World welcomes 2026 with fireworks after year of Trump, turmoil

Revellers around the world toasted the start of 2026 on Thursday, bidding farewell to a volatile year when temperatures soared, US President Donald Trump upended global trade, and the brutal conflict in Ukraine raged on.

While a fragile truce took hold in devastated Gaza, violence in Sudan continued unabated. A new American pope was installed at the Vatican, the world lost pioneering zoologist Jane Goodall, and Labubu dolls sparked a worldwide frenzy.

In Sydney, partygoers paused for a minute of silence to remember the victims of the mass shooting on Bondi Beach before fireworks lit up the skies at the stroke of midnight.

Heavily armed police patrolled the shoreline, packed with hundreds of thousands of people, barely two weeks after 15 people were gunned down at a Jewish festival in Australia’s deadliest mass shooting for almost 30 years.

The famed Sydney Harbour Bridge was bathed in white light to symbolise peace.

Pacific nations including Kiribati and New Zealand were the first to see in 2026, with Seoul and Tokyo following Sydney in celebrations that make their way around the globe with each passing hour.

In Hong Kong, a major New Year fireworks display was cancelled in homage to 161 people killed in a fire in November that engulfed several apartment blocks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country was “10 percent” away from a deal to end the fighting with Russia, soon to reach the four-year mark.

Russia’s Vladimir Putin meanwhile used his traditional New Year address to urge his compatriots to believe that Moscow would deliver a victory in Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II.

And Kim Jong Un praised North Korea’s “invincible alliance” with Russia, where Pyongyang has sent troops to assist Moscow.

In the Ukrainian city of Vyshgorod, beauty salon manager Daria Lushchyk said the war had made her work “hell” but that her clients were still showing up.

“Nothing can stop our Ukrainian girls from coming in and getting themselves glam,” Lushchyk said.

– Tariffs and fragile truce –

This year has brought a mix of stress and excitement for many, war for others still — and a daring jewel heist at the Louvre.

Pop megastar Taylor Swift got engaged to her American football player boyfriend Travis Kelce, and K-pop heartthrobs BTS made their long-awaited return.

Trump returned as US president in January, launching a tariff blitz that sent global trade and world stock markets into meltdown.

The 79-year-old Republican met with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for five meetings in his first year back in office — and hosted the ally at his lavish Florida resort, Mar-a-Lago, at a glittering New Year’s Eve party.

After two years of war that left much of the Gaza Strip in ruins, pressure from Trump helped land a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in October — though both sides have accused each other of flagrant violations.

“We bid farewell to 2025 with deep sorrow and grief,” said Gaza City resident Shireen Al-Kayali.

“We lost a lot of people and our possessions. We lived a difficult and harsh life, displaced from one city to another, under bombardment and in terror.”

In contrast, there was optimism despite abiding internal challenges in Syria, where residents of the capital Damascus celebrated a full year since the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

“There is no fear, the people are happy, all of Syria is one and united, and God willing… it will be a good year for the people and the wise leadership,” marketing manager Sahar al-Said, 33, told AFP as bells rang in Damascus.

In Dubai, thousands queued for up to nine hours for a spectacular fireworks and laser display at the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building.

Revellers popped champagne near the Eiffel Tower in Paris, Bulgaria adopted the euro, and huge crowds danced at Edinburgh’s Hogmanay street party.

Crowds packed Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach for what authorities have called the world’s biggest New Year’s Eve party.

“A wonderful, unforgettable day,” said partygoer Ayane de Fatima, 30, adding she hoped 2026 would be “free from the bad things happening in the world”.

In the US capital, the Washington Monument was lit up as America kicked off its 250th birthday celebration year.

And in New York, thousands gathered in freezing temperatures amid tight security for the traditional ball drop in Times Square.

Nearby, at an abandoned subway stop near City Hall, Zohran Mamdani — a leftist and persistent thorn in Trump’s side — was sworn in as the city’s first Muslim mayor.

– Sports, space and AI –

The coming 12 months promise to be full of sports, space and questions over artificial intelligence.

Athletes will gather in Italy in February for the Winter Olympics.

And for a few weeks in June and July, 48 nations will compete in the biggest football World Cup in history in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

NASA is planning a crewed mission to circle the moon during a 10-day flight, more than 50 years since the last Apollo lunar mission.

And after years of unbridled enthusiasm, AI is facing scrutiny, and nervous investors are questioning whether the boom might now resemble a market bubble.

AFP

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