Home

Thirty nine people have been killed and 69 injured in an armed attack in an Istanbul nightclub. The gunman, believed to have been dressed in a Santa costume, left, opened fire inside the Reina nightclub in Istanbul's Ortaköy district, where hundreds were celebrating the New Year. The Turkish president Tayyip Erdogan has condemned the attack and has now vowed to fight to the end against all forms of attack by terror groups as relatives, right, received bad news about their loved ones.

Mariah Carey lashed out during her botched New Year's Eve performance, after the wrong lip-sync track played when she took the stage. The diva stormed around the stage, repeatedly asking for the monitors to be turned on, before trying to rescue her set by dancing briefly. However, she didn't last long, and then said into her microphone: 'I'm trying to be a good sport here.' She then remained on stage as one more song played, before walking off in a huff. There had been panic all day when the star's team appeared not to be aware of the world renowned ball-dropping ceremony. When producers asked what time she would arrive, Carey's people replied, 'What time exactly does the ball drop?' Amid all the diva drama, New Year's Eve revelers - many donning oversized 2017 eyeglasses and green Statue of Liberty hats - filled the iconic square on Saturday hours before the glittering crystal ball was to drop. Officials estimated as many as a million celebrants would descend upon the Crossroads of the World, braving cold temperatures and strong winds to ring in the New Year amid heavy police protection.

One million revellers lined the streets of London to watch the spectacular fireworks display and celebrate the arrival of 2017. A total of 12,000 fireworks (left) painted the night sky of London during the Mayor's showcase display on the banks of the River Thames. Some of the stars the world lost in 2016 were honoured during the 12-minute spectacle, as Bowie, Prince and the Two Ronnies, which included the late Ronnie Corbett, featured in the soundtrack. Big Ben (right) and the London Eye (left) were lit up during the display.

2016 was the year the pundits called it wrong in almost every regard. So what on earth could 2017 have in store? Who better to turn to than our own Piers Morgan, the man who predicted Donald Trump would be President, for a wry look into his crystal ball...

Robbie Williams jumped into the crowd to sing Auld Lang Syne with fans at a performance in Westminster's central hall on New Year's Eve and was then spotted sanitising his hands. He was seen pulling a grimace as he squirted the clear liquid on his hands and carried on the performance. Many criticised his decision to use the gel on stage in front of his fans, but some said he was being sensible with illnesses rife during the winter months.

Manchester United manger Jose Mourinho rushed to his native Portugal twice in 24 hours as his wife recovered from emergency surgery. The 53-year-old, who joined the Red Devils in the summer, boarded a private jet after his wife, Matilde (pictured together, right) - also known as Tami - had her operation on Wednesday. Two days before, United beat Sunderland at Old Trafford. And after flying to Lisbon on Wednesday, the former Chelsea, Real Madrid and Inter Milan boss returned to Manchester later that evening. On Thursday morning, he flew back to Portugal and again returned later that evening to his base at the Lowry Hotel (pictured left).

Two young girls were holding hands crossing the road when they were mown down by a hit-and-run driver, leaving one dead and the other fighting for her life in hospital. Helina Kotlarova, 12, (left) and her cousin Zaneta Krokova, 11, (right) had just come out of a shop near their homes when they were hit by a black VW Golf on Ashton Road in Oldham, Greater Manchester, (inset) at around 7.15pm on New Year's Eve. Helina's mother Sylva and father Robert raced to the scene but she was declared dead by medics as her distraught mother stroked her hair. Greater Manchester Police said officers are searching for the driver of a black Volkswagen Golf which hit the children shortly after 7.15pm.

Tom Hardy, best known for his roles as Bane in Batman and Max Rockatansky in Mad Max, appeared on CBeebies on New Year's Eve to read the daily bedtime story, much to parents' delight. The actor read the surreal You Must Bring a Hat, by Simon Philip and Kate Hindley, complete with character voices. Men and women tweeted their enjoyment of the five-minute slot, hoping he would return to the children's channel. Many admitted they had not been watching it with their children, or had recorded it to watch again, classing it as 'Mummy time'.

An Alabama man came home to find his wife canoodling in bed with another man - and was enraged. In a video clip that went viral on the Internet, the man is seen (right) climbing on top of his wife's friend as he is in bed wearing a T-shirt and a pair of underwear. The husband then grabs the man by the back of his head and pushes him off the bed. He then violently pulls him back by his shirt and sends him hurdling toward the ground (left) in a maneuver that could have been learned from watching pro wrestling.

