Following are some of the major events to have occurred on January 1:
1956 – Sudan became an independent republic.
1959 – Fidel Castro seized power in Cuba after dictator Fulgencio Batista fled to the Dominican Republic.
1965 – New Year’s Eve celebrations in London
1995 – The World Trade Organisation came into effect, succeeding GATT.
2001 – Greece joined the European Union’s single currency.
2002 – Some 300 million people in 12 member countries began using the EU’s single currency, the Euro. Only Britain, Sweden and Denmark retained their own national currencies.
2006 – Israelis light giant candle on the last night of the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, entering Guinness Book of World Records with structure built from 3.5 tons of wax, measuring 8.5 meters (27.8 feet) in height.
2008 – Claiborne Pell, an aristocratic Rhode Islander who spent 36 years in the U.S. Senate and was the architect of a grant program that bears his name and has helped tens of millions of Americans attend college, died.
2008 – Helen Suzman, for decades South Africa’s most famous white crusader against apartheid and twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, died aged 91.
2016 – The Address Downtown Dubai building engulfed by fire during New Year celebrations.
2017 – Gunman killed dozens in Istanbul night club attack.
(Reuters)