Happy New Year

It was a Happy New Year in downtown Buffalo with thousands on hand for the ball drop at the Electric Building and more going on a Canalside. There was a problem reported about 1:30 Sunday morning when police and EMS were called to the Acqua Restaurant along the Niagara River.

Turkey nightclub attack: What we know

Thirty-nine people were killed and dozens wounded Sunday when a gunman stormed a popular Istanbul nightclub and sprayed bullets at revellers celebrating the New Year. Turkish special force police officers and ambulances are seen at the site of an armed attack January 1, 2017 in Istanbul The assailant shot dead a policeman and a civilian at the entrance to the Reina nightclub and then went on a shooting rampage inside, officials said.

New UN chief aims to make 2017 ‘a year for peace’

The new United Nations chief Antonio Guterres said Sunday he would like to make 2017 a year to “put peace first,” in a message heralding the new year and marking his first day as the world body’s chief. Antonio Guterres speaks to the media after being sworn in as UN secretary general December 12, 2016 at the United Nations in New York The Portuguese former prime minister, 67, took over as UN Secretary-general from South Korea’s Ban Ki-moon, inheriting complex crises in Syria, South Sudan, Yemen, Burundi, North Korea and elsewhere.

Britain’s May calls for unity in 2017 after divisive Brexit vote

FILE PHOTO: Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May speaks at the annual Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, Britain, October 2, 2016. British Prime Minister Theresa May pledged in a New Year message on Sunday to seek a Brexit deal that would work for all Britons, not just those who voted to leave the European Union in a referendum she said had laid bare the nation’s divisions.

Manhunt in Turkey after New Yeara s nightclub shooting

A manhunt is on in Turkey for an assailant in a Santa Claus hat who unleashed a salvo of bullets in a crowded Istanbul nightclub during New Year’s celebrations Sunday, killing at least 39 people. Foreigners were among the fatalities, including an 18-year-old Israeli woman and a Belgian national, according to the two countries’ respective foreign ministries.

The Latest: Many nationalities among wounded in Turkey

Turkey’s Minister of Family and Social Policies says foreigners are among the wounded in the attack on an Istanbul nightclub that left at least 39 dead and nearly 70 wounded. Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya said: “There are many different nationalities, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Lebanon, Libya and citizens of other nations.”

Istanbul nightclub ‘Santa attack’ kills 35

Istanbul governor Vasip Sahin said at least 35 people died and 40 were injured after at least one gunman reportedly dressed as Santa stormed an elite nightclub. Photo: AFP At least 35 people were killed in a “terror” attack in Istanbul Sunday when at least one gunman reportedly dressed as Santa stormed an elite nightclub where party-goers were celebrating New Year, the latest carnage to rock Turkey after a bloody 2016.

Istanbul attack revives terror jitters in New Year

In London, over 100,000 people lined the banks of the River Thames to watch a spectacular fireworks display set to a soundtrack featuring Bowie and Prince. Photo: AFP An attack that killed 35 revelers in an Istanbul nightclub cast a shadow on New Year celebrations attended by millions of people around the world to ring in 2017.

AP Photos: People around the world ring in 2017

Revelers around the world have been welcoming 2017 with crackling fireworks displays and loud cheering, saying goodbye to a year filled with political surprises, prolonged conflicts and the deaths of several beloved performers. The people of Sydney were treated to a glittering display over their famed harbor and bridge that honored the singer David Bowie and actor Gene Wilder, who both passed away in 2016.

New year has bleak start for Iraq’s displaced people

There were no big New Year’s celebrations for the Iraqi men, women and children who narrowly escaped the fighting in Mosul, only to wait for hours under armed guard while the fighting-age males among them were cleared of links to the Islamic State. The lucky ones would go with their families to one of the wind-swept camps for displaced Iraqis, where they will endure the remainder of northern Iraq’s bitterly cold winter in tents and learn to survive on insufficient supplies of food, heating oil and blankets.

Shopper docket the sleeper issue behind the Woolworths sale to BP

Arguably it was the single most fraught issue in retailing over the past two decades – shopper docket fuel discounts, which helped underwrite the emergence of the two dominant retailers, Coles and Woolworths, to control close to half of the national retail sales of petrol. The NSW government’s Fuel Check website says it provides real-time information on fuel prices across the state’s service stations.

No big New Year’s celebrations for Iraq’s displaced

There were no big New Year’s celebrations for the Iraqi men, women and children who narrowly escaped the fighting in Mosul, only to wait for hours under armed guard while the fighting-age males among them were cleared of links to the Islamic State. The lucky ones would go with their families to one of the wind-swept camps for displaced Iraqis, where they will endure the remainder of northern Iraq’s bitterly cold winter in tents and learn to survive on insufficient supplies of food, heating oil and blankets.

United Nations backs Russian-Turkish Syria efforts as cease-fire wavers2 min ago

Beirut, Jan 1: The UN Security Council has unanimously adopted a resolution supporting efforts by Russia and Turkey to end the nearly six-year conflict in Syria and jump-start peace negotiations, as a fragile country-wide cease-fire wavered.The resolution also calls for the “rapid, safe and unhindered” delivery of humanitarian aid throughout Syria. And it anticipates a meeting of the Syrian government and opposition representative in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana in late January.

Creative ways to ring in the new year

Counting down the hours until the new year can be exciting, as the world anxiously anticipates the adventures in store for the months ahead. Celebrating the new year dates back thousands of years to the ancient Babylonians, who celebrated a new year come the first full moon after the spring equinox.

