New Year revelers unfazed by attack worries — in most places

The Federal Prosecutor's Office in Belgium said six people were brought in for questioning and seven searches carried out Thursday morning in various Brussels-area locations in connection with a suspected plot to stage extremist attacks over the holidays.

The French are reeling after a year that started with attacks on satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo Jan. 7 and on a Paris kosher market two days later, violence that killed 17 people plus the three Islamic extremist attackers.

In the ensuing months, attacks were thwarted on a church and a high-speed international train, and another Islamic extremist decapitated his boss at an American-owned chemical plant.

Malaysian authorities have detained more than 150 suspects linked to the Islamic State extremist group over the past two years, including some who were allegedly plotting to launch attacks in strategic areas of Kuala Lumpur.

No specific threats timed for New Year's revelries were detected in the capital, Manila, or other major cities, although government forces are always on alert due to the presence of small but violent Muslim militant groups in the country's south.

Shopping malls and cities organized fireworks displays to discourage people from lighting their own firecrackers.

A huge religious sect, the Iglesia ni Cristo, was to attempt to break the world record for the largest fireworks display and the highest number of sparklers to be lit in one place.

Tokyo is on special alert for security issues this year, with posters in subways and other public spaces warning people to keep their eyes open for suspicious packages or activities.

Thousands of people, including North Korean refugees, were expected to gather at a town near the border with rival North Korea to watch one of the ceremonies and wish for peaceful Korean unification.

Simultaneous fireworks displays erupted along Sydney's famed harbor, where people crowded onto balconies, into waterside parks