Countries around the world are gearing up to celebrate the Lunar New Year, also known as Chinese New Year, next week.

It is a huge event for billions of people filled with celebrations and long-held cultural traditions.

Across Australia, cities are preparing to roll out a host of events to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit.

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What is Lunar New Year?

Lunar New Year, also commonly referred to as Chinese New Year, starts on Sunday, January 22.

It's the start of the new year on the Chinese calendar.

In Sydney, which is known for its large celebrations, the festivities will occur between January 21 and February 4.

How do people celebrate Lunar New Year?

Most Asian countries celebrate Lunar New Year, as well as those with major Chinese populations, including Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam.

Lunar New Year usually falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice, which makes it move every year.

There are many traditional celebrations that occur during the Lunar New Year.

This includes senior family members handing out red envelopes containing money to younger ones.

Cleaning the house before the new year to get rid of back luck and decorating the house with special symbols are also common.

Red is a commonly seen colour during the Lunar New Year celebrations as it is the symbol of joy.

Red lanterns are often displayed during the celebrations.

Dancing dragons or lions, accompanied by the beating of drums, are said to banish evil spirits.

Reunion family dinners are also held on the eve of the Lunar New Year

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Is Chinese New Year and Lunar New Year the same thing?

Chinese New Year and Lunar New Year are usually terms used synonymously, however, the two can be celebrated on different dates in different cultures.

The different names can also be used in different countries.

In China, the festival and holiday period is more commonly referred to as Spring Festival.

Why is Lunar New Year important?

The Lunar New Year marks the start of a new year, according to the Chinese lunar calendar.

The celebrations are deeply rooted in history.

It marks a time of year for friends and family to spend time together.

What is the Chinese New Year animal for 2022?

The animal for 2022 is the Rabbit.

Every year has a different animal, based on the Chinese zodiac.

Each year in a 12-year cycle is represented by a zodiac animal, each with its own attributes.

The animals are the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig.

Each person has an animal that corresponds with the year they were born and it can represent important details in their life.

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What events are there in Sydney?

More than 80 events, exhibitions, concerts, outdoor displays and celebrations are planned across Sydney between January 21 and February 4.

January 21: The streets of Haymarket will buzz with live entertainment, roving performers, food trucks, market stalls, DJs and plenty of Instagram moments.

January 21: Chatswood and Cabramatta are among some of the suburbs that will host Lunar New Year 2023 festivities.

January 23: There will be daily dragon dancing performances around the Sydney CBD. Lion dancing troupes will ring in the Lunar New Year with plenty of drumming, flamboyance and skill.

January 28: Darling Harbour will host the annual dragon boat race. Watch the biggest dragon boat races in the southern hemisphere as more than 3000 paddlers churn up the waters and battle it out.

What events are there in Melbourne?

In Melbourne, the Chinese Lunar New Year Festival historically attracts over 100,000 people to the city's Chinatown each year.

January 21: Venues around the city will be pulling out all the stops to celebrate Lunar New Year. Watch on as a traditional lion dance makes its way through the Queen Victoria Market to celebrate Lunar New Year and the Year of the Rabbit.

January 19 – February 14: Melbourne Museum, the National Gallery of Victoria, and the Crown Melbourne will all be hosting events to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

What events are there in Brisbane?

Like other cities around the country, Brisbane will host events to celebrate Lunar New Year.

January 21: Expect traditional lion and dragon dances alongside roving street performers throughout the Brunswick Street Mall, Chinatown Mall, Bakery Lane, and within various venues in the Valley precinct to celebrate Lunar New Year.

Is Lunar New Year a holiday in Australia?

The Lunar New Year is not a public holiday in Australia but it is becoming more widely observed.

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Two teenage girls have been charged after they allegedly threatened a ride share driver and supermarket staff with scissors, and petrol station staff with spray cans in Adelaide.

The alleged crime spree began when three teenagers allegedly attempted to steal a ride share driver's car on Grange Road, Flinders Park, on October 30.

South Australian Police allege the driver ran into the petrol station where the girls allegedly threatened him with scissors and demanded his keys.

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The girls also allegedly threated staff, demanded their keys but then ran away with multiple food items.

