World 10
Ashburton Guardian
Monday, January 2, 2017
www.guardianonline.co.nz
■ AUSTRALIA
Sydney lights up for 2017 Sydney Harbour has been set ablaze with light, colour and music as another dazzling fireworks display thrilled capacity crowds from around the world and marked the arrival of 2017. After a year that many were happy to leave behind, an estimated 1.5 million people packed the foreshore on Saturday for a double bill of fireworks climaxing with the world famous midnight pyrotechnics extravaganza. The two displays comprised an estimated seven tonnes of fireworks, including 12,000 shells, 25,000 shooting comets and 100,000 individual pyrotechnic effects. Spectators gasped and cheered throughout the $7 million 9pm and midnight shows and embraced each other with exclamations of “whoo!” with each new burst of colour and light. Tributes to music legends Prince and David Bowie were a highlight of the night’s entertainment, with purple rain showering the harbour and illuminating the bridge and a constellation of space-inspired pyrotechnics. The loudest applause came at the end when a golden waterfall cascaded from the bridge to the water below. Chilean student Felipe Ortega said he couldn’t believe he was in Sydney to see a show he usually watched on TV back home. His friend, Columbian Jenny Ruiz, said coming to the Opera House to celebrate
Sia
Sia files for divorce
Fireworks explode over the Sydney Opera House. the new year was mandatory while in Australia. “It’s a must-see. It’s an icon.” NSW Police Assistant Commissioner Nick Fuller said the number of arrests was 15, half that of last year and an “outstanding result” considering the crowds were the biggest in recent years. The arrests were mainly to do with heavy alcohol consumption and assaults, including some minor assaults on police officers, he said. In Melbourne the skies lit up in the city’s greatest ever fireworks display. The city skyline was crowned with a golden sparkle as explosives fired from an unprecedented 22 rooftops. Almost half a million revellers crammed into the CBD to view the glittering $500,000 spectacular.
PHOTO AP
Among them was Emma Eastick, of Pakenham, who ventured into the CBD for New Year’s Eve for the first time. “It’s just to see the big fantastic fireworks live, rather than on the TV,” she said. Police operations were bolstered by a new 24/7 monitoring centre feeding in live CCTV footage and intelligence. Around 90,000 people packed into South Bank in Brisbane to watch the fireworks. The display was mirrored at Eagle Street as well as at Hamilton further up the Brisbane River, featuring six tonnes of fireworks and culminating in a spectacular in a 200m high shimmering golden wall marking the transition from one year to the next. - AAP
Grammy-nominated Australian singer Sia has filed for divorce from her husband of two years. The Adelaide-born singer cited irreconcilable differences in her petition to end her marriage to filmmaker Erik Anders Lang, which was filed on December 20 in Los Angeles Superior Court. The former couple has no children together and has a prenuptial agreement. They were married in August 2014 and separated on December 7, the same day Sia’s publicist announced they had separated but were “dedicated to remaining friends”. She is nominated for three Grammys this year, including best pop vocal album for This Is Acting. - AP
■ GERMANY
Germany stronger than terror - Merkel Berlin Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned in her new year’s address of the terrorist threat facing Germany, saying that her government will take whatever steps are necessary to ensure the country’s security. However, she also once again strongly defended her controversial decision in September 2015 to open Germany’s borders to refugees stranded in Hungary. The chancellor said the bombing of Aleppo in Syria had shown “how important and correct” it had been to offer protection to those fleeing the horrors of war. Merkel told Germans that the series of terrorist attacks in Germany in 2016 – culminating in the December lorry attack on a Berlin Christmas market in which 12
people were killed – had been a severe test for the country. It was without doubt that Islamist terrorists have been targeting Germans for many years, she said, also referring to the July attack on regional train in Bavaria by a 17-year-old Afghan refugee. The chancellor said it was “particularly bitter and repugnant when terrorist attacks are committed by people who are in our country allegedly seeking protection,” accusing them of taunting those who tried to help them. But she said her conservative-led government would continue this year to boost security in the country, adding that Berlin “will implement as fast as possible, measures where political or legal changes are
necessary”. “Together we are stronger,” said Merkel, adding that the state was stronger than what she described as “the hate-filled world of terrorism”. Many have the feeling that in 2016 “the world as a whole world had come apart,” Merkel said, noting the pressure on the European Union as well as claims that parliamentary democratic systems were only acting in their own interests. She acknowledged some of the criticism facing Europe, saying that Europe as a whole must find the answers to the challenges it faces. “And we Germans have every interest in playing a leading role in it,” Merkel said. - DPA
Summer is here and it’s a time for family outings and fun, so join us in a daily giveaway celebrating the 12 days of Christmas.
READER GIVEAWAY @AshGuardian
William Salice
Kinder Surprise boss dies William Salice, the inventor of Kinder Surprise – chocolate with a toy inside – has died in Italy at the age of 83, a spokesman for confectionery firm Ferrero says. Salice, who passed away on December 29, worked for the Italian firm from 1960 to 2007 in product development. Originally from Turin, Salice worked closely with former company head Michele Ferrero and played a great role in creating another of the company’s successes: Nutella. Starting as a small confectioner in the 1940s, Ferrero is today a worldwide concern with yearly revenues of around $US10 billion ($NZ14.4 billion). - DPA
DAY SEVEN 1 FAMILY PASS 1 FAMILY OF FOUR
Every day (Monday-Saturday) we will post to Facebook our daily giveaway. Like our page, share the post and comment to be in to win. Winners drawn daily T&Cs apply.
www.facebook.com/ashguardian
www.guardianonline.co.nz