[SUP]12.20[/SUP] [SUP]In Sydney crowds are gathering for traditionally one of the most spectacular New Year's Eve fireworks displays anywhere in the world. Lord Mayor Clover Moore said about 1.5 million spectators are expected . Those in place already include Melissa Sjostedt who has made the journey from Florida to see the festivities which she first read about a decade ago in National Geographic magazine.[/SUP]
[SUP]12.05[/SUP] [SUP]Meanwhile Malcolm Moore, our Beijing correspondent, reminds us that the Chinese New Year - when the Year of the Dragon gives way to the Year of the Snake - takes place on February 9. Those who want to celebrate the western calendar are having to dig deep with the city's finest restaurants offering special menus at up to £150 a head.[/SUP]
[SUP]12.00[/SUP] [SUP]Special cause for celebration at Myanmar - or Burma to you and me - where the country will see in the New Year with a grand fireworks display in a celebration unprecedented in the former military-ruled country.[/SUP]
[SUP]Thousands were expected to attend the celebration at a large field in Yangon against the backdrop of the city's famed Shwedagon Pagoda, where the Myanmar public will get its chance to do what much of the world does every New Year's Eve.[/SUP]
[SUP]Preparations for Myanmar's New Year celebrations (Reuters)[/SUP]
[SUP]11.56[/SUP] [SUP]People take part in the celebrations under the Harbour Bridge[/SUP]
[SUP](Getty)[/SUP]
[SUP]11.50[/SUP] [SUP]Celebrations are already underway in Sydney, where fireworks are lighting up the city's skyline for the 9pm family show[/SUP]
[SUP](Reuters)[/SUP]
[SUP]11.30[/SUP] [SUP]In Pakistan Rob Crilly, our correspondent reports, the celebrations are being held amid tight security. He adds: "Pakistanis are sending their 2013 text message greetings several hours early in case the country's mobile phone networks are turned off later to prevent mobile phones being used to detonate bombs.[/SUP]
[SUP]11.15[/SUP] [SUP]The Indian armed forces on Monday cancelled their New Year celebrations while many hotels and bars scaled back parties in the wake of the gang-rape which has shocked the nation.[/SUP]
[SUP]The Indian army, air force and navy have decided to cancel all the parties planned to welcome the new year. They want to dedicate the last day of the year to the gang-rape victim," a senior defence ministry official told AFP.[/SUP]
[SUP]In the capital, where the horrific crime took place on December 16, leading private members' club Gymkhana, where top officials and ministers are often seen, cancelled its party as did the Press Club in the capital.[/SUP]
[SUP]The five-star Ashoka hotel in New Delhi also closed its popular nightclub, while other bar owners were quoted in the media as saying they were scaling back festivities.[/SUP]
[SUP]A student prays during a vigil in Ahmedabad (Reuters)[/SUP]
[SUP]11.10[/SUP][SUP]In Auckland the celebrations are well underway with Kiwis being serenaded by "Legendary New Zealand funk rockers Supergroove" - no I haven't heard of them either.[/SUP]
[SUP]11.00 Welcome to the Telegraph's Live Blog as we brace ourselves for 2013,[/SUP]
[SUP]12.05[/SUP] [SUP]Meanwhile Malcolm Moore, our Beijing correspondent, reminds us that the Chinese New Year - when the Year of the Dragon gives way to the Year of the Snake - takes place on February 9. Those who want to celebrate the western calendar are having to dig deep with the city's finest restaurants offering special menus at up to £150 a head.[/SUP]
[SUP]12.00[/SUP] [SUP]Special cause for celebration at Myanmar - or Burma to you and me - where the country will see in the New Year with a grand fireworks display in a celebration unprecedented in the former military-ruled country.[/SUP]
[SUP]Thousands were expected to attend the celebration at a large field in Yangon against the backdrop of the city's famed Shwedagon Pagoda, where the Myanmar public will get its chance to do what much of the world does every New Year's Eve.[/SUP]
[SUP]Preparations for Myanmar's New Year celebrations (Reuters)[/SUP]
[SUP]11.56[/SUP] [SUP]People take part in the celebrations under the Harbour Bridge[/SUP]
[SUP](Getty)[/SUP]
[SUP]11.50[/SUP] [SUP]Celebrations are already underway in Sydney, where fireworks are lighting up the city's skyline for the 9pm family show[/SUP]
[SUP](Reuters)[/SUP]
[SUP]11.30[/SUP] [SUP]In Pakistan Rob Crilly, our correspondent reports, the celebrations are being held amid tight security. He adds: "Pakistanis are sending their 2013 text message greetings several hours early in case the country's mobile phone networks are turned off later to prevent mobile phones being used to detonate bombs.[/SUP]
[SUP]11.15[/SUP] [SUP]The Indian armed forces on Monday cancelled their New Year celebrations while many hotels and bars scaled back parties in the wake of the gang-rape which has shocked the nation.[/SUP]
[SUP]In the capital, where the horrific crime took place on December 16, leading private members' club Gymkhana, where top officials and ministers are often seen, cancelled its party as did the Press Club in the capital.[/SUP]
[SUP]The five-star Ashoka hotel in New Delhi also closed its popular nightclub, while other bar owners were quoted in the media as saying they were scaling back festivities.[/SUP]
[SUP]A student prays during a vigil in Ahmedabad (Reuters)[/SUP]
[SUP]11.10[/SUP][SUP]In Auckland the celebrations are well underway with Kiwis being serenaded by "Legendary New Zealand funk rockers Supergroove" - no I haven't heard of them either.[/SUP]
[SUP]11.00 Welcome to the Telegraph's Live Blog as we brace ourselves for 2013,[/SUP]