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Zohran Mamdani, the young upstart of the US left, was readying Wednesday to take over as New York mayor for a term sure to see him cross swords with President Donald Trump.After the clocks strike midnight (0500 GMT Thursday), bringing in 2026, Mamdani will take his oath of office at an abandoned subway stop, taking the helm of the United States’ largest city. He will be New York’s first Muslim mayor.His office says the understated venue for the swearing-in reflects his commitment to working people, after the 34-year-old Democrat campaigned on promises to address the soaring cost of living. “Our campaign was built around listening to the people of New York, and we will govern in the same way. Tomorrow, we get to work,” Mamdani said Wednesday on X.But it remains to be seen if Mamdani — virtually unknown a year ago — can deliver on his ambitious agenda, which envisions rent freezes, universal childcare and free public buses.Once an election is over, “symbolism only goes so far with voters. Results begin to matter a whole lot more,” New York University lecturer John Kane said.How Trump handles Mamdani’s arrival at City Hall could be a decisive factor. The Republican, himself a New Yorker, has repeatedly criticized Mamdani, but the pair held surprisingly cordial talks at the White House in November.Lincoln Mitchell, a political analyst and professor at Columbia University, said the meeting “couldn’t have gone better from Mamdani’s perspective.”But he warned their relationship could quickly sour. One flashpoint might be immigration raids as Trump wages an expanding crackdown on migrants across the United States.Mamdani has vowed to protect immigrant communities.Before the November vote, the president also threatened to slash federal funding for New York if it picked Mamdani, whom he called a “communist lunatic.”The mayor-elect has said he believes Trump is a fascist.- Block party -Mamdani’s private swearing-in at midnight to start his four-year term will be performed by New York Attorney General Letitia James, who successfully prosecuted Trump for fraud.A larger, ceremonial inauguration is scheduled for Thursday with speeches from left-wing allies Senator Bernie Sanders and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.Around 4,000 ticketed guests are expected to attend the event outside City Hall.Mamdani’s team has also organized a block party that it says will enable tens of thousands of people to watch the ceremony at streetside viewing areas along Broadway.In a first for the city, Mamdani will use several Korans to be sworn in as mayor — two from his family and one that belonged to Puerto Rico-born Black writer Arturo Schomburg, The New York Times reported.The new job comes with a change of address as he swaps his rent-controlled apartment in the borough of Queens for the luxurious mayor’s residence in Manhattan.Some had wondered if he would move to the official mansion given his campaigning on affordability issues. Mamdani said he is doing so mainly for security reasons.Born in Uganda to a family of Indian origin, Mamdani moved to New York at age seven and enjoyed an elite upbringing with only a relatively brief stint in politics, becoming a member of the New York State Assembly before being elected mayor. Compensating for his inexperience, he is surrounding himself with seasoned aides recruited from past mayoral administrations and former US president Joe Biden’s government.Mamdani has also opened dialogue with business leaders, some of whom predicted a massive exodus of wealthy New Yorkers if he won. Real estate leaders have debunked those claims.As a defender of Palestinian rights, he will have to reassure the Jewish community of his inclusive leadership. Recently, one of his hires resigned after it was revealed she had posted antisemitic tweets years ago.

US President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Paris was welcome to Hollywood star George Clooney after the actor got French citizenship — and took the opportunity to bash France, too.Trump, whose administration has backed anti-immigration parties in Europe, said key ally France had a “horrendous” problem with crime and immigration.An official decree seen by AFP on Monday showed that 64-year-old Oscar winner Clooney, his wife Amal Alamuddin Clooney and their two children had become French citizens.”Good News! George and Amal Clooney, two of the worst political prognosticators of all time, have officially become citizens of France which is, sadly, in the midst of a major crime problem because of their absolutely horrendous handling of immigration,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.In one of a string of posts on New Year’s Eve, Trump added that France’s alleged problems were “much like we had under Sleepy Joe Biden,” his Democratic predecessor.”Oceans Eleven” star Clooney is a long-term Democratic supporter and fundraiser, and a vocal critic of Trump.In his social media post, Trump recalled the fact that the actor backed Biden during the 2024 US presidential election but then “dumped” him becoming concerned about the Democrat’s age during a fundraising event he hosted.”Clooney got more publicity for politics than he did for his very few, and totally mediocre, movies. He wasn’t a movie star at all, he was just an average guy who complained, constantly, about common sense in politics,” Trump said.Clooney’s newly acquired citizenship has also raised hackles in France. A junior member of President Emmanuel Macron’s government Wednesday criticized Clooney getting his passport despite speaking poor French, saying the move suggested a “double standard.”The news comes ahead of language requirements for citizenship being toughened for everyone else under new immigration rules from January 1.

