North Korea welcomed 2013 with reportedly the first ever New Year’s fireworks display the country has held. Meanwhile, Tokyo reverberated to the sound of the Watch-Night Bell which is struck 108 times at temples all over Japan to symbolise the beginning of a prosperous new year. The simultaneous celebrations follow one of the most impressive New Year fireworks displays which took place in Sydney, Australia, as it became the second major city to welcome 2013. Some 1.5 million people are estimated to have turned out to watch the event centred on the Sydney Harbour Bridge with more than 100,000 firework patterns, costing 6.5m Australian dollars (£4.2m). The countdown to 2013 began with a spectacular fireworks display in Auckland, New Zealand. — Sky News
