December 31, 2014

Fireworks explode over the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge during New Years Eve celebrations in Sydney, Australia.

Children dressed as snowmen take part in a New Year's parade in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek.

Streetlamps are covered in snow and ice outside a restaurant on the peak of the Feldberg mountain, 20km (12.4 miles) outside of Frankfurt, Germany.

Members of an Indonesian search and rescue team carry a dead body on a stretcher during the recovery of victims who were onboard the crashed AirAsia flight QZ8501 in Pangkalan Bun.

A small group of pro-democracy protesters stage a "die-in" flash mob in a luxurious Hong Kong shopping mall, calling for true universal suffrage for the city in 2017.

In a photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency, schoolchildren perform "We Are the Happiest in the World" at the Central Youth Hall for New Year's Eve festivities in Pyongyang.

A partially collapsed wall at the Morton Salt facility gave way to tons of salt being dumped onto parked cars at an adjacent car dealership in Chicago, Illinois, Dec. 30, 2014.

A performer in a ram costume looks at his phone backstage during a performance in Kunming, Yunnan province, Dec. 30, 2014.

Bosnian people pray in front of coffins during a funeral ceremony for the 127 victims at the Potocari Memorial complex near Srebrenica, 150 kilometers (94 miles) northeast of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

A sea lion paints a Chinese character for "sheep" in calligraphy as part of a New Year's Day attraction at the Hakkeijima Sea Paradise aquarium in Yokohama, suburban Tokyo, Japan.

People walk on a snowy stairs of the Garmisch-Partenkirchen hill before the qualification jump of the second session of the Four-Hills Ski jumping tournament (Vierschanzentournee) in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, southern Germany.

Pakistani tourists ride on a camel during the last sunset of the year at Clifton beach in Karachi.

Students form "2015" standing on snow to welcome the upcoming New Year at Shenyang Agriculture University in Shenyang, Liaoning province, China.

Fireworks explode over Victoria Harbour in Hong Kong. Just like previous years, the city's iconic skyline along Victoria Harbour will light up with an eight-minute pyrotechnic display, as tens of thousdands of partygoers will flock to the waterfront to celebrate the New Year.