PHOTOS: It's already a Happy New Year somewhere! Midnight strikes across the globe as millions start 2014 with dazzling celebrations

The world’s biggest party is underway as bursts of fireworks erupt over cities across the globe as midnight strikes and nations hail the start of 2014. In Malaysia, firework displays exploded near Kuala Lumpur's most famous landmark, the Petronas Towers (top left), while in Indonesia, thousands of people gathered to watch a display in the main business district in Jakarta (top right). In North Korea (bottom right), all eyes were on the Juche Tower and the Taedong River in Pyongyang to celebrate the New Year. In Beijing, performers dressed in colourful costumes to mark the start of 2014 in China.

Up Helly Aa Vikings at the start the Edinburgh Hogmanay celebrations with a torchlight procession through Edinburgh city centre

Around 80,000 people are expected in the city for the traditional New Year celebrations, which run over three days. Tickets have been bought for the event by people from over sixty different countries

A general view of the torchlight procession as it makes its way through Edinburgh for the start of the Hogmanay celebrations

The New Year's Eve Winter Carnival in Newcastle city centre saw performers parading through the city to the Civic Centre for a spectacular fireworks display

While organizers in cities like Chicago and New York were just starting to block off streets in preparation for the evening's events, festivities were well under way in Newcastle

Hundreds of people gathered at the Great Wall, a landmark place in Beijing, to celebrate the New Year

Badaling Great Wall is illuminated during the New Year's Eve count down to 2014 held at the Badaling Great Wall

Performers gather for a group photo after the end of a New Year's Eve count down to 2014 in Beijing, China

Packed in like sardines! Fireworks light up the sky as thousands of people gather to watch, in the main business district on New Year's Eve in Jakarta, Indonesia

Fireworks explode over Juche Tower and the Taedong River in Pyongyang, North Korea to celebrate the New Year

Fireworks explode near Malaysia's landmark, Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

While many were happy to welcome the new year, thousands of Malaysian people marched on the street to protest against price hikes by the Malaysian government

Soaring into the air: The fireworks near Malaysia's iconic Petronas Towers heralded a new start and a new year for many

An anti-Thai government protester waves national flag as dancers perform on stage during a New Year's Eve rally at the Democracy Monument in Bangkok, Thailand

With fireworks erupting from the water and bursting high in the skies, Hong Kong's harbour was showered in sprays of red and white as midnight struck

The bright lights of the city's skyline merged with the colourful spray of fire across the harbour

Thousands release balloons into the sky as the Tokyo is illuminated during the countdown to midnight in Japan's capital

Tokyo tower in Japan as 12am strikes and the crowds celebrate the start of the Year of the Horse

Midnight strikes in South Korea as thousands celebrating with the 'moon house' burning and fireworks during the 21st Sungsan sunrise festival of New Year in Sungsan, on Jeju island

More than one million people packed the water and shoreline of Sydney's harbour to watch the annual fireworks spectacular

New Zealand is among the first nations to see in the New Year

Shinto priests walk under a 'torii' (Japanese gate located at the entrance of a Shinto shrine) after they participated to a shinto ritual in preparation for the New Year at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo, Japan

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HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Michael Schumacher operated on for a second time and shows signs of 'slight improvement'

Doctors at Grenoble Hospital have given an update on the German F1 legend's condition following his second night in intensive care

Slight improvement: Doctors have confirmed Schumacher has undergone a second procedure

Michael Schumacher has shown a "slight improvement" following a second surgical procedure as his continues his fight for life following his skiiing accident.

Doctors at Grenoble Hospital, where the Formula 1 legend is being treated gave an update on the 44-year-old's condition on Tuesday morning.

The medical team revealed that Schumacher underwent a "surgical intervention" during the night, which took two hours.

"It was a difficult decision to make [to operate], but we decided to eliminate a hematoma," said Schumacher's surgeon, Professor Payen.

"The level of inter-cranial pressure have improved. The scan does show there are other legions.

"The situation is better controlled than it was yesterday. We are unable to say he's out of danger, however we have gained a bit of time with regard to developments," the surgeon added.

"But once again the coming hours are still critical hours when it comes to strategy."

The medical team added that Schumacher's condition is improving.

"We have a few signs to feel that the situation is better controlled than it was yesterday," said the director general of the hospital.

"A new scan was carried out this morning and it shows slight improvement."

"We were able to carry out a scan without any unnecessary risk - and it showed a few signs that he is relatively stable," said another doctor.


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9 Year old boy, youngest to reach the summit of Argentina's Aconcagua mountain

A nine-year-old boy has become the youngest person in recorded history to reach the summit of Argentina's Aconcagua mountain, which at 22,841 feet is the tallest peak in the Western and Southern hemispheres.

Tyler Armstrong - of Yorba Linda in Southern California in the US - reached the summit on Christmas Eve with his father Kevin and a Tibetan sherpa, Lhawang Dhondup, his team says.

When they climbed back down to the base camp, Tyler was much less tired than his father and their guide, said Nicolas Garcia, who handled the expedition's logistics from the city of Mendoza.

"It's a record. Never before has a child as young as nine reached the summit of Aconcagua," he said.

There was a younger boy who climbed the lower slopes of Aconcagua, Mr Garcia added. He said an Inca boy was sacrificed around 500 years ago at 16,400 feet on Piramide, one of the mountain's lower peaks. Scientific tests on the mummy, recovered in 1985, put his age at about seven.

Only 30% of the 7,000 people who obtain permits to climb Aconcagua each year make the summit, Mr Garcia said, and no one under 14 is usually allowed to attempt it.

The Armstrongs hired a lawyer to argue before an Argentine judge that Tyler could safely accomplish the feat. He had already climbed the 19,341-foot Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania at the age of eight.

With Aconcagua conquered, he is determined to reach all "seven summits", the highest mountains on each of the seven continents.

Last year, three climbers died on Aconcagua, although no one died the year before that and no one has been killed so far this summer climbing season, Mr Garcia said.

Since the first climbers reached the top of Aconcagua in 1897, more than 110 people have died trying, he said.

"Tyler is a really happy kid, very open. And he's prepared for these climbs very carefully," Mr Garcia said.

"Neither he nor his father are in for 'adventure.' Their project is pretty conservative, with a guide who is very experienced, so from my perspective, their climb wasn't imprudent."

Describing the summit, Tyler said: "You can really see the world's atmosphere up there. All the clouds are under you, and it's really cold. It doesn't look anything like a kid's drawing of a mountain. It's probably as big as a house at the summit, and then it's a sheer drop."







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Bad Santa Claus robs a bank in Florida

On Monday, Santa was spotted on a cctv(above) inside the Volusia County SunTrust bank, where the bearded 6-footer made a bomb threat in exchange for cash from a teller.

According to Orlando Sentinel, the unidentified suspect approached the bank teller window around 3:15 in the afternoon and placed a gift-wrapped package on the counter.

A police spokesperson said Santa then made a gesture to imply the present contained explosive, and demanded for money.

The amount of cash that bad Santa made off with is unknown to us, only that he was wearing sunglasses and appeared to be in his 30s or 40s.

When the bomb squad arrived at the scene, they discovered the gift-wrapped package to be harmless.
No one was harmed during the incident.

Police pursuit continues...