New Year celebrations: The world welcomes 2015

The Archbishop of Canterbury has urged people not to let the Ebola crisis or war in areas such as South Sudan "slip from our minds" in his New Year message.

The Most Rev Justin Welby, who was diagnosed with pneumonia after being forced to pull out of his Christmas Day sermon at Canterbury Cathedral, issued the message from the National Memorial Arboretum.

He praised the "extraordinary dedication" of the British military in Sierra Leone, one of the three west African countries worst affected by the spread of the deadly Ebola virus.

He also spoke of his "unspeakable gratitude" to servicemen and women following the end of the war in Afghanistan.

Pope Francis has urged people of all religions and cultures to unite and fight modern slavery and human trafficking, saying everyone has a God given right to be free.

The Pope 's theme for his first mass of 2015 was "No Longer Slaves, but Brothers and Sisters."

"All of us are called [by God] to be free, all are called to be sons and daughters, and each, according to his or her own responsibilities, is called to combat modern forms of enslavement," he said.

"From every people, culture and religion, let us join our forces."

Pope Francis has been celebrating the New Year with a special mass in Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.

Around a million revellers gathered in Times Square in New York as the city welcomed in 2015.

There were cheers and kisses in the crowd after a glittering ball descended from high above and a ton of confetti rained down into the square.

People in Ecuador have burned puppets as part of their traditional new year. celebrations

The tradition symbolizes the end of the old and bad and the starting of the good and new.

Some jump the flames 12 times to represent a wish for each month.

The Met Police made 54 arrests on New Year's Eve but said the event passed off safely in London.

It said the majority of arrests were made for drunk and disorderly behaviour.

Rio de Janeiro in Brazil welcomes in the new year.