World rings in 2012 and bids adieu to a tough year

PARIS (AP) — With glittering fireworks and celebrations from New Zealand to Times Square, the world eagerly welcomed a new year and hope for a better future Saturday, saying goodbye to a year of hurricanes, tsunamis and economic turmoil that many would rather forget.

Revelers in Australia, Asia and the South Pacific island nation of Samoa, which jumped across the international dateline to be first to celebrate, welcomed 2012 with booming fireworks displays. Up to a million revelers were expected to jam New York's Times Square for the famed crystal-paneled ball drop, and big crowds gathered und...