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 somber tinge to party preparations in Australia's harbor city of 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 p.m. (12 p.m. GMT) as the famed Sydney Harbour Bridge was bathed in white light to symbolize peace.