The girls allegedly stole alcohol from a bottle shop in Blair Athol on December 8.

"On Tuesday 10 January, two teenage girls entered a service station on the corner of Henley Beach and Tapleys Hill Roads, Fulham Gardens and allegedly threatened staff with spray cans before leaving on foot with cigarettes and food items," SA Police said in a statement.

"Then on Thursday 12 January, two teenage girls entered a supermarket on Grange Road, Findon and allegedly tried to steal two electric scooters."

Officer allege they used scissors to threaten staff and also spat at them.

Police arrested a 13-year-old girl and 16-year-old girl from Valley View.

They were granted bail in the Adelaide Youth Court yesterday.

A man who allegedly stole claw machines from an Adelaide arcade made a chaotic dash from court today only to find the car waiting for him locked, forcing him to make an unusual entry into the vehicle.

Robert Ursida, 45, is accused of unplugging a skill tester machine at Parabanks Shopping Centre before running off with the device.

When police later searched his Parafield Gardens home, they charged Ursida with allegedly stealing 10 of the machines.

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The van Ursida had been driving was also allegedly stolen, with the number plates written in texter.

He was already on police bail after being charged with a separate theft days earlier.

Today when Ursida left court, he sprinted from the media to the waiting car only to find the door locked. 

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He then dived head-first through the passenger window before driving off.

Ursida's matter was adjourned until he secures a lawyer to represent him.

He'll return to court in March.

Beloved pilot and loving father Ash Jenkinson has been farewelled by family and friends in a memorial service today.

The loving father was one of the victims of the deadly helicopter crash at Sea World last week.

Miles Jenkinson, Ash's brother, gave an emotional tribute during the funeral. Ash's young son, Kayden, was held in the arms of his uncle while they said their goodbyes. 

"A brother is there to help us be confident when timid, be strong when weak and to be fearless when scared", Miles said. 

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Jenkinson was known to be a proud family man, always putting his fiancé, Kosha, and son first. Today, they were surrounded by loved ones during the memorial.

"I've never met a person who knew Ash, that did not think he was a special, generous, kind and champion bloke," his brother said.

"He was only telling me recently how Kayden's eyes lit up every time his dad entered the room.

"When I think about Ash, I just remember how big his heart was, and how he always had time for his family and friends." 

Jenkinson often played a helping role in the community. He was part of the effort to tame bushfires in the South of Tweed, carrying water to help extinguish fires, and in February, he delivered supplies to flood-hit Lismore.

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"It's a memory that we will share with Kayden as he grows up, so he can too understand just how much of a superhero his dad is".

Jenkinson spent 6000 hours in the skies as a pilot and instructor.

He performed his first flight in 2007, and began his piloting career in the Northern Territory, running scenic flights until 2011.

He became head of flight safety and operations for Sea World in 2019.

The director and owner of Sea World Helicopters, John Orr-Campbell, said Jenkinson's passing was a devastating loss.

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"We have lost a first-class pilot, a first-class man and a wonderful father, partner and friend," he said.

"I along with all the staff at Sea World Helicopters are gutted to the core."

The two exchanged explicit messages for a fortnight during lockdown.

The boss says the ruling is unfair and is considering an appeal.

South Korean police are seeking criminal charges including involuntary manslaughter and negligence against 23 officials, about half of them law enforcement officers, for a lack of safety measures they said were responsible for a crowd surge that killed nearly 160 people.

Despite anticipating a weekend crowd of more than 100,000, Seoul police had assigned 137 officers to the capital's nightlife district Itaewon on the day of the crush.

Those officers were focused on monitoring narcotics use and violent crimes, which experts say left few resources for pedestrian safety.

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Son Je-han, who headed the National Police Agency's special investigation into the incident, said on Friday his team will now send the case to prosecutors.

Those recommended for indictment include Park Hee-young, who is mayor of Seoul's Yongsan district, and the district's former police chief Lee Im-jae — two of the six who have been arrested.

Lee has also been accused of falsifying a police report to disguise his late arrival to the scene.

Two other police officials have been arrested over suspicions they attempted to destroy computer files and other potential evidence tied to the accident.

