World welcomes 2023 and leaves a stormy year behind

Fireworks explode over the London Eye ferris wheel as Britons across the country welcome the New Year, in London, Britain, January 1, 2023. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska

The world welcomed the new year with a packed party in Times Square and fireworks soaring above European capitals, while hoping for an end to the war in Ukraine and a return to post-COVID normality in Asia.

It was a year marked by the conflict in Ukraine, economic stresses and the effects of global warming. But it was also a year that saw a dramatic soccer World Cup, rapid technological change, and efforts to meet climate challenges.