Claire Cunningham was ready to die in September 2016 after a horrendous lengthy ordeal with cancer that started in 2008. She has had immunotherapy treatment in Stuttgart and now says she has hope. It is similar to the treatments AA Gill was recommended by doctors in Britain after he was diagnosed with multiple cancers, but was told it was too expensive for the NHS. Ms Cunningham hopes to raise money to have more people get this treatment around the world.

Hollywood power couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie announced their divorce in September. Now the pair are embroiled in a bitter custody battle. Pitt told a friend that this has been 'the worst holiday season of his life' but as he goes into the New Year his friends say he's determined to get his kids back, no matter what.'

During a Christmas party in London, held just days after the Southern Rail action that left much of the country in chaos, the Labour leader gave a firm backing to Tosh McDonald (inset), the president of train drivers' union Aslef. And with another six-day strike planned by Aslef and the RMT for January 9, Corbyn's show of support is unlikely to go down well with the millions who will have to re-arrange their commutes. Corbyn called on the congregation of his supporters at the JC4PM bash to 'stand together' in support of his 'comrade' McDonald, as the room rose to its feet in unison.

Donald Trump has promised to reveal new information after Russia's alleged hacking during the election on Tuesday or Wednesday next week. The president-elect made the remark when pressed by reporters after he arrived at his New Year's Ever bash at the Mar-a-Lago resort. 'I think it's unfair if they don't know. And I know a lot about hacking. And hacking is a very hard thing to prove. So it could be someone else. And I also know things that other people don't know, and so they cannot be sure of the situation,' Trump said. When asked by the reporter what the president-elect knows that others do not, he said: 'You'll find out on Tuesday or Wednesday.' Earlier, those attending the party - including Sylvester Stallone and his wife, Jennifer Flavin - were seen walking the red carpet. Guests were served, 'Mr Trump's Wedge Salad' (inset) as part of the menu.

Bikram Choudhury (far left) has been stripped of his worldwide empire by a Los Angeles court - the latest twist in a £6.4 million sex harassment case brought by Oxford-educated lawyer Minakshi Jafa-Bodden (left with Choudhury and right). Choudhury made his name and a £60 million fortune from superheated yoga in which devotees, including celebrities such as David Beckham, Lady Gaga and Madonna, sweat through exercise routines in 105F heat. And as well as being awarded the 700 franchised Bikram Yoga studios around the globe, Miss Jafa-Bodden will also receive Choudhury's multi-million-pound fleet of 43 cars (main picture), which includes 13 Rolls-Royces, eight Bentleys and three Ferraris.

They are the smallest twins ever born in Britain - and their devastated parents were told there was only a one in ten chance they would survive. But a year later, a thriving Rylea and Robyn weigh a healthy 14lb each and have celebrated their first Christmas at home with their mum and dad. The girls were born an astonishing 23 weeks into the pregnancy of mother Claire Cunliffe. Rylea was a mere 15oz, while sister Robyn was a touch heavier at 1lb 3oz.

Francoise Souza Oliveira (left and right), 40, held a shirt over her head while officers escorted her out of the police station to a jail in Belford Roxo, Brazil. Her transfer came the day after her Officer Sergio Moreira, with whom she was romantically involved, confessed to police he had killed her husband, according to investigators. Ambassador Kyriakos Amiridis (inset), 59, went missing on Monday night. Oliveira, his Brazilian wife and the mother of their 10-year-old daughter, reported him missing to police on Wednesday. But authorities now believe that 29-year-old Moreira killed Amiridis in a 'crime of passion' at Oliveira's direction. They said the ambassador was likely stabbed in the Rio De Janeiro home he owned with his wife, and that his body was burnt afterwards. Oliveira and Moreira were both taken into custody on Friday.

A Thai crocodile trainer has amazingly escaped serious injury after a three metre man-eater grabbed a hold of his arm and performed a 'death roll'. Anusak Salangam, 47, was filmed entertaining a small crowd at Phuket Crocodile World on Friday when the show went horribly wrong after Mr Anusak inserted his right arm into it's fang filled jaws. Mr Anusak is reported to have returned to work the following day.

