Top 5 at 5: Most viewed stories

Fireworks explode from Taiwan's tallest skyscraper, Taipei 101, during New Year's celebrations on Jan. 1. 2012. (Shengfa Lin/Getty)

Each day, we bring you a list of Top 5 stories. Sometimes they're the most read stories of the day, other times we focus on a specific region or category.

Today, we bring you the most-viewed stories from the CBC News homepage.

1) Skier, 45, killed in 2nd B.C. avalanche

A 45-year-old skier has died in an avalanche outside of Revelstoke, B.C., the second such death in the province in as many days.

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2) 911 call made from Rob Ford's home on Christmas

A newspaper report published Friday says a 911 call was made from the home of Toronto Mayor Rob Ford on Christmas Day. The Toronto Star says police were called to Ford's Etobicoke home on Christmas morning between 4 and 5 a.m.

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3) New Year's Eve celebrations underway

Revellers around the world are ushering in 2012 and saying goodbye to a difficult year.
At 6 a.m. ET, Auckland became the first major city to welcome the new year, where thousands of residents gathered to watch the city's annual fireworks display.

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Related link: How will you ring in 2012?

4) Pemberton avalanche victim ID'd as Whistler ski patroller

The skier who died overnight Thursday after a backcountry avalanche has been identified as a ski patroller from the Whistler Blackcomb resort.

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5) Global 'happiness index' ranks Canada 23rd

An annual "happiness barometer" ranks Canada the 23rd happiest nation out of 58 in the lead-up to the new year. Leger Marketing surveyed nearly 53,000 people in 58 countries, asking participants to state whether they perceived themselves as "happy" or "unhappy" in 2011.

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Related Links:

• Are you happier now than you were a year ago?
• Community reaction to Canada's happiness ranking