The US military announced Wednesday that three people were killed in strikes on three alleged drug boats in international waters, bringing the death toll in Washington’s campaign against what it says are narcotics traffickers to at least 110.US Southern Command, which is responsible for American forces operating in Central and South America, said the strikes on Tuesday targeted “three narco-trafficking vessels traveling as a convoy.” All three people killed were on one boat. The exact location of the strikes was not immediately made clear. Previous strikes have taken place in the Caribbean or the eastern Pacific.The military said that the targeted vessels were operated by “Designated Terrorist Organizations” that it did not identify.Accompanying the statement, posted on X, was a video showing three boats traveling together at sea and then hit by a series of explosions.”Three narco-terrorists aboard the first vessel were killed in the first engagement. The remaining narco-terrorists abandoned the other two vessels, jumping overboard and distancing themselves before follow-on engagements sank their respective vessels,” it said.The military said it had notified the Coast Guard to “activate the Search and Rescue system,” without offering more details about the fate of those aboard the other boats.Since September, the US military has carried out more than 30 such strikes on what it says are boats used to smuggle drugs to the United States, without providing any concrete evidence that the targeted boats are involved in trafficking.International law experts and rights groups say the strikes likely amount to extrajudicial killings as they have apparently targeted civilians who do not pose an immediate threat to the United States.In recent months, US President Donald Trump has waged a pressure campaign against Venezuela’s leftist President Nicolas Maduro, accusing him of running a drug cartel.Maduro denies the allegation and has accused Washington of seeking regime change to gain access to the Latin American country’s massive oil reserves.

A former top prosecutor told lawmakers his investigations into Donald Trump demonstrated “beyond a reasonable doubt” the US president committed crimes aimed at overturning the 2020 election and hoarding government documents, according to testimony released Wednesday.The 255-page transcript, made public by the House Judiciary Committee, provides the most comprehensive account yet of former special counsel Jack Smith’s reasoning for charging Trump — and a point-by-point rebuttal to Republican claims that the prosecutions were politically motivated.In a sworn deposition lasting more than eight hours earlier this month, Smith said the decision to bring charges rested with him but stressed that the underlying conduct was Trump’s alone.”Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power,” Smith said.”Our investigation also developed powerful evidence that showed that President Trump willfully retained highly classified documents after he left office in January of 2021, storing them at his social club, including in a ballroom and a bathroom.”Trump had been charged with conspiring to overturn the 2020 election and obstruct the peaceful transfer of power, and with unlawfully retaining classified documents while blocking efforts to recover them. Both prosecutions were dropped after his reelection, in line with Justice Department policy barring the prosecution of a sitting president.Smith noted that grand juries in two federal districts returned indictments after reviewing evidence gathered by career prosecutors.He said Trump knowingly pursued false claims of election fraud to block certification of the 2020 vote, and rejected arguments that such conduct was protected speech. “There is no historical analog for what President Trump did in this case,” Smith told lawmakers.Smith also described the 2021 Capitol riot as an assault on American democracy, saying the violence was foreseeable and later exploited to pressure Congress to delay certification of the election results.On the documents case, he said prosecutors uncovered powerful evidence that Trump repeatedly obstructed government efforts to recover the material, though a court order limited what he could disclose.And he repeatedly rejected suggestions that the timing or substance of the prosecutions was influenced by politics or the 2024 presidential race. “If asked whether to prosecute a former president based on the same facts today,” he said, “I would do so regardless of whether that president was a Republican or a Democrat.”

