Revellers around the world toasted the start of 2026, bidding farewell on Wednesday 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........

© Al Monitor