New Year 2019

Sheets of fiery color sizzled in the sky over the Sydney Opera House. Showers of confetti offered a softer alternative to revelry in the Philippines while in Seoul, South Korea (pictured) Buddhists light candles during New Year celebrations at Jogyesa Buddhist temple. We bid farewell to what many considered an unsettling 2018, a year filled with challenges to many of the world’s most basic institutions, including in the realms of politics, trade, alliances and religion.  Here’s to 2019, may it be peaceful and prosperous. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon).