Top News Stories –

Argentina: Uproar as new year message omits disputed Falklands –
A new year’s message by Argentina’s social development ministry has caused uproar after it excluded the disputed Falkland Islands from the country’s map. Former combatants and social media users said the message was offensive to those who died in the 1982 war. The ministry has apologised, saying it was a mistake by the design team. The islands are a British territory in the Atlantic claimed by Argentina, where they are known as the Malvinas. President Mauricio Macri, who took office in December 2015, promised a “new kind of relationship” with the UK, a step seen as aimed at boosting Argentina’s flagging economy. [BBC]

Other News Stories –

Armed conflicts and attacks

• 2017 Istanbul nightclub attack
  • The Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant claims responsibility for the attack in what it claims is a response to Turkey‘s actions in neighbouring Syria. (The Washington Post)
• January 2017 Baghdad bombings
  • A series of attacks kill at least 70 people and injure more than 100 others in mostly Shiite neighborhoods of Baghdad, Iraq. (The Huffington Post)

Disasters and accidents

• In Texas, four children die with an additional six others injured after they are poisoned by phosgene gas sprayed in an inappropriate attempt as a pesticide. (Fox News)
• A wildfire destroys at least 100 homes in Valparaíso, Chile, causing the evacuation of about 400 people. The Chilean Ministry of the Interior and Public Security reports that at least 19 people suffered from minor injuries. (AAP via SBS), (Reuters)
• A powerful storm system hits the southern United States, resulting in four deaths in Alabama and severe damage across several states. (AP)
• A traffic collision between a minivan and a pickup truck in the Ban Bueng District of Chonburi Province, Thailand kills at least 25 people and leaves 2 others injured. Authorities investigate the cause of the accident. (Al Jazeera), (CNN)
• Four people are killed in the crash of a Cessna 210 into rugged terrain on Mogollon Rim near Payson, Arizona. The plane had been traveling from Scottsdale, Arizona to Telluride, Colorado. (ABC News)(Arizona Republic) Victim was identified as Scottsdale attorney Eric Falbe along with his wife, Carrie, and his two daughters from a previous marriage. (Fox Spokane)

Law and crime

• 2017 Manaus prison riot
  • Prisoners kill at least 56 people in a prison riot in Manaus, Brazil. (Reuters)
• In New Haven Connecticut, two men are suspected of approaching a man claiming to have a gun, took his cellphone and wallet. Then they stole his SUV and apparently lost control as they were killed when their stolen SUV accidentally crashed into and seriously damaged a synagogue (Hartford Courant)
• In Dearborn Michigan the driver and passenger of a minivan being pursued by police for missing plates were killed when they struck a car, lost control and hit several parked vehicles. (Huron Daily Tribune)
• In Detroit, Michigan an African American man was shot in the head driving a car which crashed, police are searching for two men who ran from the car after the crash (WXYZ)
• A first-year New Rochelle Police officer crashed his Jeep into a tree, killing passenger Isaac “Hooshie” Ward. He will be charged with vehicular manslaughter as his Blood Alcohol Content was above the legal limit (newrochelletalk)
• Huzaifa Shafeeq was arraigned on burglary charges after police say the stole from a Long Island mosque charity box on Christmas and New Years Day. Islamic Center board member said the amount taken wasn’t large, but called police as the thief needed help. (ABC7NY)

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