Happy New Year 2019 HIGHLIGHTS: 2019 ushered in with celebrations across world

As many as 69,944 babies will be born on the New Year's Day in India, the UNICEF said in a statement Tuesday. This would be the highest number of babies born on the first day of the year, followed by China, which would welcome 44,940 newborns and Nigeria with 25,685 newborns.

After the banter between Rishabh Pant and Australia captain Tim Paine made headlines in the third Test in Melbourne, India’s wicketkeeper-batsman actually turned babysitter for Paine. Bonnie Paine, Tim’s wife, posted a picture of Pant with her babies and said ‘Best Babysitter.’ READ MORE 

An eight-year-old boy died of bullet injuries he suffered during New Year’s eve celebrations in northeast Delhi’s Usmanpur area, police said Tuesday.

The incident took place at around 11 pm and police were informed about it by hospital authorities.

An investigation revealed that the boy sustained bullet wounds during New Year’s eve celebrations organised near his residence, a senior police officer said. READ MORE

Mumbai police have registered at least 455 cases of drunk driving in the early hours of the New Year Day on January 1, an official said Tuesday. Till December 31 midnight, police had caught 1,533 drivers, and 76 of them were found positive in a breath analyser test,

PM Imran Khan on Tuesday said the new year will be the beginning of Pakistan's golden era as he vowed to address the perennial issues of poverty, illiteracy, injustice and corruption in 2019.

Khan took to microblogging site Twitter to greet people and share his New Year resolution with the countrymen. "Our New Year resolution is to wage jihad against the 4 ills of our country: poverty, illiteracy, injustice and corruption," he tweeted.

After a heavy sports year, athletes from all around the world welcomed the New Year in their own way. Most sports stars from across sports shared their moments celebrating and welcoming the New Year 2019.  Read full details here.

US Strategic Command, STRATCOM, Monday apologised for its New Year’s Eve tweet that said it was ready to drop something “much bigger” than the traditional Times Square crystal ball in New York. For more details, read here.

Even as the national capital continued its battle with toxic air, several instances of firecracker bursting, before and after the time limit fixed by the apex court, were observed in Delhi-NCR during New Year celebrations.

A total of 509 drunken revellers were penalised by the Delhi Police on New Year's Eve, with a majority of them being youngsters, officials said Tuesday.

On New Year's Day, there was some respite for the people in Delhi from the cold wave conditions with the minimum temperature being recorded at 7 degrees Celsius against 3.8 degrees Celsius the previous night.

Thousands of people rang in the New Year at beaches in Goa as the year 2018 faded into night and celebrations continued till early morning of Tuesday. The famous beach destination is known for New Year revelry and night-long parties that typically begin on December 30 night and continue till New Year Day. On December 31 night, the roads leading to beaches were chock-a-block with people. 

West Bengal: #Visuals from Howrah Bridge on the first morning of the year 2019 pic.twitter.com/8zcwmnrCXm

— ANI (@ANI) January 1, 2019

See more photos here.

May this New Year bring peace, prosperity and happiness in your life. Happy New Year 2019 ! #Happy2019 #Happy_New_Year_2019 pic.twitter.com/XE3w4gwFXr

— Ravi Shankar Prasad (@rsprasad) January 1, 2019

Wishing you and your entire family a happy new year. Have a wonderful year ahead. May this year brings happiness and prosperity in your life. ?????? ?? ???? ??? ???? ???? ?????? ?? ??????? ????????????

— Rajnath Singh (@rajnathsingh) January 1, 2019

?? ???? ?? ???? ?? ??? ?? ??????? ???? ?? ??????????l ??? ????? ???? ??? ?? ?? ?? ????, ????? ??????, ??? ?? ???? ????? ??? ???????, ????? ?? ??????? ??? ??? ???? ??? ?? ????? ?? ?????? ?? ???????? ??? ????? ???? ?? ??? ??????? ??? — ?????????? ???????

— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) January 1, 2019

Visuals from Mumbai: First sunrise of the year 2019. #Maharashtra pic.twitter.com/J0rsjl8htV

— ANI (@ANI) January 1, 2019

Amritsar: Devotees throng to Sri Harmandir Sahib (Golden Temple) on the first morning of the year 2019. #Punjab #NewYear2019 pic.twitter.com/1twfIvKFBR

— ANI (@ANI) January 1, 2019

Visuals from Prayagraj: Devotees take a holy dip in the Ganga on the first morning of the year 2019 pic.twitter.com/fZlDDJ8YID

— ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) January 1, 2019

I wish you all, a Happy New Year!

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) January 1, 2019

Wishing everyone a joyous 2019!

May everyone be happy and healthy. I pray that all your wishes are fulfilled in 2019.

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 1, 2019

HAPPY NEW YEAR! pic.twitter.com/bHoPDPQ7G6

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 31, 2018

Special aarti held at Siddhivinayak Temple in Mumbai on the first day of the new year pic.twitter.com/uQw8FRfu8x

— ANI (@ANI) January 1, 2019

West Bengal: #Visuals from Howrah Bridge on the first morning of the year 2019 pic.twitter.com/8zcwmnrCXm

— ANI (@ANI) January 1, 2019

New year fireworks at Bandra Reclamation in Mumbai. #HappyNewYear2019@ExpressImages by Amit Chakravarty pic.twitter.com/xydJDcfAWx

— The Indian Express (@IndianExpress) December 31, 2018

Around 15,000 police personnel have been deployed across Delhi to ensure that New Year's Eve celebrations go on smoothly. Special traffic arrangements have also been made, with more focus to Connaught Place and the areas around it.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in #Mumbai illuminated on new year's eve. pic.twitter.com/F7fGgjqraU

— ANI (@ANI) December 31, 2018

Skaters form a human chain in the shape of 2019 to welcome New Year, at Ice Skating rink Lakkar Bazar in Shimla. (Express Photo by Pradeep Kumar)

A thunderstorm drenched tens of thousands of people as they gathered for Sydney's traditional spectacular fireworks display, creating a show of its own with dozens of lightning strikes. Police estimated that more than a million people crowded Sydney Harbor to view the glittering fireworks. People began gathering early in the day at popular vantage points, including the Opera House and the ends of the Harbor Bridge. (Associated Press)

(Photo: AP) 

Across the southern hemisphere nation, thousands took to beaches and streets, becoming the first major nation in the world to usher in 2019.

(Photo: AP)

Police in Paris said that they will put a security perimeter around the Champs-Elysees, the site of an annual New Year's Eve light show and celebration. Previous New Year's Eves in France have produced burned cars and other disorder.

Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars and Gwen Stefani are among the superstars who will be ushering in the new year with performances at venues on the Las Vegas Strip, while more than 300,000 people are expected to gather on the world-famous corridor Monday to watch eight minutes of fireworks.

Kim Jong Un will be keeping North Korea watchers busy on New Year's Day when he is expected to give his annual address laying out the country's top priorities for the year ahead.

About 7,000 police officers will be on duty for Monday night's festivities in Times Square, including counterterrorism teams with long guns and bomb-sniffing dogs. Police cars and sand-filled sanitation trucks will be positioned to stop vehicles from driving into the crowd.

The message to Trump was among dozens of holiday greetings Putin sent to other world leaders, each tailored to reflect a bilateral theme. The recipients included Syrian President Bashar Assad, whom Putin has backed throughout a civil war that started in 2011.