World eager to ring in 2023 after chaotic year

Around eight billion people have begun ushering in 2023 and saying goodbye to a turbulent year marked by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, rising inflation and other global developments.

This photograph taken Dec. 31, 2022 shows the Musical fountain's lights during New Year celebrations at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout in Jakarta.

Sydney was among the first major cities to ring in 2023, restaking its claim as the "New Year's Eve capital of the world" after two years of lockdowns and coronavirus-muted festivities.

Preparations go underway for Edinburgh's Hogmanay celebrations to mark the New Year, in Scotland, Britain.

Australia's borders have reopened and throngs of revelers gathered along Sydney's sparkling harbor to watch 100,000 pyrotechnics light up the southern sky.

Revelers attend New Year celebrations at the National Monument in Jakarta.

A crowd that had been projected to surpass one million watched as a spectacular 12-minute display showered the waterway and illuminated the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

People gather to celebrate the new year and await the ball drop in Times Square, New York City.

"It's been a fairly good year for us; getting past Covid of course is great," David Hugh-Paterson, 52, told AFP as he waited in a growing crowd near the Sydney Opera House.

This photograph taken on Jan. 1, 2023 shows fireworks over the Selamat Datang (Welcome) Monument during New Year celebrations at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout in Jakarta.

For some, 2022 was a year of Wordles, the Great Resignation, a new Taylor Swift album, an Oscar slap and billionaire meltdowns.

Revelers wait in the rain at Times Square for the midnight ball drop for the New Year's Eve celebration on December 31, 2022 in New York City. Revelers return to a full scale event after two years of scaled-back celebrations in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

It also saw the deaths of Queen Elizabeth II, Brazilian football icon Pele, Mikhail Gorbachev, Jiang Zemin, and Shinzo Abe. Former pope Benedict XVI also died on New Year's Eve.

The global population surpassed the historic milestone of eight billion people in November.

Revelers attend New Year celebrations next to the Selamat Datang (Welcome) Monument at the Hotel Indonesia roundabout in Jakarta on Jan. 1, 2023.

But 2022 is most likely to be remembered for armed conflict returning to Europe -- a continent that was the crucible of two world wars.

More than 300 days into Russia's botched invasion of Ukraine, about 7,000 civilians have been killed and 10,000 more injured, according to the Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Fireworks in the sky next to the lit-up Lotus Tower during New Year celebrations in Colombo.

About 16 million Ukrainians have fled their homes.

For those who remain, an 11:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. curfew will be in place amid periodic blackouts and Russian missile barrages.

Hundreds of tourists and citizens attend a water and laser show to celebrate the New Year 2023 on the main square in Graz, Austria.

While some Ukrainians will mark New Year with quiet candlelit prayers, others intend to party through the night in a collective show of resolve.

People attend the New Year's celebration in Seoul, South Korea.

A Palestinian family takes a selfie near a lit 2023 sign ahead of New Year's celebrations, in Gaza City

Revelers attend a New Year celebration in Wuhan, in China's central Hubei province.

Fireworks explode over the Chao Phraya River during the New Year celebrations, in Bangkok, Thailand.

People pose for a picture with a lit up 2023 sign at the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

People pose for a picture with a lit up 2023 sign at the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem.

This aerial photo taken on December 31, 2022, shows pedestrians visiting a business area ahead of the new year in Nanning, in China's southern Guangxi region.

A fireworks show over Wat Arun Buddhist temple on the Chao Phraya River during New Year celebrations in Bangkok.

People wait near the Burj Khalifa the world's tallest building in the world, prior to the fireworks of New Year's Eve 2023 celebrations in the Gulf emirate of Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Burj Khalifa the world's tallest building in the world, prior to the fireworks of New Year's Eve 2023 celebrations in the Gulf emirate of Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Crowds of people watch fireworks set off before midnight at the New Year countdown at Marina Bay in Singapore.

Crowds flock to Istanbul's famous Istiklal Avenue on New Year's Eve.