[Guest post by DRJ]

Happy New Year from Australia:

“SCORCHING temperatures all across the southeast of the country set the tone for an explosive welcome to 2008 last night, as hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets, parks and beaches to see in the new year.”

From Iraq:

“It was something not seen in Baghdad since before the 2003 invasion—people publicly welcoming a new year with singing, dancing and alcohol-fueled revelry. The ballrooms of two landmark hotels—the Palestine and the Sheraton—were full of people for the first New Year’s Eve celebrations after four years of violence that has bloodied Iraq.”

From Britain:

“In London, where 350,000 turned out for the celebrations, Trafalgar Square filled up early and people lined the Embankment to hear the chimes of Big Ben and get the best view of the annual firework spectacular at the London Eye.”

And from Australia again, because Sydney knows how to do fireworks:

And, finally, from me!

— DRJ