Putin congratulates Trump, not Obama, in New Year’s statement

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated US President-elect Donald Trump, rather than President Barack Obama, in his annual New Year’s greetings statement to foreign heads of state and government. However, Putin did convey his seasonal greetings to Obama, his family and the American people in a separate statement earlier Friday, while responding to the latest wave of US sanctions against Russia.

Australia kicks off global New Year party defying terror threat

SYDNEY: Global terror attacks have cast a pall over 2016 but Australia was Saturday set to defy the threats and ring in the New Year with bumper crowds gathering to watch a firework extravaganza on Sydney’s glittering harbour. 2016 has seen repeated bloodshed, most recently a deadly truck attack at a Berlin Christmas market, a similar incident on Bastille Day in France that killed 86, and atrocities in Turkey and the Middle East.

Pacific islands first to welcome in new year

Islands in Polynesia and the Central Pacific have ushered in the new year as the UK counts down to the start of 2017. Cities in the island nations of Samoa, Tonga and Kiribati were the first to welcome the new year as the clock hit 10am on New Year’s Eve in London.

Bravo, you saved $4: Why your New Year’s Eve fill-up to avoid…

While the rest of Canada was quietly stocking up on champagne and sparklers for the New Year’s countdown, in Alberta and Ontario there were long lineups as drivers queued for one last fill-up before 2017. The reason? New climate change legislation that, once in force on January 1, would jack up fuel prices by about five cents per litre.

Team GB lead the way in New Year Honours list

Britain’s first ever Tour de France cyclist, a cutler to the Queen with 76 years under his belt and the director of an agricultural show are among the Yorkshire recipients of New Year’s Honours Nationally, Olympic heroes Mo Farah, Andy Murray and Sheffield’ Jessica Ennis-Hill lead the way in a list dominated by Rio 2016’s Team GB. Others who will claim the title Sir in the new year include Kinks frontman Ray Davies, 72, and veteran comic Ken Dodd, 89, recognised for services to the arts, and entertainment and charity, respectively.

Merkel says Islamist terrorism is biggest test for Germany

German Chancellor Angela Merkel poses for photographs after the television recording of her annual New Year’s speech at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, December 30, 2016. Islamist terrorism is the biggest test facing Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Saturday in a New Year’s address to the nation, and she vowed to introduce laws that improve security after a deadly attack before Christmas in Berlin.

600 places to catch fireworks tonight

New year fete : As the world welcomes the New Year, tradition has been that fireworks take centre stage at the stroke of midnight. And to usher in 2017 tonight, the Inspector General of Police, Gen Kale Kayihura, has cleared 618 venues for the spectacular display of fireworks.

European cities ramp up security for New Year after Berlin attack

European capitals tightened security on Friday ahead of New Year’s celebrations, erecting concrete barriers in city centres and boosting police numbers after the Islamic State attack in Berlin last week that killed 12 people. In the German capital, police closed the Pariser Platz square in front of the Brandenburg Gate and prepared to deploy 1,700 extra officers, many along a party strip where armoured cars will flank concrete barriers blocking off the area.

Turkey to raise minimum wage by 8 percent to 1,400 liras

Turkey will raise the monthly minimum wage by 8 percent to 1,404 Turkish liras , Labor Minister Mehmet Muezzinoglu said at a press conference on Dec. 29 in Ankara, a level that trade unions did not welcome. “The minimum wage in Turkey is increasing from 1,300 Turkish liras per month to 1,404 liras per month, as of 2017, after we reached an agreement with stakeholders,” he said.

Coulter: Tweeting the 2016 Campaign

And GOP can’t figure out why Trump is sweeping the country. @AnnCoulter Jan. 15 Bush campaign lands the coveted Lindsey Graham endorsement, bringing an additional 0.0% support to the juggernaut that is Jeb! @AnnCoulter Jan. 30 Sweaty little liar Rubio sucks up to Iowans with Jesus talk, but he tried to replace them with 30 million Mexicans.

10 Things to Know for Today

A Turkish news agency says Ankara and Moscow are working to ensure that the truce would come into effect at midnight, although there was no immediate confirmation from the Turkish Foreign Ministry. “People relate to aspects of my stories and that’s nice for me because then I’m not all alone with it,” she told The AP in 2009.

10 Things to Know for Today

A Turkish news agency says Ankara and Moscow are working to ensure that the truce would come into effect at midnight, although there was no immediate confirmation from the Turkish Foreign Ministry. “People relate to aspects of my stories and that’s nice for me because then I’m not all alone with it,” she told The AP in 2009.

Poll: One-third of Czechs plan to make New Year’s resolution

Roughly one-third of Czechs, mainly young people under 29, plan to make New Year’s resolutions that most often concern a healthy lifestyle, according to a STEM/MARK poll conducted for the Naturhouse chain of diet advisory centres and released to CTK. More than a half of the polled have ever made a New Year’s resolution.

Three-day heatwave in Sydney to be the hottest end of December in 50 YEARS

It’s gonna be a scorcher! Three-day 40C heatwave in Sydney to be the hottest end of December in 50 YEARS Sydney is on track to swelter through its hottest end to a year in over 50 years, with forecasts of a three-day heatwave bringing temperatures in the high 30s to low 40s. The Bureau of Meteorology predicts perfect summer weather for Sydney on Tuesday and Wednesday, with temperatures tipped to reach 30 degrees with cloud coverage.

The Latest: Russia: All causes for plane crash being eyed

The Latest on the crash of a Russian aircraft with 92 people on board en route to Russia’s air base in Syria : Russia’s transport minister says investigators are looking into all possible reasons why a Russian military plane crashed into the Black Sea with 92 people on board, including the option of a terror attack. Earlier, a Russian official had downplayed any suggestion of a terror attack.