Pope Benedict XVI leads his Angelus prayer from the window of his private apartment in Saint Peter’s Square at the Vatican. (Reuters)

Hundreds of holiday makers usher in the new year at the Jomo Kenyatta Public beach Mombasa, Kenya. (AP)

A reveler writes the number 2013 with sparklers ahead of New Year’s Day at an air temperature of about -25 degrees Celsius (-13 F) in a forest outside Russia’s Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, December 31, 2012. (Reuters)

Fireworks explode above Copacabana beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. More than two million people gathered along Rio’s most famous beach to witness the 20-minute display and celebrate the beginning of a new year. (Reuters)

Royal Saudi Air Force jets fly during a graduation ceremony for air force officers at King Faisal Air Academy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Reuters)

Buddhist devotees light oil lamps at Gangaramaya temple as a part of celebrations for the new year in Colombo, Sri Lanka. (Reuters)

Pleasure boats travel on the River Nile during New Year’s Eve celebrations near Tahrir Square in Cairo, Egypt, December 31, 2012. (Reuters)

Firefighters try to extinguish a fire at the Hangzhou Yusei Machinery Co., Ltd in Xiaoshan District in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China. (Reuters)

Czech Republic’s Lukas Hlava crashes during the second jumping of the 61st four-hills ski jumping tournament in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, southern Germany. (Reuters)

People celebrate the New Year at the Piazza San Marco in Venice, Italy. (AFP)

Fireworks are seen over Times Square during New Year celebrations in New York. (Reuters)