A junior member of President Emmanuel Macron’s government Wednesday criticised the French passports given to Hollywood superstar George Clooney despite him speaking poor French, saying the move suggested a “double standard”.The news of Clooney, his wife Amal Clooney and their two children becoming French comes ahead of language requirements for citizenship being toughened for everyone else under new immigration rules from January 1.”Personally, I understand the feeling of some French people of a double standard,” Marie-Pierre Vedrenne, a junior interior minister, told the France Info radio station.”We need to be careful about the message we’re sending.”Her boss, Interior Minister Laurent Nunez, and the foreign ministry however defended the decision.The civil code states that “French nationality may be conferred by naturalization, upon the proposal of the minister of foreign affairs, to any French-speaking foreigner who applies for it and who contributes through their distinguished service to France’s influence and the prosperity of its international economic relations.”But the 64-year-old Oscar winner has admitted that his French remains poor despite hundreds of lessons.Under the new immigration rules from Thursday, applicants will need a certificate showing they have a level of French that could get them into a French university. They will also have to pass a civic knowledge test.Clooney has a property in southern France and said he has hailed French privacy laws that keep his family largely protected from international media intrusion.”I love the French culture, your language, even if I’m still bad at it after 400 days of courses,” the actor told RTL radio — in English — in December.His wife, an international human rights lawyer and dual UK-Lebanese national, speaks fluent French.- ‘Meets the conditions’ -Clooney bought the Domaine du Canadel, a former wine estate, near the Provence town of Brignoles, in 2021. He said it is where his family is “happiest”.Nunez, the interior minister, said he was “very happy” with the actor and his family becoming French, saying the country was lucky to have them.The French foreign ministry said the passport allocation for the Clooneys “meets the conditions set by law” for naturalization.The family “followed a rigorous procedure including security investigations, regulatory naturalization interviews at the prefecture, and the payment of tax stamps,” the ministry added.It highlighted the Clooneys had a French home and they “contribute through their distinguished service to France’s international influence and cultural prestige” through the actor’s role in the film industry.This “can only contribute to maintaining and promoting France’s position in this essential economic sector”, it said. Amal Clooney is “a renowned lawyer” who “regularly collaborates with academic institutions and international organisations based in France,” the ministry added.Some 48,800 people acquired French nationality by decree in 2024, according to interior ministry figures.Clooney is not alone in wanting a French passport.Hollywood director Jim Jarmusch announced on Friday that he was also applying, telling French radio that he wanted “a place to where I can escape the United States”.

The Trump administration in recent months has latched onto news of a large-scale public benefit fraud scandal to carry out immigration raids and harsher policies targeting Minnesota’s large Somali migrant community.Federal charges have been filed against 98 people accused of embezzlement of public funds and — as Attorney General Pam Bondi stressed on Monday — 85 of the defendants are “of Somali descent.” Fifty-seven people have already been convicted in the scheme to divert $300 million in public grants intended to distribute free meals to children — but the meals never existed, prosecutors said.Republican elected officials and federal prosecutors accuse local Democratic authorities of turning a blind eye to numerous warnings because the fraud involved Minnesota’s Somali community, the largest in the country with around 80,000 members.”When whistleblowers raised concerns, they were told that they shouldn’t say anything out of fear of being called racist or Islamophobic, or because it was going to hurt political constituency of the governor and the ruling party, the Democrats here,” state representative Kristin Robbins, a Republican who is running for governor, told AFP.- Investigations mount -Democratic Governor Tim Walz — Kamala Harris’s running mate in 2024 — rejects the accusation.While the case became public in 2022, prosecutors ramped it up again this year with hotly politicized revelations.Another Republican candidate for governor, state house speaker Lisa Demuth, told AFP the case is “finally getting the attention that it’s needed.”Right-leaning YouTube content creator Nick Shirley reignited interest in the case over the holidays with a video that he claims shows daycare centers which are siphoning public money.The video — which blew up on X with 127 million views and played repeatedly on Fox News — resonated with Trump’s “Make America Great Again” (MAGA) circles, who are opposed to what they deem to be overly generous social and immigration policies.The Trump administration responded to the outcry immediately, with Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin telling Fox News that hundreds of investigators were targeting local businesses in Minneapolis. “We believe that there is rampant fraud, whether it be daycare centers, health care centers, or other organizations,” she said.As part of the crackdown, federal health officials announced a broad freeze of funding to Minnesota and across the county. “We have frozen all child care payments to the state of Minnesota,” Health and Human Services (HHS) deputy Jim O’Neill wrote in an X post Tuesday.HHS has broad spending oversight for programs for the underprivileged, including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, early education of toddlers and foster care.- Calls to strip US citizenship -Minnesota congressman Tom Emmer, a leading figure in the Republican majority of Congress, called for mass “denaturalization and deportation of every Somali engaged in fraud in Minnesota.”President Donald Trump preceded Emmer’s call with similar sentiments at the end of November, when a conservative outlet claimed money embezzled in Minnesota was being used to fund Somalia’s Al-Shabaab, an Al-Qaeda linked Islamist militant group.That accusation has since been denied by the prosecutor in the case.But the US president was quick to accuse “Somali gangs” of “terrorizing” Minnesotans and ended their Temporary Protected Status, a program that exempted Somalis from deportation to their war-torn country.A week later, Trump escalated the rhetoric, saying Somalia “stinks.” And in a social media post on New Year’s Eve, he again attacked Democratic congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who is of Somali origin, as a “lowlife.””Much of the Minnesota Fraud, up to 90%, is caused by people that came into our Country, illegally, from Somalia. ‘Congresswoman’ Omar, an ungrateful loser who only complains and never contributes, is one of the many scammers,” Trump wrote.

