The world welcomes 2012

Ryan Keegan, of the Queens borough of New York, and his girlfriend Lauren Chicoine, of Bennington, N.H., share a kiss as they celebrate the new year shortly after midnight in New York's Times Square Jan. 1, 2012.

Confetti flies over New York's Times Square as the clock strikes midnight during a New Year's Eve celebration as seen from the balcony of the Marriott Marquis hotel Jan. 1, 2012.

Lady Gaga performs during the New Year's Eve celebration at Times Square Dec. 31, 2011, in New York.

People welcome the New Year at the Constitution Square in Warsaw, Poland, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012.

Fireworks explode in the sky over Bucharest, Romania, at midnight, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012, during street celebrations of the New Year. Large crowds gathered downtown in Romania's capital taking advantage of the dry weather to attend the celebrations.

AP Photo/Atlanta Journal & Constitution, Hyosub Shin

Derrick Lindsey, of Atlanta, and his girlfriend, Jasmine Young of Birmingham, Ala., kiss as the Peach comes down in Atlanta, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012. Thousands gathered at Underground Atlanta to share their New Year's wishes while attending Underground Atlanta for the 2012 New Year's Eve Peach Drop.

Fireworks explode over Lake Michigan in Chicago on Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012.

A man videos fireworks exploding in the sky over the Ebrie lagoon during New Year celebrations in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, on January 1, 2012.

Fireworks light up the sky over the Las Vegas Strip Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012 in this view from the House of Blues Foundation Room at Mandalay Bay.

Spectators at Gas Works Park watch fireworks light up the iconic Space Needle as the New Year begins on Sunday, January 1, 2011 in Seattle.

AP Photo/Angus M. Thuermer Jr./Jackson Hole News And Guide

Fireworks explode over Jackson, Wyo., on New Year's Eve Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011, as the town celebrates at the base of the Snow King Mountain ski area.

People gather to celebrate New Year on the Red Square in Moscow on January 1, 2012. Tens of thousands of people gathered on the square to celebrate the New Year, and view the fireworks as the clock on the Kremlin's Spassky Tower chimed midnight.

New Year's Eve fireworks illuminate the sky over the Dom Tower on January 1, 2012 in Utrecht, Netherlands. Built in Gothic style, the tower, part of the Cathedral of Saint Martin, is the symbol of the city of Utrecht.

Thousands of Egyptian Muslims and Coptic Christians attend a celebration on New Year's eve in Tahrir Square in Cairo, on December 31, 2011, as they remember those killed in the revolution that ended the long reign of President Hosni Mubarak.

Michelle Ferreira, left, and Sayra Green take part in the New Year's Eve festivities in Times Square Dec. 31, 2011, in New York.

Fireworks explode over the Houses of Parliament, including St. Stephen's Tower, which holds the bell known as Big Ben, as London celebrates the arrival of New Year's Day Jan. 1, 2012.

Revelers celebrate New Year's Day on the Champs Elysees in Paris Jan. 1, 2012, with the Arc de Triomphe in the background.

Fireworks light the sky above the Cathedral Square in Vilnius, Lithuania, during the New Year celebrations on January 1, 2012.

Ethan Miller/Getty Images for The Cosmopolitan

Violinist Caitlin Moe performs at The Chandelier at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas on New Year's Eve January 1, 2012 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

A worshipper burns joss sticks to pay her first visit of the year at Jade Temple on Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012 in Shanghai, China.

One of six professional base jumpers from around the world leaped off the Observation Deck of the Marina Bay Sands "SkyPark" to mark the start of the new year in Singapore, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012.

People run to take part in a traditional sea bath during the New Year's celebrations on January 1, 2012 at Malo-Les-Bains beach in Dunkirk, northern France.

Iraqi Kurds watch fireworks lighting up the sky on New Year's Eve in the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan Arbil at midnight on January 1, 2012.

Revelers celebrate New Year's on the Champs Elysees avenue in Paris Jan. 1, 2012, in front of the Arc de Triomphe.

Fireworks light the sky above the Quadriga at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin shortly after midnight, greeting the New Year Jan. 1, 2012.

