World begins to welcome 2026 after a year of Trump, truces and turmoil

Sydney, Australia: New Year s Eve revellers toasted the end of 2025 yesterday, waving goodbye to 12 months packed with Trump tariffs, a Gaza truce and...

Sydney, Australia: New Year’s Eve revellers toasted the end of 2025 yesterday, waving goodbye to 12 months packed with Trump tariffs, a Gaza truce and vain hopes for peace in Ukraine.

It was one of the warmest years on record, the stifling heat stoking wildfires in Europe, droughts in Africa and deadly rains across Southeast Asia. There was a sombre tinge to celebrations in Australia’s harbour city Sydney, the self-proclaimed “New Year’s capital of the world”.

Barely two weeks have passed since a father and son allegedly opened fire on a Jewish festival at Bondi Beach, killing 15 people in the nation’s deadliest mass shooting for almost 30 years.

Parties paused for a minute of silence at 11:00 pm (12:00 GMT) as the famed Sydney Harbour Bridge was bathed in white light to symbolise peace. “Right now, the joy that we usually feel at the start of a new year is tempered by the sadness of the old,” Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a video message.

Hundreds of thousands of spectators lined Sydney’s foreshore, with nine tonnes of fireworks set off from the stroke of midnight. Residents and tourists gathered by the city’s harbour and boats dotted the water to secure the best viewing spots near the Sydney Opera House.