers and concerns around the world as power is handed over to his successor.
Aijaz Rahi / AP
People walk past fallen sign boards and other trash caused by heavy winds in Pondicherry, India, on Dec. 30, 2011. India's weather office has warned residents along parts of the country's southeastern coast that Cyclone Thane is likely to cause heavy rains and gale-force winds.
Aijaz Rahi / AP
People take shelter during heavy rain and wind in Pondicherry on Dec. 30, 2011.
Aijaz Rahi / AP
Motorcyclists drive past fallen trees during heavy rain and winds in Pondicherry on Dec. 30, 2011.
The Associated Press reports from NEW DELHI:
A cyclone brought heavy rains and gale-force winds to India's southeastern coast, killing at least 11 people, uprooting trees and damaging homes.
The India Meteorological Department said Friday morning that Cyclone Thane was centered in the Indian Ocean, 22 miles southwest of the town of Pondicherry. Continue reading.
Cyclone Thane has brought heavy rains and gale-force winds to India's southeastern coast, killing at least 11 people. Msnbc's Richard Lui reports.
Raminder Pal Singh / EPA
A Sikh boy displays his skills with a 'Chakkar' as he performs 'Gatka,' an ancient form of Sikh martial art, as he takes part in a religious procession which started from the Golden Temple, the holiest of Sikh shrines, in the northern Indian city of Amritsar on Dec. 30, 2011. The religious procession was taken out on the eve of the 346th birth anniversary of the tenth Guru or master of the Sikhs, Sri Guru Gobind Singh Ji. Guru Gobind Singh Ji was the last Sikh Guru who initiated the special order or sect of the Sikhs called the 'Khalsa Panth.'
Richel Umel / AFP - Getty Images
A Philippine Air Force helicopter airlifts relief goods to a remote village of Dulag, Iligan City on Dec. 30, 2011.
Agence France Presse reports:
Tens of thousands of flash flood survivors in the Philippines face life in tent cities for months while safe areas to resettle them are sought, top relief officials said on Dec. 26. More than 60,000 people displaced by tropical storm Washi are sheltering in government buildings in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan cities, most of them in schools that reopen after the holidays, civil defence chief Benito Ramos said.
See more images of the effects of Typhoon Washi on PhotoBlog and in the slideshow below.
Charlie Saceda / Reuters
Over 1000 people are killed in flash floods, landslides following a tropical storm.
Jason Reed / Reuters
U.S. President Barack Obama lays a wreath at the memorial to USS Arizona in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, December 29, 2011.
Jamie Squire / Getty Images
Prince Okoroh #3 of the Howard Bison loses the ball as Elijah Johnson #15 of the Kansas Jayhawks defends during the game on Dec. 29, 2011 at Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence, Kansas.
AP reports: LAWRENCE, Kan. - Howard knew what it was getting into when it scheduled a two-game swing through the Sunflower State. It can only hope to fare better against Kansas State than it did at No. 17 Kansas.
Prince Okoroh had seven points and six rebounds to lead the Bison, who fell 89-34 to the Jayhawks on Thursday night. Howard watched as the bigger, stronger team from the Big 12 raced out to a double-digit lead in the opening minutes and never looked back as it prepped for conference play.
"We got our butts kicked," Howard coach Kevin Nickelberry said.
AP
People line up to buy train tickets at Changsha Railway Station in Changsha, in southern China's Hunan province. Million of Chinese are expected to cramp onto China's train network in the coming weeks to return home for the Chinese lunar new year that starts on Jan. 23, 2012.
Chinese bullet trains are pretty amazing, but how about some online ticket sales?
AP reports: BEIJING — Chinese Internet users accused the government Thursday of failing to take responsibility for a deadly bullet train crash after it said 54 officials were to blame but none would face criminal charges.
"It looks like they found some scapegoats to fire," said a note posted on the popular Sina Weibo microblogging service.
The government said Wednesday that design flaws and mismanagement caused the July 23 crash that killed 40 people and ignited a public outcry about the high costs and dangers of such prestige projects. It said officials including a former railway minister who had been fired before the crash were to blame and would face reprimands and demotions.
AP
Travelers line up to buy train tickets at a railway station in Hefei, in central China's Anhui province.
Related:
China plans further cut to railway spending
Luis Romero / AP
Maria Ponce, 78, waves to passersby as she stands in the doorway of her home that is constructed from recycled plastic bottles, near El Transito, El Salvador, Thursday Dec. 29, 2011. Ponce, who did not have money to build a traditional house, says in 2005 a dream revealed to her to fashion a home from plastic bottles, which took 3 months. Ponce and her 102-year-old companion survive on about 10 dollars a week which they make from their corn crop and donations from tourists making the journey to see "La Casita Encantada," or "The Enchanted Cottage."
If you have lemons, make lemonade.
Luis Romero / AP
Prudencio Amaya, 102, and his companion Maria Ponce, 78, stand in front of their home's facade, constructed from recycled plastic bottles, near El Transito, El Salvador, Thursday Dec. 29, 2011.
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