Fireworks light the sky above Cathedral Square in Vilnius, Lithuania, shortly after midnight in celebration of the New Year Jan. 1, 2012.

Fireworks explode over the ancient Acropolis Hill with the Parthenon temple during New Year's celebrations in Athens Jan. 1, 2012.

Russians celebrate the New Year on Red Square in Moscow, with the Kremlin in the background, right, and St. Basil's cathedral on left, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012. Tens of thousands of people gathered on the square to celebrate the New Year, and view the fireworks as the clock on the Kremlin's Spassky Tower (right) struck midnight.

A man lights an "Old Man" effigy which symbolizes burning the past and getting ready to start a happy New Year without bad memories of the past, in Mumbai, India, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012.

Malaysians watch fireworks explode during the New Year's celebrations at Independence Square in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012.

Revelers smile during the New Year celebrations in Hong Kong's Times Square Sunday, Jan 1, 2012.

Visitors are showered with confetti as they celebrate a light show at the Temple of Heaven during the New Year Countdown Ceremony in Beijing, China, Sunday, Jan 1 2012.

People gather to celebrate the New Year at the Temple of Heaven, Beijing's historic landmark, on January 1, 2012. Spectacular fireworks and crowded parties will ring in the New Year for revelers around the world, as billions mark the end of 2011 with noisy celebrations.

A fireworks display explodes off Taiwan's tallest skyscraper, Taipei101, to usher in the New Year, Saturday, Jan. 1, 2012 in Taipei.

Thousands of revelers troop to the capital's largest shopping mall to watch the fireworks display welcoming the New Year, Sunday, Jan.1, 2012 in Manila, Philippines.

Fireworks explode in the sky over downtown Jakarta during the New Year 2012 celebrations on December 31, 2011.

South Koreans in traditional costumes perform in celebration of the New Year, near the border village of Panmunjom that separates the two Koreas, at Imjingak Pavilion in Paju, South Korea, Sunday, Jan. 2012.

South Koreans view the burning of Daljips, a wooden hut built on top of a hill, to celebrate the New Year, near the border village of Panmunjom that separates the two Koreas, at Imjingak Pavilion in Paju, South Korea, Sunday, Jan. 2012.

Ayano rings in the New Year at Sensoji temple in the Asakusa district in Tokyo, Japan, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012.

Young people celebrate New Year's Day at Tokyo's Shibuya district on January 1, 2012. Thousands of people exchanged greetings for the New Year.

A kaleidoscope of fireworks designed by Marc Newson explode over the Sydney Opera House (L) and the Sydney Harbor Bridge on January 1, 2012. More than one and a half million Sydneysiders lined the harbor vantage points to watch the spectacular pyrotechnic display usher in the New Year.

A kaleidoscope of fireworks designed by Marc Newson explode over the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge on January 1, 2012. More than one and a half million Sydneysiders lined the harbor's vantage points to watch the spectacular pyrotechnic display usher in the New Year.

Men dressed as Vikings lead a torchlight procession along Princess Street for the start of the New Year celebrations December 30, 2011 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Thousands of people joined in the parade, followed by the burning of a Viking long ship, to mark the start of Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations.

Young Sri Lankan boys play with firecrackers on the eve of the New Year, as the sun sets in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011.

New Year revelers around the planet welcomed 2012 in a blaze of fireworks and parties, temporarily banishing the misery of extreme weather which has struck countries across the world.

Indian men carry a giant kite to hang on the facade of a building housing a kite shop to welcome the New Year in Ahmadabad, India, Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011.

Buddhist monks walk past Thais waiting for a mass prayer to begin as part of a New Year celebration in Bangkok, Thailand Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011.

A model wearing a pair of 2012-shaped glasses smiles during a promotional event outside the "Times Square shopping mall," in Hong Kong, December 30, 2011. A popular New Year countdown venue, the mall is preparing for the upcoming celebrations where they expect over ten thousand people to attend.

A monk strikes a bell hanging from a crane with a hammer, to celebrate the upcoming New Year, at a Buddhist temple in Kesennuma, Miyagi prefecture, northern Japan, Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011.