New Year celebrations took on a sombre tone in Sydney as revellers held a minute of silence for victims of the Bondi Beach shooting before fireworks lit up the harbour city at the stroke of midnight.People around the world toasted the end of 2025, bidding farewell to one of the hottest years on record, packed with Trump tariffs, a Gaza truce and vain hopes for peace in Ukraine.Heavily armed police patrolled among hundreds of thousands of people lining the Sydney shore barely two weeks after a father and son allegedly opened fire on a Jewish festival at Bondi Beach, killing 15 people in Australia’s deadliest mass shooting for almost 30 years.Parties paused for a minute of silence an hour before midnight Wednesday, with the famed Sydney Harbour Bridge 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.At midnight, nine tonnes of fireworks were set off to welcome the New Year.”The fireworks have always been on my bucket list and I’m so happy to be here,” said Susana Suisuikli, an English tourist.  Pacific nations including Kiribati and New Zealand were the first to see in 2026, with Seoul and Tokyo following Sydney in celebrations that will stretch to glitzy New York and the Hogmanay festival on the chilly streets of Scotland.More than two million people are expected to pack Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach for what authorities have called the world’s biggest New Year’s Eve party.In Hong Kong, a major New Year fireworks display planned for Victoria Harbour was cancelled to pay homage to 161 people killed in a fire in November that engulfed several apartment blocks.- Truce and tariffs -For many it has been a year of stress and excitement, even without the wars that have claimed tens of thousands of lives.Labubu dolls became a worldwide craze in 2025, thieves plundered the Louvre in a daring heist, and K-pop heartthrobs BTS made their long-awaited return.The world lost pioneering zoologist Jane Goodall, the Vatican chose a new pope and the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk laid bare America’s deep political divisions.Donald Trump returned as US president in January, launching a tariff blitz that sent global markets into meltdown.Trump used his Truth Social platform to lash out at his sliding approval ratings ahead of midterm elections to be held in November.”Isn’t it nice to have a STRONG BORDER, No Inflation, a powerful Military, and great Economy??? Happy New Year!” he wrote.Many expect tough times to continue in 2026.”The economic situation is also very dire, and I’m afraid I’ll be left without income,” said Ines Rodriguez, 50, a merchant in Mexico City.After two years of war that left much of the Gaza Strip in ruins, US pressure helped land a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in October.No-one is sure how long the break in hostilities will hold, with each side accusing the 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.”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 jointly push for continuous new progress in bilateral ties”, state news agency Xinhua said.The war in Ukraine — sparked by Russia’s invasion in February 2022 — is grinding towards its fourth anniversary with no ceasefire in sight despite a renewed burst of diplomacy.- Sports, space and AI -The coming 12 months promise to be full of sports, space and questions over artificial intelligence.NASA’s Artemis II mission, backed by tech titan Elon Musk, will launch a crewed spacecraft to circle the moon during a 10-day flight, more than 50 years since the last Apollo lunar mission.After years of unbridled enthusiasm, AI is facing scrutiny and nervous investors are questioning whether the boom might now resemble a market bubble.Athletes will gather in Italy in February for the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics.And for a few weeks in June and July, 48 nations will dispute the biggest football World Cup in history in the United States, Mexico and Canada. It could be a last chance to see the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi on the global stage.

