Best pictures from January 1
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.PILAR OLIVARES/Reuters
Confetti is dropped on revelers at midnight during New Year celebrations in Times Square in New York.GARY HERSHORN/Reuters
North Koreans pay their respects in front of the statues of the North's founder Kim Il-sung and late leader Kim Jong-il on the first day of the new year in Pyongyang.KCNA/Reuters
A woman gets her forehead painted by a Hindu priest to welcome the year 2013 on the banks of the river Ganges in Allahabad, India.JITENDRA PRAKASH/Reuters
Afghan men ride horses in the snow on the shores of Lake Qargha in Kabul, Afghanistan.Ahmad Jamshid/The Associated Press
A man dives into the Tiber River from the Cavour bridge, as part of traditional New Year celebrations in Rome, Italy.TONY GENTILE/Reuters
Firefighters try to extinguish a fire at the Hangzhou Yusei Machinery Co. Ltd. in Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China. Three firemen died while trying to extinguish a factory blaze which broke out in the early hours of Tuesday.CHINA DAILY/Reuters
Children play near the fire to keep themselves warm on a cold evening at Kathmandu, Nepal.NAVESH CHITRAKAR/Reuters
Palestinian protesters throw stones near burning tires during clashes with Israeli security officers in the West Bank village of Tamoun. Clashes broke out after an Israeli military operation in the village on Tuesday.AMMAR AWAD/Reuters
Pakistani family members comfort their children who are suffering from measles, at a local hospital in Sukkar, Pakistan. Pakistani officials say they have launched an immunization campaign to reach children in the worst-hit areas.Fareed Khan/The Associated Press
Activists of the Svoboda (Freedom) Ukrainian nationalist party hold torches as they take part in a rally to mark the 104th anniversary of the birth of Stepan Bandera, one of the founders of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists, in Kiev.GLEB GARANICH/Reuters
Norway's Anders Jacobsen speeds down the ski jump to win the the second jumping of the 61st four-hills ski jumping tournament in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.KAI PFAFFENBACH/Reuters
Buddhist devotees light oil lamps at Gangaramaya temple as a part of celebrations for the new year in Colombo, Sri Lanka.DINUKA LIYANAWATTE/Reuters
The New Year's day holiday brings Egyptian children out to play on the street in the affluent neighbourhood of Zamalek, Cairo, Egypt.Amr Nabil/The Associated Press
A man dressed as a penguin enters the water while taking part in the Coney Island Polar Bear Club's annual New Year's Day Polar Bear Swim in New York's Coney Island. The Coney Island Polar Bear Club is the oldest winter bathing organization in the U.S.ANDREW KELLY/Reuters
Thousands of dippers take part in the World Vision Canada Polar Bear dip, the largest charitable dip in Canada, at Coronation Park in Oakville, Ontario.J.P. MOCZULSKI/The Globe and Mail
Buildings atop Burnaby Mountain are seen above the fog in this view from Cypress Mountain in West Vancouver,.ANDY CLARK/Reuters
Toronto Mayor Rob Ford (left) and Councillors Doug Holyday and Paula Fletcher wipe their hands after using hand sanitizer while greeting Torontonians during the Mayor's New Year's Levee at Toronto's City Hall.Chris Young/The Globe and Mail