A million people crammed into New York’s Times Square on Tuesday to greet the New Year in a global party that kicked off in Australia before rolling around the world in a non-stop chain of firework displays. But tragedy struck in the Ivory Coast when around 60 people died and at least dozens were injured as a crowd stampeded during New Year’s fireworks in the economic capital Abidjan, rescue workers there said.

The merrymaking also turned deadly in Sacramento, California, when shots rang out during a suspected altercation as crowds gathered to watch New Year’s Eve fireworks, killing two people and leaving at least four others wounded.

Earlier in Asia, in regions devastated by Typhoon Bopha which hit the southern Philippines in early December killing more than 1,000 people, many survivors said food, work and permanent shelter topped their priorities.

In Hong Kong, tens of thousands protested against the city’s leader, Leung Chun-ying, as pressure mounts against the Beijing-backed politician who has been embroiled in an illegal construction scandal since taking office in July.

Thronging the streets on New Year’s Day, crowds of people chanted “Leung Chun-ying, step down” in a rally that snaked several kilometres towards government headquarters.