World bids farewell to 2025, ushers in the New Year

Nations across the world rang out 2025 on Wednesday, marking the end of a turbulent year shaped by political upheaval, fragile ceasefires and economic uncertainty. Pacific nations such as Kiribati and New Zealand were the first to welcome the new year, setting off a wave of celebrations stretching from New York’s Times Square to the Hogmanay festivities on the cold streets of Scotland.

In Australia’s harbour city of Sydney, often dubbed the “New Year’s capital of the world”, some 40,000 pyrotechnic effects stretched 7 km (over 4 miles) across buildings and barges along its harbour, featuring a waterfall effect from the Sydney Harbour Bridge. However, celebrations carried a sombre note. Less than two weeks have passed since a father and son allegedly opened fire at a Jewish festival at Bondi Beach, killing 15 people in the country’s deadliest mass shooting in nearly three decades. Parties paused for a minute of silence at 11.00 pm as the Sydney Harbour Bridge was lit in white 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,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a video message. Despite the mood, hundreds of thousands of spectators lined Sydney’s foreshore as nine tonnes of fireworks were set to light up the sky at midnight. Residents and tourists gathered along the harbour, with boats crowding the water near the Sydney Opera House for the best views.

In Brazil, more than two million people are expected to throng Copacabana Beach for what authorities described as the world’s biggest New Year’s Eve party.

In Asia, there were celebrations and a drum performance at the Juyong Pass, at the Great Wall of China just outside Beijing. Revellers wore headgear and waved boards emblazoned with "2026" and the symbol of a horse. February will mark the arrival of the Year of the Horse on the Chinese lunar calendar. Hong Kong cancelled its planned fireworks display over Victoria Harbour to honour the 161 people killed in a housing estate fire in November. 

In India, large crowds are expected in major cities such as Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Kochi. Mumbai Police have stepped up security at key locations including the Gateway of India, Marine Drive, Girgaon Chowpatty, Bandra Bandstand, and Juhu and Versova beaches from Wednesday evening. In Delhi, police are anticipating a massive turnout in Connaught Place and surrounding areas, with all private and public vehicles barred from entering the area from 7 pm on New Year’s Eve.

In Bengaluru, police have identified 150–160 locations across the city to monitor and curb drunken driving, a move aimed at preventing accidents and saving lives. Authorities are expecting a crowd of around 10 lakh people in the city. Rajasthan has also seen a surge in visitors ahead of New Year celebrations, with lakhs of tourists arriving at popular destinations across the state.

Year of Trump, tariff & truce
Across the rest of the world, revellers toasted the end of a year marked by Donald Trump’s return to the White House, a fragile Gaza truce and fading hopes for peace in Ukraine.

Trump returned to the White House in January, launching a sweeping tariff push that rattled global markets. Using his Truth Social platform, he lashed out at falling approval ratings ahead of the 2026 midterm elections.

“Isn’t it nice to have a STRONG BORDER, no inflation, a powerful military and a great economy??? Happy New Year!” he wrote.

After two years of war that devastated much of the Gaza Strip, US pressure helped secure a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in October. Its durability remains uncertain, with both sides already accusing each other of violations.

Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on southern Israel killed more than 1,200 people, most of them civilians. Israel’s subsequent offensive in Gaza has killed more than 70,000 people, also largely civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, figures the UN considers credible.

World leaders, including China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin, exchanged New Year greetings. Xi said he was ready to maintain close exchanges with Putin to advance bilateral ties, according to state media.

The war in Ukraine, sparked by Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, moved closer to its fourth anniversary with no ceasefire achieved despite renewed diplomatic efforts late in the year. Russian President Vladimir Putin used his annual televised New Year's address to rally his troops fighting in Ukraine, saying he believed in them and in victory in a war that he has framed as part of an existential struggle with the West."Millions of people across Russia — I assure you — are with you on this New Year's Eve," said Putin.

It was also one of the warmest years on record, with extreme heat fuelling wildfires in Europe, droughts in parts of Africa and deadly floods across Southeast Asia.

The year saw unexpected cultural moments and shocks. Labubu dolls became a global craze, thieves pulled off a daring heist at the Louvre, and K-pop supergroup BTS made its long-awaited return. The world lost pioneering zoologist Jane Goodall, the Vatican elected a new pope, and the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk highlighted deep political divisions in the United States.

Looking ahead, 2026 promises major moments in sport, space and technology. NASA’s Artemis II mission is set to send astronauts on a 10-day flight around the moon, more than half a century after the last Apollo mission. After years of rapid expansion, artificial intelligence is facing growing scrutiny, with investors questioning whether the boom resembles a market bubble. Athletes will gather in Italy’s Dolomites for the Winter Olympics, while football fans will turn their attention to the largest World Cup ever, to be staged across the United States, Mexico and Canada in June and July.
(With inputs from AFP, Reuters.)