Hours ahead of the West, New Zealand welcomes 2010 with a firework display at Auckland’s Sky Tower.

Ben Southall, who won the “Best Job in the World,” shares with CNN’s Andrew Stevens the best and worst parts.

Stretching the Queensland coastline, the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef offer visitors a unique chance to live amongst the single largest living thing in the world.

Once-in-a-lifetime job opportunity with Tourism Queensland as Island Caretaker.

LONDON — A cold alley in central London is a far cry from a palace – but it was the spot Prince William chose to sleep to highlight the plight of homeless British teenagers.

He spent a chilly night near Blackfriars Bridge last week with Seyi Obakin, the chief executive of British homeless charity Centrepoint. William has been the charity’s patron since 2005.

“I cannot, after one night, even begin to imagine what it must be like to sleep rough on London’s streets night after night,” William said Tuesday. “Poverty, mental illness, drug and alcohol dependancy and family breakdown cause people to become and then stay homeless.

“I hope that by deepening my understanding of the issue, I can help do my bit to help the most vulnerable on our streets.”
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Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama have offered Christmas wishes to US citizens, including a special thanks to the military.

The Queen’s Christmas Message was a sombre one today at the end of a year dominated by the war in Afghanistan and deep economic gloom.

“Each year that passes seems to have its own character,” she said. “Some leave us with a feeling of satisfaction, others are best forgotten.”

She described 2009 as “a difficult year for many, in particular those facing the continuing effects of the economic downturn.” The Queen, who is the titular head of the Armed Forces, expressed her sadness at the casualties suffered by British forces fighting in Helmand Province of Afghanistan.

In her 57th Christmas address the 83 year-old monarch spoke at length about the Commonwealth.The 54 state organisation was founded 60 years ago and is made up predominantly of former British colonies.

A major storm clawed its way up the East Coast on Sunday, crippling travel and disappointing New England merchants the weekend before Christmas after blanketing parts of the mid-Atlantic with record snow, nearly 2 feet in places.

More than 15 years in the making, and costing in excess of $300 million, James Cameron’s eco-minded epic ‘Avatar’ is like nothing you have ever seen. It unfolds on a digitally created sylvan world called Pandora that is straight out of your trippiest, most phantasmagorical dreams. City-sized rock formations hang miles above the ground supported only by vines; underwater plants glow like giants’ irises; seeds pulsate through the air like jellyfish. And the fact that you can see the whole thing in razor-sharp 3D means that these images by turn envelop you and dance before your eyes.

“In the plane”

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“At the customs”

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