24 hours in pictures

Allahabad, India: A Hindu holy man paints his forehead with a sunrise as part of the new year celebrations on the banks of the river Ganges Photograph: Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP

Cape Town, South Africa: A firefighter douses flames on Signal Hill as hot dry conditions coupled with strong winds fanned blazes Photograph: Mike Hutchings/Reuters

Edinburgh, Scotland: Men dressed as Vikings lead the torchlight procession as it makes its way along Princess Street for the start of the four-day celebrations Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Edinburgh, Scotland: Revellers gather on Calton Hill for the start of the New Year celebrations Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images

Gaza City: A young Hamas supporter holds an Islamic Resistance Movement flag amid the rubble of a destroyed building during a rally marking the second anniversary of Israel's three-week offensive on Gaza in which more than 1,000 Palestinians were killed between late 2008 and early 2009 Photograph: Mahmud Hams/AFP/Getty Images

Gisborne, New Zealand: Children dive into the water to cool off in the hot weather Photograph: Hannah Johnston/Getty Images

Kandahar province, Afghanistan: US sergeant Frank Boltze lifts weights as sergeant Kevin Baker spots him at JFM camp in the Zari district of Afghanistan Photograph: Behrouz Mehri/AFP/Getty Images

Allahabad, India: An Indian linesman repairs high tension wires on the banks of the river Ganges Photograph: Rajesh Kumar Singh/AP

Moscow, Russia: Russian President Dmitry Medvedev delivers a speech during an awarding ceremony in the Kremlin Photograph: Alexander Natruskin/AP

Oberhof, Germany: A man walks past trees covered in snow and frost. The winter sport resort in the Thuringian Forest is to host the Tour de Ski cross country event taking place on 31 December 2010 and 1 January 2011 Photograph: Robert Michael/AFP/Getty Images

Punjab, India: An Indian Sikh employee cleans the floor around the fog-shrouded Golden Temple in Amritsar Photograph: Narinder Nanu/AFP/Getty Images

Srinagar, India: A Kashmiri boy stands with his mouth open to eat snow. Snowfall in the Indian portion of Kashmir has disrupted power supply and road traffic between Srinagar and Jammu Photograph: Mukhtar Khan/AP

Waialua, Hawaii: A surfer holds his board aloft as the sun sets over Oahu's North Shore Photograph: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

Zagreb, Croatia: Geometric shapes are projected onto a building in Zagreb's main square by performance art group Zebra Photograph: Nikola Solic/Reuters

Sydney, Australia: The preliminary 9pm fireworks light up Sydney Harbour. Sydney will be one of the first places in the world to welcome the new year Photograph: Don Arnold/Getty Images