Belgium: 3 people questioned about holiday plot are released

Countries around the world are marking the New Year, with festivities under way in the U.S. and Canada.

In New York City, despite a pledge of tight security, one million people are expected to turn out to see the Times Square ball descend at 0500 GMT on Friday.

Earlier, cities in Europe welcome the New Year with pomp – despite heightened security measures in some countries.

In Japan, people released balloons by Tokyo Tower, while South Koreans celebrated with traditional bell-ringing.

Fireworks explode over the River Thames and the Palace of Westminster’s Elizabeth Tower, known as Big Ben, as the New Years Day celebrations begin in London.

Dubai police said that the building was evacuated and only 14 people were lightly injured, but a medic at the scene said more than 60 people were treated for mild smoke inhalation and problems caused by crowding as they fled the site.

In Europe, terror fears also loomed large, with firework displays canceled in Brussels and Paris.

Art work is projected on Arc de Triomphe during a sound and light show part of New Year’s celebrations on the Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris.

The city’s mayor, Anne Hidalgo, said the video was meant to send “the world the message that Paris is standing, proud of its lifestyle and living together”.

Jakarta remained on high alert after anti-terror police foiled detailed plans for an alleged New Year suicide attack in the Indonesian capital.

In one of the more innovative celebrations, four divers equipped with musical instruments and breathing apparatus performed an underwater “concert” in a fish tank in Yantai, east China.

Dubai’s luxury Address Hotel was still smoldering on Friday morning (January 1).

Cairo meanwhile was trying desperately to attract tourists to bolster the economy, with this year’s celebrations taking place in front of the pyramids and attended by a host of ambassadors, artists and intellectuals.

Russian Federation – the first major European city to welcome 2016 – held a fireworks display over Red Square in Moscow.

And US officials said they had arrested and charged a 25-year-old American Muslim convert over an alleged attempt to launch a New Year’s Eve attack in upstate NY in the name of the Islamic State group.