Bangkok nightclub fire toll rises to 59
BANGKOK, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- New Year celebrations ended in tragedy at a popular Bangkok nightclub, where a fire killed at least 59 people and inured dozens more, police said.
The blaze at the two-story Santika Club in the Thong Lo district of the Thai capital erupted shortly after the revelers rang in the New Year and it took firefighters nearly two hours to put it out, the Bangkok Post reported.
CNN quoted police as saying about 1,000 people were in the club at the time of the fire.
The Bangkok Post police said 53 people were found dead at the scene and another six died in a hospital.
Most of the victims were Thai but there were also some foreigners among the dead including from Australia, the Netherlands, Nepal and Japan, the report said.
More than 200 were injured.
The cause of the blaze is under investigation, but local media reports said police suspect fireworks kept near the stage where a band was playing may have ignited and torched the club's drapes near the roof.
Andrew Long, a Briton living in Bangkok, told the BBC that survivors leaving the club said the fire broke out on the stage.
One police official told the Post most of the victims died of smoke inhalation "but some were also killed in a stampede when people were trying to get out."
The Post said most of the bodies were found in the club's basement, which was reachable only through a narrow stairwell.
Video reports on Bangkok television stations showed the fire raging even as rescue teams pulled the victims out of the premises, the Thai News Agency reported.
Israel to open up aid, still bombs Gaza
GAZA, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- Israeli air raids into Gaza struck government buildings Thursday as Israeli officials tried to deflect growing global dismay over civilian casualties.
While rejecting calls for a humanitarian cease-fire, Israel said it would work with allies to build a long-term truce, as well as try to expedite and increase humanitarian aid, The New York Times reported.
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni was expected to fly to Paris Thursday to meet with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and President Nicolas Sarkozy, who are seeking ways to promote a cease-fire.
The government said it would push ahead with its air, sea and potential ground operation, characterized by one one military official as "making Hamas lose their will or lose their weapons," the newspaper said
Meanwhile, Hamas militants Thursday fired at least three rockets at locations in southern Israel.
Medical personnel in Gaza said more than 390 people were killed by Israeli fighter plans since Saturday, including 25 women and 38 children. The United Nations puts the number dead between 320 and 390, with about 25 percent being civilians.
An Israeli official said the country was seeking ways to increase humanitarian aid so its military operation could continue without outside pressure to cease. Israel allowed about a dozen wounded and ill Gazans into Israel Wednesday for treatment at hospitals in Jerusalem and allowed about 100 trucks of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
Hamas leader Ismail Haniya told Israeli leaders a cease-fire would not occur until Israel ended its attack and all crossings into Gaza from Israel and from Egypt were opened to commercial traffic.
U.S.turns over Green Zone to Iraqis
BAGHDAD, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- Baghdad's heavily fortified Green Zone, a vivid symbol of the U.S. role in Iraq, was turned over to Iraqis as the new year bowed in at midnight, officials said.
The 6-square-mile enclave on the Tigris River included the majestic Republican Palace, which housed the American Embassy and other key U.S. and Iraqi bureaucracies and once symbolized Saddam Hussein's firm control of the country.
The walls have been stripped bare and vaults that held U.S. cash and classified documents emptied, The Washington Post said. U.S. officials say they will try to be as inconspicuous as possible. There are still details to be worked out.
The Green Zone transfer is part of a "status of forces" security agreement between the United States and Iraq signed last month.
For many Iraqis, the handover represents a major step toward their gradual reassertion of control of their own affairs.
"On January 1, we are going to control this," an Iraqi soldier manning a Green Zone entry checkpoint said. "The U.S. will be here just as observers. It's a matter of pride."
Wind-whipped debris blamed for 1 death
WASHINGTON, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- High winds buffeted the Washington area, fueling fires, zapping power to thousands of customers and blamed for at least one death, officials said.
Wind gusts near 60 mph in some areas hurled trees and branches onto roads and disabled traffic lights, The Washington Post reported Thursday.
Officials said a priest died Wednesday when he was struck by a falling tree as he tried to remove debris from traffic lands. A 2-year-old boy was hospitalized after he was hit by a tree limb while in his back yard, the Post reported.
The gusty conditions forced municipalities along the eastern seaboard to cancel New Year's Eve fireworks displays because conditions were hazardous.
In McLean, Va., a gust sent the "U" of the high-rise USA Today building's sign toppling to the streets below.
A complex storm in the Pacific Northwest ushered in 2009 with high winds, heavy mountain snow and soaking rains, AccuWeather.com reported. The system was expected to bombard the Northwest through Friday.
Heavy rain and melting snow will cause streams and rivers flowing from the Cascades to the Pacific Ocean to rise rapidly, forecasters said, adding that mudslides were possible.
The storm system was expected to be accompanied by powerful winds, with the strongest blasting areas south of the storm's track, forecasters said.
Poor visibility because of fog led to a multi-vehicle accident Wednesday on Highway 5 in California's San Joaquin Valley, KNBC-TV reported.
A storm that blanked the Northeast with between 6-12 inches of snow was expected to slam the eastern coast of Canada Thursday with dangerous blizzard conditions.
Raw winds on the back side of the blizzard were expected to make a frigid start to the new year in the Northeast.
2009 holds promise, hope, Bush says
CRAWFORD, Texas, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- The new year holds promise and excitement for the United States as it prepares for a new president, President George Bush said in his New Year's Day message.
"New Year's Day is an opportunity to remember the events of the past and look forward with hope to the year ahead," Bush said in his annual message delivered from his ranch in Crawford, Texas. "We are preparing to welcome a new president into office, and we celebrate in a spirit of unity: one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all."
As his tenure draws to a close, Bush said he wanted to thank the American people "for trusting me with the honor of serving our great country."
The country has accomplished much under his watch, Bush said.
"Among other things, we have advanced the cause of human freedom," he said, "we have strengthened our military and our nation's security; we have empowered parents to demand educational excellence for their children; and we have revolutionized the fight against poverty, corruption, and the scourge of disease around the world."
Bush said he was encouraged by the character of the U.S. citizens, "whose acts of courage and service sustain our free society and make this the greatest country on earth."
