A view of birds scattering as New Year;s fireworks go off near the Shwe Da Gon pagoda at Kandawgyi Lake in Yangon on December 31, 2012. Some 50,000 people were expected to gather at the revered golden Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon for the city’s first public countdown to the New Year and fireworks. AFP PHOTO / Ye Aung Thu (Photo credit should read Ye Aung Thu/AFP/Getty Images)
