Indonesia sharia stronghold bans New Year's festivitiesIslamic police in Indonesia's sharia stronghold seized thousands of firecrackers and cardboard trumpets after the city administration banned New Year's Eve celebrations for the first time, an official said Tuesday.
31 December 2013
New Year on ice as weather stalls Antarctic air-sea rescueAn icebound Russian research vessel prepared to ring in the New Year in remote Antarctica Tuesday as blizzards hampered a helicopter rescue planned after several icebreaking attempts failed.
31 December 2013
Royal baby birth doctor knighted, Beckham snubbedThe gynaecologist who helped deliver the first child of Prince William and his wife Kate was given a knighthood and veteran actress Angela Lansbury was made a dame in Britain's New Year Honours List released Tuesday.
China holiday retail sales jump 15%: government China on Saturday said retail sales jumped nearly 15 percent on-year during the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, as consumers splurged on jewellery, clothes and food.
16 February 2013
Year of Snake sees serpent sales soar in Hong Kong As Hong Kong prepares to usher in the Year of the Snake, an increasing number of the reptiles are slithering their way into local households, with sales of the uncuddly pet rocketing.
Record 40,000 Dutch in New Year North Sea dip A record 40,000 people braved icy temperatures on the Netherlands's North Sea coast Tuesday to take a cold plunge, setting a new record for the traditional New Year's Day dip.
02 January 2013
60 dead in New Year's stampede in Ivory Coast The Ivory Coast on Wednesday began three days of national mourning after a stampede among crowds gathered for celebratory New Year's Eve fireworks in Abidjan left at least 60 dead and dozens injured.
02 January 2013
Venezuela frets over ill Chavez as 2013 begins Somber Venezuelans began 2013 fretting over their ubiquitous and garrulous leader Hugo Chavez, wondering what the future holds as the president wages a tough battle with cancer in a Havana hospital.
02 January 2013
Syria ushers in New Year with more violence Syrians woke up to air strikes near Damascus on New Year's Day and the closure of Aleppo airport after repeated rebel attacks, casting doubts on efforts to end the 21-month conflict.
02 January 2013
Globe greets 2013 in rolling New Year's party A million people crammed into New York's Times Square on Tuesday to greet the New Year in a global party that kicked off in Australia before rolling around the world in a non-stop chain of firework displays.
02 January 2013
World to welcome in New Year with a bangSydney will Monday kick off a wave of dazzling firework displays welcoming in 2013 from Dubai to Paris and London, with long-isolated Yangon joining the global pyrotechnics for the first time.
31 December 2012
Tour de France champ Wiggins knighted in New Year honours Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins led a parade of Olympic champions whose achievements in a remarkable summer of sport in Britain were recognised in the New Year Honours list on Saturday.