New Year’s Eve revellers toasted the end of 2025 on Wednesday, 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 (1200 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. “The fireworks have always been on my bucket list and I’m so happy to be here,” said Susana Suisuikli, an English tourist.  Security was tighter than usual, with squads of heavily armed police patrolling the crowds.Pacific nations including Kiribati and New Zealand were the first to see in the new year, kicking off a chain of celebrations stretching from glitzy New York to the Hogmanay festival on the chilly streets of Scotland.More than two million people are expected to pack Brazil’s lively Copacabana Beach for what authorities have called the world’s biggest New Year’s Eve party.In Hong Kong, a major New Year fireworks display planned for Victoria Harbour was cancelled to pay homage to 161 people killed in a housing estate fire in November.- Truce and tariffs -Labubu dolls became a worldwide craze in 2025, thieves plundered the Louvre in a daring heist, and K-pop heartthrobs BTS made their long-awaited return.The world lost pioneering zoologist Jane Goodall, the Vatican chose a new pope and the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk laid bare America’s deep political divisions.Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, launching a tariff blitz that sent global markets into meltdown.Trump used his Truth Social platform to lash out at his sliding approval ratings ahead of 2026 midterm elections.”Isn’t it nice to have a STRONG BORDER, No Inflation, a powerful Military, and great Economy??? Happy New Year!” he wrote.But many expect tough times to continue in 2026.”The economic situation is also very dire, and I’m afraid I’ll be left without income,” said Ines Rodriguez, 50, a merchant in Mexico City.After two years of war that left much of the Gaza Strip in ruins, US pressure helped land a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in October.No one is sure how long the break in hostilities will hold, with each side already accusing the other of flagrant violations.Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of more than 1,200 people, most of them civilians.Israel’s retaliatory assault on Gaza has killed more than 70,000, also mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, a figure the UN deems credible.”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.”World leaders including China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin began exchanging New Year greetings.Xi said he was “ready to maintain close exchanges with Putin to jointly push for continuous new progress in bilateral ties”, state news agency Xinhua said on Wednesday.The war in Ukraine — sparked by Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 — grinds towards its four-year anniversary in February with no temporary ceasefire reached in the final days of 2025 despite a renewed burst of diplomacy.- Sports, space and AI -The coming 12 months promise to be full of sports, space and questions over artificial intelligence.NASA’s Artemis II mission, backed by Elon Musk, will launch a crewed spacecraft to circle the moon during a 10-day test flight, more than 50 years since the last Apollo lunar mission.After years of unbridled enthusiasm, AI is facing scrutiny and nervous investors are questioning whether the boom might now resemble a market bubble.Athletes will gather on Italy’s famed Dolomites to hit the slopes for the Winter Olympics.And for a few weeks in June and July, nations will come together for the biggest football World Cup in history in venues across the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Mali and Burkina Faso have announced travel restrictions on American nationals in a tit-for-tat move after the United States included both African countries on a no-entry list.US President Donald Trump, who has long campaigned to restrict immigration, expanded a travel ban earlier this month by barring people from seven more countries.The list included Syrian citizens, as well as Palestinian Authority passport holders, and nationals of some of Africa’s poorest countries, including also Niger, Sierra Leone and South Sudan.The White House said it was banning foreigners who “intend to threaten” Americans.The move brought to nearly 40 the number of countries whose citizens face restrictions in coming to the United States solely by virtue of nationality.Burkina Faso and Mali, which are both led by military juntas, responded in statements issued separately by their foreign ministries, seen Wednesday by AFP.They said they were imposing “equivalent measures” on US citizens.Burkina Faso’s foreign ministry said in the statement that it was applying “equivalent visa measures” on Americans.Mali said it was, “with immediate effect”, applying “the same conditions and requirements on American nationals that the American authorities have imposed on Malian citizens entering the United States”.It also voiced its “regret” that the United States had made “such an important decision without the slightest prior consultation”.- Exceptions -The two countries in west Africa’s jihadist-hit Sahelian region are members of a confederation, formed in 2023, that also includes Niger. The leaders of Burkina, Mali and Niger have made sovereignty their watchword, leaving the West African bloc ECOWAS, while turning away from traditional partner France and closer to Russia but have maintained generally cordial relations with the United States.Niger has not officially announced any counter-measures to the US travel ban, but the country’s news agency, citing a diplomatic source, said last week that such measures had been decided.In his December 17 announcement, Trump also imposed partial travel restrictions on citizens of other African countries including the most populous, Nigeria, as well as Ivory Coast and Senegal, which  qualified for the football World Cup to be played next year in the United States, Canada and Mexico.The Trump administration has promised to let in athletes for the football tournament but has made no such promises for fans of blacklisted countries.Burkina Faso said in October it refused to take in people kicked out of the United States, in a snub to one of Trump’s signature migration policies.Burkina Foreign Minister Karamoko Jean-Marie Traore at the time said the proposal was “indecent”.Since his return to the White House in January, the Trump administration has made deporting people to third countries — often to nations they have no connection to — part of a sweeping immigration crackdown.

