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| UK new year celebrations to go ahead amid heightened security around the world | UK new year celebrations to go ahead amid heightened security around the world |
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| Millions of Britons are expected to take part in official New Year’s Eve celebrations across the UK despite significant armed police presence and security warnings being issued around the world. | Millions of Britons are expected to take part in official New Year’s Eve celebrations across the UK despite significant armed police presence and security warnings being issued around the world. |
| Several western countries have cancelled or curtailed their annual events, while British police chiefs have deployed extra armed officers to the streets of London, the scene of the UK’s largest new year parties. | |
| There have been concerns across Europe and the US about safety after a year when terrorists showed their ability to carry out or inspire attacks on public gatherings and transport, including in Paris, California and Egypt. | There have been concerns across Europe and the US about safety after a year when terrorists showed their ability to carry out or inspire attacks on public gatherings and transport, including in Paris, California and Egypt. |
| New York City said it had its tightest ever New Year’s Eve security to protect an expected 1 million revellers. Celebrations were cancelled in Brussels over fears of terrorist atrocities, and scaled back in Paris and Moscow. | |
| The Metropolitan police will have 6,000 officers on duty across London, with 3,000 of those in the city centre where many were expected to gather to see in 2016. | |
| The Met said it would have some extra armed officers on duty and that searches would be carried out at a fireworks display staged by London’s mayor. | |
| British Transport Police said it would have extra officers equipped with guns at tube and train stations across the capital with 650 officers on duty, double that on a normal weeknight and slightly higher than last New Year’s Eve. | |
| BTP said it would keep armed officers on duty through the night, the first time such a step has been taken. | BTP said it would keep armed officers on duty through the night, the first time such a step has been taken. |
| There is no specific intelligence held by British security officials of a plot targeting New Year’s Eve, but a terrorist attack at some stage is feared to be highly likely. Extra visible patrols are meant to deter any plots, reassure the public and demonstrate that police chiefs are not being complacent given the government has wondered if they are suited to lead the fight against terrorism. | |
| Counter-terrorism officials around the world will spend the coming months dealing with how Islamic State reacts to offensives against it in its Iraqi and Syrian heartlands, amid concerns it is building up its capacity in another troubled state, Libya. | |
| Police in Belgium detained six people during house searches in Brussels on Thursday in an investigation into an alleged plot to carry out an attack in the city. Earlier in the week two other people were arrested on suspicion of preparing attacks on “emblematic sites” in Brussels during the celebrations. Another man was questioned over links to last month’s Paris attacks. | Police in Belgium detained six people during house searches in Brussels on Thursday in an investigation into an alleged plot to carry out an attack in the city. Earlier in the week two other people were arrested on suspicion of preparing attacks on “emblematic sites” in Brussels during the celebrations. Another man was questioned over links to last month’s Paris attacks. |
| Authorities in the Belgian capital said a fireworks display and festivities that attracted 100,000 people last year would not go ahead after revealing the alleged jihadi plot. | Authorities in the Belgian capital said a fireworks display and festivities that attracted 100,000 people last year would not go ahead after revealing the alleged jihadi plot. |
| “Unfortunately we have been forced to cancel the fireworks and all that was planned for tomorrow [Thursday] evening,” the mayor, Yvan Mayeur, told Belgian broadcaster RTBF. “It’s better not to take any risks.” | “Unfortunately we have been forced to cancel the fireworks and all that was planned for tomorrow [Thursday] evening,” the mayor, Yvan Mayeur, told Belgian broadcaster RTBF. “It’s better not to take any risks.” |
| In Paris, where 130 people were killed last month, the annual fireworks display on the Champs-Élysées has been called off and 11,000 police, soldiers and firefighters will patrol the French capital. In all, more than 100,000 police will be deployed across the country, according to the interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve. | In Paris, where 130 people were killed last month, the annual fireworks display on the Champs-Élysées has been called off and 11,000 police, soldiers and firefighters will patrol the French capital. In all, more than 100,000 police will be deployed across the country, according to the interior minister, Bernard Cazeneuve. |
| Red Square in Moscow, traditionally a place where people gather to ring in the new year, will be closed. “It’s no secret that Moscow is one of the choice targets for terrorists,” the city’s mayor, Sergei Sobyanin, said recently. | |
| In Turkey, officials said two Isis suspects, reportedly both Turks, were planning to stage suicide bombings in the centre of Ankara. Turkey has been on a high security alert since October, when two suicide bombers blew themselves up in a crowd of peace activists in Ankara, killing 103 people in the worst attack in the country’s modern history. According to the private NTV television, counter-terrorism police arrested the pair in the Mamak district on the outskirts of the capital. | In Turkey, officials said two Isis suspects, reportedly both Turks, were planning to stage suicide bombings in the centre of Ankara. Turkey has been on a high security alert since October, when two suicide bombers blew themselves up in a crowd of peace activists in Ankara, killing 103 people in the worst attack in the country’s modern history. According to the private NTV television, counter-terrorism police arrested the pair in the Mamak district on the outskirts of the capital. |
| “They are suspected of being affiliated with Islamic State and were planning an attack on the new year in Ankara,” a Turkish official told Agence France-Presse. | |
| The two intended to stage an attack in Ankara’s main Kizilay square, the Anatolia news agency reported, citing the prosecutor’s office. | The two intended to stage an attack in Ankara’s main Kizilay square, the Anatolia news agency reported, citing the prosecutor’s office. |
| In New York, where 1 million gather in Times Square every year, officials said 6,000 officers, some plainclothes, would be on hand to watch over celebrations. Bill de Blasio, the New York mayor, said the security measures this year would be “more extensive than ever” and include more than 500 police trained in preventing terror attacks. | In New York, where 1 million gather in Times Square every year, officials said 6,000 officers, some plainclothes, would be on hand to watch over celebrations. Bill de Blasio, the New York mayor, said the security measures this year would be “more extensive than ever” and include more than 500 police trained in preventing terror attacks. |
| “We’ll have a huge number of police out on New Year’s Eve, including a lot of our new anti-terror force, the critical response command,” he said. | “We’ll have a huge number of police out on New Year’s Eve, including a lot of our new anti-terror force, the critical response command,” he said. |
| In Germany, which has received 1 million refugees this year, many shelters have banned firecrackers and pyrotechnics to protect people from reliving the trauma of wars they fled. | In Germany, which has received 1 million refugees this year, many shelters have banned firecrackers and pyrotechnics to protect people from reliving the trauma of wars they fled. |
| Sydney kicked off the celebrations with its biggest ever fireworks display. Despite safety concerns, a million-plus crowd watched the extravaganza from the Harbour Bridge and Opera House before the chimes of midnight began their move across Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and finally the Americas. | Sydney kicked off the celebrations with its biggest ever fireworks display. Despite safety concerns, a million-plus crowd watched the extravaganza from the Harbour Bridge and Opera House before the chimes of midnight began their move across Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and finally the Americas. |