Germany's first restaurant for dogs and cats opened in Berlin over the festive holidays, drawing charges the luxury eatery for furry friends is "decadent".

"Does Berlin really need a gourmet restaurant for dogs?" asked the top-selling Bild daily.

A giant yellow inflatable duck which exploded on New Year's Eve returned to a Taiwan port on Friday after it was repaired and cleaned, organizers said.

Hundreds turned out in Keelung on the north of the island to welcome back the 18-meter-tall (59-feet) duck following two days of maintenance after it burst and deflated into a floating yellow disc Tuesday.

Cyprus's state broadcaster apologized on Thursday for transmitting the wrong presidential New Year message on December 31 and said an investigation had begun into what happened.

Instead of putting out a message from President Nicos Anastasiades to welcome in 2014, it inadvertently transmitted a radio address by the man he replaced.

Some 1,067 vehicles were torched in France over New Year's Eve, Interior Minister Manuel Valls announced, a marked drop from last year in what has become a turn-of-the-year tradition in rundown areas.

Every year, the night of December 31 to January 1 sees hundreds of cars set ablaze across the country in an orgy of vandalism -- as much a tradition as champagne and oysters in more affluent parts of France.

Police in the U.S. state of Massachusetts are searching for a strong-armed thief who carried a 250-pound safe out of a restaurant.

Kevin Hynes said a man walked out of his Stockholders Restaurant in Weymouth lugging the vault.

Former political prisoner Than Htay walked into a small souvenir shop, hoping to catch a glimpse of the owner: a man once known in Myanmar as the Prince of Darkness.

Moments later, he was face to face with the bespectacled 74-year-old, who had long ago traded his military uniform and polished black shoes for a simple button-down shirt and flip-flops.

Tens of thousands of revelers across the Netherlands braved the chilly winter weather on Wednesday to take a traditional New Year's plunge in the North Sea's icy waters.

Around 10,000 swimmers -- most dressed only in shorts and bikinis -- stormed the waves at The Hague's historic Scheveningen beach, while around 36,000 others did the same in 125 locations around the country, organizers said.

Here comes 2014! Three! ... Two! ... Mum.

While hundreds of thousands of revelers cheer, shout and yell in the new year in Times Square, hundreds of New Yorkers will gather not far away to pass the waning hours of 2013 without a word.

A giant yellow duck on display in a northern Taiwan port exploded Tuesday, just hours before it was expected to attract a big crowd to count down the new year.

The 18-meter-tall (59-feet) duck on show at Keelung burst around noon and deflated into a floating yellow disc, only 11 days after it went on display.

It doesn't matter that they belong to President Barack Obama — first family dogs Bo and Sunny had to go through Hawaii's strict quarantine procedures to travel to the islands for their holiday vacation.

Hawaii is rabies free and all incoming dogs have to jump through several hoops, including an expensive rabies blood test. Dogs that don't meet regulations can be quarantined up to 120 days.