New Year’s Eve revellers toasted the end of 2025 on Wednesday, 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 party preparations 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 will pause for a minute of silence at 11:00 pm (1200 GMT) as the famed Sydney Harbour Bridge is 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 are expected to line Sydney’s foreshore as nine tonnes of fireworks explode on the stroke of midnight.Throughout the evening, residents and tourists began gathering by the city’s harbour and sailboats dotted the water to secure the best viewing spots near the Sydney Opera House. “The fireworks have always been on my bucket list and I’m so happy to be here,” said Susana Suisuikli, an English tourist.  Security was tighter than usual, with squads of heavily armed police patrolling the crowds.Sydney kicks off a chain of celebrations stretching from glitzy New York to the Hogmanay festival on the chilly streets of Scotland.More than two million people are expected to pack Brazil’s lively Copacabana Beach for what authorities have called the world’s biggest New Year’s Eve party.In Hong Kong, a major New Year fireworks display planned for Victoria Harbour was cancelled to pay homage to 161 people killed in a housing estate fire in November.- Truce and tariffs -Labubu dolls became a worldwide craze in 2025, thieves plundered the Louvre in a daring heist, and K-pop heartthrobs BTS made their long-awaited return.The world lost pioneering zoologist Jane Goodall, the Vatican chose a new pope, and the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk laid bare America’s deep political divisions.Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, launching a tariff blitz that sent global markets into meltdown.The president used his Truth Social platform to lash out at his sliding approval ratings ahead of 2026 midterm elections.”The polls are rigged,” he wrote, without providing evidence.”Isn’t it nice to have a STRONG BORDER, No Inflation, a powerful Military, and great Economy??? Happy New Year!”But many expect tough times to continue in 2026.”The economic situation is also very dire, and I’m afraid I’ll be left without income,” said Ines Rodriguez, 50, a merchant in Mexico City.After two years of war that left much of the Gaza Strip in ruins, US pressure helped land a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in October.But with each side already accusing the other of flagrant violations, no one is sure how long the break in hostilities will hold.Hamas militants stormed into southern Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of more than 1,200 people, most of them civilians.Israel’s retaliatory assault on Gaza has killed more than 70,000, also mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, a figure the UN deems credible.World leaders including China’s Xi Jinping and Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin began exchanging New Year greetings.Xi said he was “ready to maintain close exchanges with Putin to jointly push for continuous new progress in bilateral ties”, Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported Wednesday.The war in Ukraine — sparked by Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022 — grinds towards its four-year anniversary in February with no temporary ceasefire reached in the final days of 2025 despite a renewed burst of diplomacy.- Sports, space and AI -The coming 12 months promise to be full of sports, space and questions over artificial intelligence (AI).NASA’s Artemis II mission, backed by Elon Musk, will launch a crewed spacecraft to circle the moon during a 10-day test flight, more than 50 years since the last Apollo lunar mission.After years of unbridled enthusiasm, AI is facing scrutiny and nervous investors are questioning whether the boom might now resemble a market bubble.Athletes will gather on Italy’s famed Dolomites to hit the slopes for the Winter Olympics.And for a few weeks in June and July, nations will come together for the biggest football World Cup in history in venues across the United States, Mexico and Canada.