South Korean dancers in traditional costumes perform to celebrate the opening ceremony for the Year 2006 trading at the Korea Exchange in Seoul Monday, Jan. 2, 2006. South Korean Finance and Economy Minister Han Duck-soo said the local economy is on track to a full recovery as fourth-quarter gross domestic product is expected to grow close to a potential rate.
Chinese Buddhists pray at an image of Buddha Monday, Jan. 2, 2006 at Yufo Temple in Shanghai, China. According to the 12 signs of the Chinese zodiac, the year 2006 marks the year of the dog.
A group of swimmers dressed as Santa Claus and his reindeer welcome the start of the new year at the New Year's Day polar bear swim in the waters of English Bay in Vancouver, B.C., Sunday, Jan. 1, 2006.
Jubilant celebrators ring in 2006 as the ball drops and confetti is released in the air in Schouler Park in North Conway, N.H., Sunday, Jan. 1, 2006.
People watch fireworks explode over the Castel dell' Ovo fortress in Naples, southern Italy, early Sunday, Jan. 1, 2006 as they celebrate the start of the new year.
Members of the Universal Cheerleaders Association perform at the annual New Year's Day parade in London's Whitehall, Sunday Jan. 1, 2005. Over one million people attended the London 2005 annual parade and it is seen as one of the world's greatest street events.
A boy looks at pinwheels through the window of a taxi in Bombay, India, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2006.
Overal view of the Golden Hall during the traditional New Year's concert, conducted by Latvian Maestro Mariss Jansons, on Sunday, Jan. 1, 2006, at Vienna's Musikverein.
A Lebanese fisherman welcomes in the New Year in his own way after catching some fish in the Mediterranean Sea of the southern Lebanese city of Sidon on Sunday, Jan. 1, 2006, as he used the caught fish to decorate the numbers 2006 which he wrote on the beach.
A group of actors dance during a performance on the "Street of Open Heart" festival in Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2006. The "Street of Open Heart" is a traditional manifestation that takes place every New Year's Day.
Hundreds of thousands of revelers watch as the year 2006 is brought in with fireworks in New York's Times Square, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2006.
Revealers use cameras to capture the fireworks that flash above Sydney Harbour bridge and Opera House during New Year celebrations in Australia's largest city, Sydney, early Sunday, Jan. 1, 2006.
Hundreds of people celebrate the New Year in the Wroclaw's Old Square in Wroclaw, Poland, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2006, a few seconds after midnight. Some 15,000 people gathered in the square to see in 2006.
Fireworks light up the sky over Zurich, Switzerland, to celebrate the New Year on Sunday, Jan 1, 2006.
Fireworks explode as the Las Vegas Strip is filled with revelers celebrating the beginning of the New Year in Las Vegas on Sunday, Jan.1, 2006.
Piglets Alpina, Fondue and Paeuli compete in the snow in a New Year's piggies race in Klosters, Switzerland, Sunday, Jan.1, 2006.
Duval Street is packed with revelers as "Sushi," as portrayed by female impersonator Gary Marion, is suspended in a large version of a woman's shoe Saturday, Dec. 31, 2005, before being lowered to celebrate the dawn of 2006 in Key West, Fla.
With their arms outstretched, people welcome the first rays of sun of the New Year in the resort city of Cancun, Mexico on Sunday Jan. 1, 2006.
Pope Benedict XVI looks at his pastoral staff as he celebrates a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, in the Vatican, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2006, to mark New Year's Day, which the Catholic Church celebrates annually as its World Day of Peace. The Pontiff warned that terrorism, nihilism and "fanatic fundamentalism" threatened world peace and called for individuals, governments and institutions to work together to combat them.
Performers dance through the street in Philadelphia Sunday, Jan. 1, 2006 during the annual Mummers Parade. Continuing a tradition that dates back in some form to colonial times, more than 10,000 people, including many men in wigs and dresses, strutted in the city's annual parade.