New Zealand, Australia, Japan, and Thailand were among the countries to have welcomed in 2016 in style, while Dubai went ahead with its spectacular fireworks display as planned while fire crews battled a blaze that engulfed a nearby skyscraper.

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today.

THE British and Irish Lions today continued their charm offensive in New Zealand amid local criticism of the level of secrecy and security at their training sessions.