The bell was found 30 meters away amid debris from the March 11 tsunami.

The Times Square New Year's Eve Ball is tested the day before, on December 30, 2011 in New York City. The 11,875-pound Waterford crystal ball will descend a 130-foot tall flagpole to mark the beginning of 2012.

All those balloons in Times Square have to come from somewhere - HERE, at the One Times Square Building, where workers tirelessly prepare for New York City's New Year's Eve celebration, Friday, Dec. 30, 2011, in New York.

AP Photo/Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Jason Getz

Gary Seputis, top, and Clint Hornsby, employees of Entertainment Design Group, work on attaching two leaves to a giant fiberglass and foam peach, in preparation for the 2012 Peach Drop at Underground Atlanta, Friday, Dec. 30, 2011, in Atlanta. The Peach Drop is the 23rd annual New Year's Eve celebration at Underground Atlanta.

Seputis, a project manager for EDG, said the last several years the Peach only had one leaf and this year a second was added.

A kiss for Kris Kringle: The Russian Santa Claus, Ded Moroz, and his companion Snegurochka (Snow Maiden), smooch during a New Year parade in Kyrgyzstan's capital of Bishkek, December 31, 2011.

New Year was the biggest informal holiday of the year in the former Soviet Union, and remains very popular in the predominantly Muslim Central Asian nation.

Indian artist Harwinder Singh Gill displays a creation made with 250 small flags of different countries reading "Happy New Year 2012," on New Year's Eve in Amritsar, India, December 31, 2011.

Acrobats stack themselves up on a bicycle in front of a background featuring a Chinese traditional Dragon during a celebration for the upcoming New Year, in Beijing, December 31, 2011.

Thousands of biodegradable balloons are released by Sao Paulo's Commercial Association at Patio do Colegio, site of this Brazilian city's foundation back in 1554, on December 30, 2011. The workers of the association started releasing balloons in 1992, and it has now turned into tradition for celebrating New Year.

Young indigenous Gurung children in traditional attire take part in a New Year's celebration known as "Tamu Lhosar," in Kathmandu, December 30, 2011. The Gurung ethnic group are indigenous people of Nepal's mountainous valleys and have a population of 700,000, or three percent of the Himalayan nation's population.

Amulets - known in the Andean world as "Ekekos" and used to bring luck - are displayed at the Market of Wishes in Lima, Peru, Friday, Dec. 30, 2011. The fair sells "object-wishes" in miniature for the upcoming year.

AP Photo/The Anchorage Daily News, Erik Hill

Zhe An puts the finishing touches on a panel of ice surrounding the fountain while helping prepare for Saturday's NECA/IBEW Fire & Ice New Year's Eve Celebration, on Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011 in Town Square in Anchorage, Alaska.

Children of migrant workers lie on the snow to form the number "2012" while celebrating the coming New Year in front of a snow sculpture in Harbin, in northeastern China's Heilongjiang province, Friday, Dec. 30, 2011.

Pakistani Christians hold candles for peace at New Year's Eve celebrations in Lahore on December 31, 2011.

A woman offers a rose to Yemanja, the Goddess of the Sea of the Afro-American religion Umbanda, on December 31, 2011 at a Paranoa Lake beach in Brasi

A Pakistani barber gives a 2012 haircut on a man to celebrate the New Year, at a barber shop in Rawalpindi, December 31, 2011.

People pass festive lights on the eve of New Year in the western city of Manisa, Turkey, Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011.

Georgian girls dressed in traditional costumes smile during a festivities in downtown Tbilisi, Georgia, Saturday, Dec. 31, 2011.

Visitors crowd in front of a stage erected in front of Berlin's landmark Brandenburg Gate, where one of the country's biggest New Year's Parties is scheduled, on December 31, 2011. Organizers expect hundreds of thousands of spectators to watch concerts featuring about 30 artists and fireworks.

People watch the rising sun on New Year's day at the tsunami-struck Yuriage district of Natori city in Miyagi prefecture on January 1, 2012. People celebrated the New Year and prayed for victims of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.

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