A march drawing tens of thousands of anti-government protesters in Hong Kong on New Year's Day spiraled into chaotic scenes as police fired several rounds of tear gas and water cannon at crowds including families before halting the event.
At least 15 people are now believed to have died in deadly bushfires, while scores of people remain missing after weeks of fires that have ripped through Australia's east coast, much of which is tinder-dry after three years of drought.
Thousands of Hong Kong revelers welcomed in 2020 on neon-lit promenades along the picturesque Victoria Harbour, breaking into pro-democracy chants as the clocks struck midnight after more than half a year of often violent unrest.
Protesters and militia fighters enraged by U.S. air strikes on Iraq staged a violent demonstration outside the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, torching a security post and hurling stones as security forces and embassy guards hit back with stun grenades and tear gas.
More than two months of fierce demonstrations against the government of President Sebastian Pinera over endemic inequality in the southern Latin nation have left at least 26 people dead and thousands more injured and arrested.
Scenes of daily life amid months of anti-government demonstrations in Hong Kong, which began in June as opposition to a now-suspended extradition bill and have since swelled into wider calls for democracy.