About 40 people dead and 115 injured in fire at Swiss Alpine bar during New Year’s celebration

By JAMEY KEATEN, STEFANIE DAZIO and JOHN LEICESTER

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland (AP) — About 40 people were killed and another 115 injured, most of them seriously, after a fire ripped through a bar’s New Year celebration in a Swiss Alpine resort less than two hours after midnight Thursday, police said.

Authorities did not immediately have an exact count of the deceased.

The Crans-Montana resort is best known as an international ski and golf venue, and overnight, its crowded Le Constellation bar morphed from a scene of revelry into the site of one of Switzerland’s worst tragedies. The country will hold five days of mourning.

Valais Canton police commander Frédéric Gisler said during a news conference that work is underway to identify the victims and inform their families, adding that the community is “devastated.”

Thirteen of the wounded were Italian citizens, and another six Italians are unaccounted for, Italy’s ambassador to Switzerland, Gian Lorenzo Cornado, told state-run RAI television.

Beatrice Pilloud, Valais Canton attorney general, said it was too early to determine the cause of the fire. Experts have not yet been able to go inside the wreckage.

“At no moment is there a question of any kind of attack,” Pilloud said.

Several reported killed in Iran protests over economic hardships

By Elwely Elwelly

DUBAI, Jan 1 (Reuters) - Several people were killed during unrest in Iran, Iranian media and rights groups said on Thursday, as the biggest protests to hit the Islamic Republic for three years over worsening economic conditions sparked violence in several provinces.

The semi-official Fars news agency reported that three protesters were killed and 17 were injured during an attack on a police station in Iran's western province of Lorestan.

"The rioters entered the police headquarters around 1800 (local time) on Thursday ... they clashed with police forces and set fire to several police cars," Fars reported.

Earlier, Fars and rights group Hengaw reported deaths in Lordegan city in the country's Charmahal and Bakhtiari province. Authorities confirmed one death in the western city of Kuhdasht, and Hengaw reported another death in the central province of Isfahan.

The clashes between protesters and security forces mark a significant escalation in the unrest that has spread across the country since shopkeepers began protesting on Sunday over the government's handling of a sharp currency slide and rapidly rising prices.

New Trump-ordered immigration restrictions go into effect Jan. 1

It comes amid new restrictions on H1-B visas that took effect Monday.

By Luke Barr

Individuals from seven countries will not be able to travel to the United States starting Thursday, according to updated CBP guidance obtained by ABC News.

Earlier this year, President Donald Trump signed executive orders limiting travel from Burkina Faso, Laos, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Syria -- with those restrictions now going into effect Jan. 1.

This applies to both immigrants and nonimmigrants, according to the CBO document dated Dec. 29.

The White House says the restrictions are for national security and public safety reasons, while immigrant advocates say the ban targets African and Muslim countries.

The travel ban continues restrictions on those from Afghanistan; Burma (Myanmar); Chad; Republic of the Congo; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; Haiti; Iran; Libya; Somalia; Sudan; Yemen from entering into the United States.

There are also partial travel restrictions on people from Venezuela and Cuba, according to the document.

It comes amid new restrictions on H1-B visas taking effect earlier this week.

The H-1B visa program allows employers to hire noncitizens that have a specialized skill or trade and was previously done somewhat randomly.

Why are some African countries banning US citizens from entry?

Mali and Burkina Faso are the latest to issue ‘tit-for-tat’ bans on visas for US citizens with immediate effect.

By Shola Lawal

Mali and Burkina Faso have announced they are imposing full visa bans on United States citizens in retaliation for US President Donald Trump’s ban on US visas for their citizens this month.

The two West African countries, which are both governed by the military, on Tuesday became the latest African nations to issue “tit-for-tat” visa bans on the US. These follow Trump’s new visa restrictions, which now apply to 39 countries in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin America. The White House said they were imposed on “national security” grounds.

“In accordance with the principle of reciprocity, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation informs the national and international community that, with immediate effect, the Government of the Republic of Mali will apply the same conditions and requirements to US nationals as those imposed on Malian citizens,” the Malian ministry said in a statement.

Burkina Faso’s foreign minister, Karamoko Jean-Marie Traore, in a separate statement similarly cited a reciprocity rule for his country’s visa ban.