Michael Smith (left) was arrested in 2009 and accused of stealing from his former employer, property empire Dubai World, owned by Sheikh Mohammed Al Maktoum (right, with wife Princess Haya). He was granded a pardon in June 2014, but is still yet to be freed. He said the British government have done 'nothing' to help.

DR DAVID NOTT: I spent the week before Christmas in a field hospital in Syria operating on tiny souls see-sawing between life and death, their bodies held together with metal pins, writes the disaster zone doctor. But in Maram, a five-month-old orphan and beautiful despite her injuries, I saw my own child and, perhaps because I missed her so desperately, I felt intensely overwhelmed.

The iconic dinosaur skeleton (left) will embark on a national tour around eight UK locations from Dorset to Glasgow - but when this is finished there are no plans for what happens next. The replica dinosaur was cast from original fossil bones discovered in the Wyoming in 1898. Dippy came to the Natural History Museum in 1905 (right) and was moved to the central hall in 1979. Dippy's replacement will be the genuine skeleton of a whale that was found on an Irish beach in 1891 (inset).

A 26-year old mother, Keiana Herndon, of Camden, Arkansas, was on Facebook Live when she began to feel sick and died live on social media as her horrified friends and one-year-old son looked on. The mom's aunt, Barbara Johnson (pictured) said her niece wiped her face and began to act strangely. Herndon's mother, Mary Morgan, said her daughter had thyroid problems and it triggered a fatal issue with her heart. Herndon has over 3,400 Facebook friends but it's unclear how many were watching her live stream. The video has since been removed from Facebook.

NEW Twenty three people were killed and dozens injured on Sunday after a fire ripped through a boat carrying nearly 250 people to islands north of the Indonesian capital Jakarta. The Zahro Express caught fire shortly after leaving Muara Angke port in North Jakarta. The cause of the fire was thought to be a short circuit on a power generator, said police. Passenger Aldi Munaldi was forced to carry his one-year-old son to safety after the boat exploded with flames and he said people were jumping overboard to escape the inferno.

Two puppies who grew up together on a dog meat farm have been reunited after being rescued and adopted by different families in the USA. Kenji and Sophia, both white Samoyeds, were used at the farm to breed puppies that would be killed for food. They were rescued last year, and after months apart saw each other for the first time recently.

After defecting from the Soviet Union in 1961, Rudolf Nureyev (top right) stayed with friends for 15 years at five-bedroom Crays Pond House (left) in Oxfordshire, and the relished the tranquillity of its country setting. While he also kept a flat in London, Nureyev would spend long periods at the home (bottom right) with its owners, Paklusha Bicat and her husband Andre and their young children. The house, which dates from 1820 and was originally a bakery, is being sold for only the third time since the Second World War and is on the market for £1.825 million.

An incredibly adorable bald eaglet has finally broken out of its shell in its Florida nest. Eagle parents, Harriet and M15, are Fort Myers' most beloved bald eagles and onlookers from across the globe watched eagerly as the pair welcomed their first hatchling Saturday morning. After it was born, the baby bird was heard singing as Harriet and M15 continued their wait for their second egg to hatch. Both eggs were expected to hatch between Christmas and News Year's Day. And since the second egg has yet to hatch, some are speculating that the sibling eaglets may be born in 2016 and 2017. At one point the mama bird left her nest, allowing viewers to get a good look at the newest addition to the bald eagle family. The little ball of fluff waited patiently for its mother to return and even chirped a little. Once Harriet came back to the nest, she carefully maneuvered her body so that the egg and her hatchling would fit comfortably under her belly.

A golden long-haired dachshund held a peeled banana between his paws and noisily munched away at it until his owner finally took it away. Veterinarians even recommend bananas for pooches with stomach trouble.

A record £1billion was recovered from thousands of offenders who were brought to justice for wrongly claiming welfare over the last 12 months. The Government pays out a whopping £172billion in benefits to around 20million people every year. Among the 5,000 convictions of benefit fraudsters over the last year was Amanda Barrymore, who claimed thousands of pounds in jobless benefits despite making a living out of her apparent 'psychic' ability to communicate with the dead. Another was 54-year-old Ann Grigor, who was seen driving at speeds claimed she was wheelchair bound, blind and needed round-the-clock care. Ann Grigor, 54, claimed she was blind, wheelchair bound and needed round-the-clock care, claiming around £23,000 in disability benefits for 10 years.