Revellers converged on the beaches of Brazil, the skyscrapers of Dubai and New York's Times Square to welcome the new year.

USA:

A student armed with a handgun held nearly two dozen students and a teacher hostage in a US high school for about five hours before shooting himself when police broke into the classroom, authorities said.

A fire at a nursing home in Michigan killed two people this morning and at least 60 were rushed to hospitals, officials said.