Which countries have issued bans on visas for US citizens?

The US directive issued on December 16 expanded full US visa bans to citizens of five nations other than Mali and Burkina Faso: Laos, Niger, Sierra Leone, South Sudan and Syria.

Travellers holding travel documents issued by the Palestinian Authority were also banned from entering the US under the order.

The US cited the countries’ poor screening and vetting capabilities, information-sharing policies, visa overstay rates and refusal to take back their deported nationals for the ban.

Guinea’s Coup Leader Wins Election After Barring Leading Opponents

Col. Mamady Doumbouya, who seized power more than four years ago, took over 80 percent of the vote, according to a government-controlled agency that he set up.

By Saikou Jammeh

The leader of a coup in the West African nation of Guinea won a landslide victory in a presidential election meant to legitimize his rule, according to results on Wednesday. The vote took place more than four years after he seized power and tightened his grip on the country.

The winner, Col. Mamady Doumbouya, who barred his main challengers from taking part in the race, secured more than 80 percent of the vote in the election, which took place on Sunday, according to provisional results from a government-controlled agency he set up to oversee the election.

The election took place after Colonel Doumbouya dissolved the independent body responsible for conducting the election and prevented key opponents from running against him.

At least three opposition figures have publicly conceded defeat, but Abdoulaye Yéro Baldé, who was seen as the strongest among eight candidates allowed to run, said on Wednesday that he was mobilizing a legal team to challenge the results in court. He accused the Doumbouya government of fraud and intimidating voters.

“The margin is really huge,” said Mr. Baldé, who placed second with only 6 percent of the votes, compared to Colonel Doumbouya’s 86 percent share. “It’s not the reality. It’s impossible.”

Bulgaria is joining the euro. Here's what it means for consumers and businesses

DAVID McHugh

On New Year's Day, Bulgaria will achieve its decades-old goal of joining the euro currency union and deepening ties with the more prosperous countries of Western Europe.

Membership is expected to promote cross-border trade and investment, and the Bulgarian government pressed for years to get in. Yet polls show the changeover is taking place against a background of widespread skepticism among ordinary people.

Here are things to know as Bulgaria and its 6.4 million people become the 21st member of the European Union's shared currency:

The big switch on New Year’s Day

In the run-up to the big switch, price tags and bank accounts have had to show both currencies, at the fixed rate of 51 euro cents to the outgoing currency, the lev.

Bank accounts will automatically be converted.

People will still be able to pay in levs for about a month, but they will start getting their change in euros. Old notes and coins are expected to be out of the economy in a matter of weeks.

Until June 30, old money can be exchanged for no fee at banks, post offices and the Bulgarian Central Bank, and indefinitely at the central bank.

Trump administration issues new warning to China over Taiwan

Story by Jesus Mesa

The Trump administration on Thursday warned China to halt military pressure on Taiwan, saying Beijing’s actions and rhetoric are raising tensions unnecessarily in the region. The State Department urged China in a New Year’s Day statement to “exercise restraint, cease its military pressure against Taiwan, and instead engage in meaningful dialogue.

“China’s military activities and rhetoric toward Taiwan and others in the region increase tensions unnecessarily. We urge Beijing to exercise restraint, cease its military pressure against Taiwan, and instead engage in meaningful dialogue,” said State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott on Thursday. “The United States supports peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and opposes unilateral changes to the status quo, including by force or coercion,” he added.

Why It Matters

The drills reflect Beijing’s increasingly assertive military posture toward Taiwan. China claims the island as its territory, despite the Chinese Communist Party never having ruled it. After losing the civil war, the Chinese Nationalist government fled to Taiwan, which now operates as a sovereign state with its own elected government, diplomatic relations, and military.

What To Know

The administration’s statement came after approving an $11 billion arms package for Taiwan, one of the largest in recent years. The deal includes missile systems, naval platforms, and radar upgrades intended to bolster the island’s defenses.

Beijing responded with its sixth round of large-scale military drills since 2022, simulating a blockade of Taiwan’s key ports under the codename “Justice Mission 2025.” China deployed fighter jets, naval ships, and coast guard vessels around the island and fired 27 rockets from its eastern coast. Taiwanese military officials said some landed closer to the main island than ever before.