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As arguably the most memorable news year draws to a close, people around the world count down to 2012.
 Residents of Auckland, New Zealand, which is just several hundred kilometres from the international date line, were among the first in the world to welcome the new year [Getty “]  Fireworks light up the skyline over Sydney Harbour during the midnight fireworks session under the theme "Time To Dream" in Sydney, Australia [Getty “]  Activists wear Guy Fawkes masks during New Year's Eve celebrations at Independence Square in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia [AP “]  Malaysians celebrate the start of the new year at Independence Square in Kuala Lumpur [AP “]  Indonesian Muslims pray during a mass prayer event for the nation on New Year's Eve in the area of the National Monument (Monas) in Jakarta [Reuters “]  A visitor looks at a ceremony marking the end of trading for the year at the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Japan's Nikkei average shed 17 per cent in 2011, after natural disasters in March triggered the worst nuclear crisis in 25 years and Europe's debt turmoil drained volumes [Reuters “]  Pakistani Christians hold candles for peace at New Year's eve celebrations in Lahore [AFP “]  Policemen stand at Red Square during New Year celebrations in Moscow. Tens of thousands of people gathered on the Square to celebrate the New Year [AFP “]  Residents of the Austrian capital, Vienna, marked the few hours before the clock struck 12 with celebrations at St Stephen's Cathedral [Reuters “]  Fireworks light the sky above the Quadriga at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany [AP “]  A New Year's Eve fireworks display illuminates the sky over the Dom Tower - the tallest church tower of the Netherlands - in the city of Utrecht [Getty “] =”attachment_39130″ align=”alignleft” width=”600″ caption=”The Times Square New Year’s Eve Ball tested the day before New Year’s Eve is a 11,875-pound Waterford crystal ball descended a 130-foot tall flagpole in New York City to mark the beginning of 2012 [Getty"]“] High school friends in the US state of Connecticut pose for a picture with a ball that was used on a previous New Year's Eve at Times Square in New York [AP  [/caption]
 Thousands of revelers stand behind police barricades as they gather in New York's Times Square to celebrate the ball drop at the annual New Year's Eve celebration [Getty
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 Activists with "Occupy Iowa Caucuses" shout slogans during a march along a street in Des Moines, Iowa. With recent opinion polls showing the top White House contenders separated by single digits, Republican hopefuls have barnstormed the state, planning a dozen New Year's Eve day appearances [AFP
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PDF This post was submitted by Al Jazeera / IM.
