Best photos of January 1: Sunrise over Damascus to cleanup in Melbourne

  • The year's first sunrise in Damascus, Syria. Reuters
    The year's first sunrise in Damascus, Syria. Reuters
  • Visitors pray and make offerings at Meiji Shrine in central Tokyo. AFP
    Visitors pray and make offerings at Meiji Shrine in central Tokyo. AFP
  • A member of the Shembe Church kneels in prayer as a surfer walks into the ocean on New Year's day in Durban. AFP
    A member of the Shembe Church kneels in prayer as a surfer walks into the ocean on New Year's day in Durban. AFP
  • Sikh devotees take a dip in the holy sarovar at the Golden Temple during the New Year's Day in Amritsar. AFP
    Sikh devotees take a dip in the holy sarovar at the Golden Temple during the New Year's Day in Amritsar. AFP
  • People hold incense as they pray on the first day of the new year at Yonghe Temple, also known as Lama Temple, in Beijing. EPA
    People hold incense as they pray on the first day of the new year at Yonghe Temple, also known as Lama Temple, in Beijing. EPA
  • Devotees offer prayers on New Year's Day at a Hindu temple in Colombo. AFP
    Devotees offer prayers on New Year's Day at a Hindu temple in Colombo. AFP
  • The sun rises amid winter clouds as a Great Cormorant migratory bird perches on tree branches at Tauddaha Lake in Kathmandu, Nepal. EPA
    The sun rises amid winter clouds as a Great Cormorant migratory bird perches on tree branches at Tauddaha Lake in Kathmandu, Nepal. EPA
  • The hot air balloon festival in Pokhara, Nepal, takes off. AFP
    The hot air balloon festival in Pokhara, Nepal, takes off. AFP
  • Cleaners work in the Docklands on New Year's Day in Melbourne, Australia. EPA
    Cleaners work in the Docklands on New Year's Day in Melbourne, Australia. EPA