VOA NEWS

January 1, 2016

From Washington, this is VOA news. I'm David DeForest reporting. A huge fire in Dubai.



Fire continued to smolder at the Address hotel in Dubai a few hours after midnight.

Officials had said it was 90 percent contained and it no longer seems to be spreading but was still burning on the north side of the skyscraper and smoke continued to billow.

Emergency vehicles are on the scene.

Authorities say 14 people were injured. There is no definitive word about what caused the blaze.



Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has ordered his defense minister to expand Iran's ballistic missile program. The order comes in response to a U.S. threat to impose new sanctions on that program. The sanctions threat came after missile tests by Iran that the U.S. says violated a U.N. Security Council resolution.



Burundi's president says he will consider any deployment of African Union peacekeepers in his nation as an attack in which he will need to strike back. Anita Powell reports.

Speaking to the nation Wednesday after weeks of violence, Burundi's increasingly cornered President Pierre Nkurunziza launched a stunning ???verbal parry??? to African Union proposal to send in 5,000 peacekeepers, saying "the country will have been attacked and it will respond."

Nkurunziza faces increasing opposition from the AU and international community over his unpopular quest to extend his tenure as president. He weathered a May coup attempt and won a disputed election in July though violence has continued.

Anita Powell, Johannesburg.



Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has reiterated that Turkish military forces must withdraw immediately from Iraqi territory.

According to the media, he spoke by phone with Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu on Wednesday.



For more, check our website. It's voanews.com. This is VOA news.



People around the world are welcoming 2016 with fireworks, parties and other festivities, but in many places security is tight as authorities tried to guard against possible terrorist attacks.

Police in Munich, Germany, ordered the closure of two train stations due to the imminent threat of a terrorist attack.

Meanwhile, that was the sound in Sydney, Australia, one of the first places that marked the dawn of 2016. Australians enjoyed one of their biggest fireworks displays ever.

In Russia authorities decided to shut down Moscow's Red Square, a popular spot to ring in the new year.

In Belgium, the capital's annual New Year's Eve elaboration was canceled due to fears of terrorism.

Paris has also canceled its fireworks show and cut back on plans for the evening.

In Jakarta, Indonesia, police uncovered plans for an attack on that city.



For migrants and refugees crossing the Mediterranean trying to reach Europe, 2015 was the deadliest year on record, according to the International Organization for Migration.

More than 3,700 people are believed to have died, making the trip 500 more than the previous year.

The deadliest month for migrants came in April when close to 1,250 migrants died.



China announced Thursday it has begun building its second aircraft carrier. It's the latest sign that China is rapidly modernizing its naval forces.

The Defense Ministry says the carrier is being built in the port city of Dalian.

China's only other carrier was purchased from Ukraine in 1998.



Burkina Faso's Salif Diallo was elected head of the national assembly. That makes the ally-turned-opponent of ousted leader Blaise Compaoré the second most powerful man in the nation.



The Republic of Congo has announced it will hold its presidential election in March. That decision follows the recent approval of a new constitution that will allow President Denis Sassou Nguesso to run for another term.

The election date has been set for March 20, 2016.



A U.S.-based intelligence group says the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for a shooting earlier this week at an historic fortress in Russia's North Caucasus region of Dagestan.

The SITE intelligence group, which monitors terrorist activity, quoted IS as claiming it targeted a gathering of Russian intelligence officers in the town of Derbent in southern Dagestan.

The shooting incident late Tuesday left one person dead, at least 10 wounded. The Islamic State said the person killed was an intelligence officer.



Taking a brief look at the year end market figures, on Wall Street, U.S. stock indexes down today. European markets down on Thursday. Asian markets were mixed.



In Washington, I'm David DeForest.

That's the latest world news from VOA.