The Latest Breaking News from New Year

The dame title would normally be announced as part of the New Year honours or to mark the Queen’s birthday but can be given at other times in exceptional circumstances

Christian Richardson was lucky to survive when his motorbike was crushed by a pick up truck as he left a coffee shop at the start of the country's New Year festival

Colombo (AFP) - Sri Lanka on Saturday announced a five-day share trading halt after the crisis-hit country hiked interest rates and declared a default on its external debt during the traditional New Year holiday, as trade unions and top cricket stars joined protests demanding the president's resignation.

Colombo (AFP) - The Colombo Stock Exchange on Saturday announced a five-day trading halt after crisis-hit Sri Lanka hiked interest rates and declared a default on its external debt during the traditional New Year holiday.

At an auspicious time early on Thursday, Dilani Jayaratne lit a small wood fire to boil a small pot of milk to mark the start of Sri Lanka's New Year.

Celebrate Tamil New year with a kolam, a tradition that has endured and evolved over centuries of culture, across mediums like gold, pearl, rice and now, puzzle blocks

Opponents of military rule in Myanmar have urged residents to boycott the country's traditional New Year celebrations, as activists and Buddhist monks defied security forces by staging small protests against last year's coup in some areas.

Yangon (AFP) - Myanmar marked its normally boisterous new year water festival with silence and boycotts on Wednesday, as fighting between the military and opponents of the coup raged across the country.

The start of Songkran, the traditional Thai New Year, also marks a celebration of family as most people take advantage of the long holiday to return home.

The hearts of all Thais are blessed and looking forward to Wednesday when the five-day Songkran holiday begins. It will be the first time in three years for us to celebrate the traditional New Year known for joyous water splashing at the hottest time of the year.

"I'm sorry I seem so … sad," said the young man on the stage. Dressed in a voluminous dark hoodie, he both did and did not look like a filmmaker introducing his award-winning documentary on the first night of the True/False Film Fest in Columbia, Missouri. The film, "Where Are…