The results of the 74-day police investigation announced by Son mostly confirmed what was already clear — that police and public officials in Yongsan failed to employ meaningful crowd control measures for the expected numbers of Halloween revellers and essentially ignored pedestrian calls placed to police hotlines that warned of a swelling crowd hours before the surge turned deadly on October 28.

Officials also botched their response once people began getting toppled over and crushed in a narrow alley clogged with partygoers near Hamilton Hotel around 10pm, failing to establish effective control of the scene and allow rescue workers to reach the injured in time, Son said.

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"(Their) inaccurate judgement of the situation, the slow distribution of information about the situation, poor cooperation between related institutions and delays in rescue operations were among the overlapping failures that caused the high number of casualties," Son said at a news conference in Seoul.

Son said his team questioned nearly 540 people and collected 14,000 pieces of evidence from central and municipal government offices and transportation authorities.

He said police investigators studied more than 180 video files recorded on security cameras or taken by journalists and pedestrians and jointly inspected the scene with forensic experts to analyse the density of the crowd.

Police said the crowd packing the corridor-like alley between the hotel and a dense row of storefronts grew into an unstoppable wave around 9pm, with people being unable to dictate their movement once they got swept in.

At around 10:15pm, people began falling and toppling on one another like dominos, leading to the tragedy that resulted in 158 deaths and 196 injuries.

Analysis of security camera footage and simulations by the National Forensic Service indicate the crowd density at the alley was around eight people per square metre at around 10:15pm.

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The density grew to eight to nine people occupying the same unit of space as of 10:20pm and around nine to 11 people as of 10:25 pm, police said.

Paramedics struggled to reach the scene because the area was so densely packed.

Those who arrived were so overwhelmed by the large number of people lying motionless on the ground that they asked pedestrians to help them perform CPR.

Most of the deaths were caused by suffocation or brain damage, police said.

It's unclear whether the results of the police investigation would be enough to calm the public's anger and demands for government accountability as the country continues to cope with its worst disaster in nearly a decade.

Opposition lawmakers and some relatives of the victims have demanded investigations into more high-profile figures, such as Interior and Safety Minister Lee Sang-min and National Police Agency Commissioner General Yoon Hee-keun, who have faced calls to resign.

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However, Son said the special investigation team will close its probes on the Interior and Safety Ministry, the National Police Agency, and the Seoul Metropolitan Government, saying it was difficult to establish their direct responsibility.

Some experts have called the crush in Itaewon a "manmade disaster" that could have been prevented with fairly simple steps, such as employing more police and public workers to monitor bottleneck points, enforcing one-way walk lanes and blocking narrow pathways or temporarily closing Itaewon's subway station to prevent large numbers of people moving in the same direction.

“I can’t remember the last time I cried so much.”

The youngest victims were 10 and some were in school uniform.

The relative of two women killed in a horror car crash on the Gold Coast said she would give anything for one more hug during an emotional farewell for the pair.

Susan Zimmer, 70, and her daughter Steffanie, 35, will remain "together forever" after they were killed in a horrific head-on collision at Bonogin on December 30.

They were killed, alongside Susan's partner, 79-year-old Chris Fawcett, after a car veered onto the wrong side of the road and smashed into an oncoming car.

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Sole survivor of the crash, Uiatu "Joan" Taufua, 46 – the mother of NRL star Payne Haas – has been charged with three counts of manslaughter. 

Taufua remains before the courts.

The Zimmers' surviving daughter and sister, Claudine Snow, described the tragedy as a "nightmare" she wishes she could wake up from during a funeral for the pair which hundreds of mourners attended.

Snow said she'd give anything to have "one more hug or one more smile" with her mother and sister.

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Family and friends today paid tribute to Susan's love of figure skating and Steffanie's talents on the athletic track.

"I grew up as my mother's daughter, I followed or rather skated in her footsteps," Snow said. 

"For much of our lives, it was the three amigos Susan, Claudine and Steffanie."

Snow said she knows Susan and Steffanie would be comforted by the outpouring of support from the tight-knit Gold Coast community who have "wrapped their arms around her" in the wake of the crash.