AUSTRALIA-SYDNEY-NEW YEAR-FIREWORKS

The pre-midnight New Year's Eve fireworks based on the Aboriginal theme 'Creation Storm' explodes over Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Opera House on December 31, 2008. Over 1.5 million Sydneysiders and tourists lined the harbour foreshores to watch the 120,000 pyrotechnics usher in the new year. AFP PHOTO/Torsten BLACKWOOD