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FALLUJAH, Iraq (AFP) - Celebratory gunfire ripped the Sunni Muslim bastion of Fallujah as US marines in a dozen armoured vehicles entered the war-battered city on a symbolic tour and met with local leaders. Iraqi police and masked insurgents shot off rounds and people flooded the streets, waving Iraqi national flags and honking their car horns in jubilation over what they mistakenly believed was a deal between the marines and the city's leaders to scale back the US presence in Fallujah. Locals said they believed if the city was quiet during the convoy tour marines would leave Fallujah for good....

An eighteen-year-old girl was killed at a southeast Houston home by a gunshot fired as part of a New Year’s Eve celebration. The victim, whose names has not yet been released by police, died later at Hermann Hospital. The shooting happened about 11 p.m. Wednesday at a home in the 7100 block of Ave. O., police said. Investigators say the eighteen-year-old was walking out of a door when a man fired a shot in the air and struck the woman in the shoulder. Charges are pending further investigation.

An eighteen-year-old girl was killed at a southeast Houston home by a gunshot fired as part of a New Year’s Eve celebration. The victim, whose name has not yet been released by police, died later at Hermann Hospital. The shooting happened about 11 p.m. Wednesday at a home in the 7100 block of Ave. O., police said. Investigators say the eighteen-year-old was walking out of a door when a man fired a shot in the air and struck the woman in the shoulder. Charges are pending further investigation.

A man who trumpeted the arrival of 2003 by firing a gun into the air outside the home where he was under house arrest was sentenced to almost five years in federal prison Wednesday. Luis Otero received his sentence as Philadelphia police and prosecutors rolled out an annual effort to halt a dangerous New Year's Eve tradition: celebratory gunfire. ``It's a huge problem,'' said Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Stollsteimer. At a news conference Tuesday, authorities were joined by a 16-year-old boy whose brain was damaged by a stray bullet that hit him on New Year's Eve 1998. Otero was...

South African police will crack down hard on anybody throwing old fridges from high-rise buildings during the New Year's holiday, they say. Police and soldiers are on patrol in Johannesburg's notorious Hillbrow suburb, famous for the practice. Throwing heavy objects from balconies and firing guns have become something of a bad "New Year's institution," said police Inspector Kriben Naidoo. Revellers have been killed in the past after being hit by stray bullets. It is not clear why Hillbrow residents have taken to seeing in the New Year by throwing objects such as fridges, microwave ovens, beds, rubbish bins and condoms...

PHOENIX (AP) -- With the approach of New Year's Eve, police departments are urging people not to fire weapons into the air, issuing the reminder that what goes up, must come down. Law enforcement across the state and the region are reaching out to residents through fliers and advertisements warning people about the dangers of stray bullets. "Rounds eventually will come down. And when they do come down, they're not particular about where they end up," said Deputy Dawn Barkman, a spokeswoman for the Pima County Sheriff's Department in Tucson. Sgt. Randy Force, spokesman for the Phoenix Police Department, believes...

NUEVO LAREDO - City police are bracing for an expected outpouring of gunfire Wednesday night by residents celebrating the New Year. Previous attempts to enforce city or law enforcement-imposed no-gunfire bans on prior New Year's Eve have been ignored by city dwellers, an official said Monday Public Security Director Oscar Montiel said the entire 300 officer force would be on duty Wednesday night in an effort to enforce laws prohibiting discharging firearms into the air. He estimated that with many families owning firearms, there would be thousands of people shooting weapons of all types skyward to welcome the New Year....

Serbian Wedding Party Shoots Down Plane BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro -- A two-seater aircraft crashed in flames after being accidentally shot down by a wedding party in central Serbia on Sunday (12 October). It is common practice in Serbia for partygoers to fire into the air. According to eyewitness reports, the plane was hit in the left wing. As it tried to land, it struck power lines and burst into flames, seriously injuring those on board. Officials say neither had a pilot's license.

BELGRADE, Serbia-Montenegro (AP) - In an apparent first, wedding guests shooting off celebratory rounds in central Serbia brought down a small aircraft, local media reported Sunday. The FoNet news agency reported that the plane's pilot and a passenger were seriously injured Friday after their single-engine Utva-75 plane crashed into a high-voltage power line in the village of Ratina, some 160 kilometres west of Belgrade. "Shortly before the crash I saw the plane flying at a very low altitude over a wedding party when guests started firing their handguns and other weapons," witness Zoran Vukadinovic told FoNet. The left wing of...

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq’s largest city was a war zone of sorts Tuesday night as gunfire ripped through the sky for about a half-hour. This time, however, most — if not all — of it came from Iraqis celebrating the news of the deaths of Odai and Qusai, the sons of Saddam Hussein. “All Iraqis are very, very happy about the news,” said Hussein Ali, a 33-year-old engineer sitting in the lobby of the Palestine Hotel. “If American troops capture or kill Saddam Hussein, then we’ll have a big celebration for that.” Firing weapons at events such as weddings and...