NEW Year’s Eve revellers toasted the end of 2025 yesterday, waving goodbye to 12 months packed with United States 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.
“It has been a difficult year for so many people,” said Steph Grant, a 32-year-old Sydney resident. “Here’s hoping the world looks like a brighter place in 2026,” said Grant, who works in advertising.
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.
US President Donald Trump returned to the White House in January, launching a tariff blitz that sent global markets into meltdown.
From palm-fringed islands in the South Pacific to the sprawling factories of Shanghai, few escaped the trade assault unscathed.
Many expect the 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.
“All our colleagues are in the same situation: very little work and not very profitable,” said Buenos Aires business owner Fernando Selvaggi, 61.
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 fighters stormed into southern Israel on Oct 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 territory, a figure the United Nations deems as credible.
The war in Ukraine —sparked by Russia’s invasion in 2022 — meanwhile grinds towards its four-year anniversary in February.
There were hopes a renewed burst of diplomacy might produce a breakthrough this year.
But Russia shot down any notion of a temporary ceasefire in the final days of 2025.
As envoys shuttle between Moscow, Washington and Kyiv, one major obstacle remains: Ukraine is reluctant to give up land, and Russia is unwilling to give it back.
The coming 12 months promise to be full of sports, space travel and serious questions over artificial intelligence (AI).
More than 50 years since the last Apollo lunar mission, 2026 looks to be the year that mankind once again sets its sights towards the moon.
The Artemis II mission, backed by Elon Musk, plans to launch a crewed spacecraft that will circle that moon during a 10-day test flight.
After years of unbridled enthusiasm, AI is starting to face mounting scrutiny.
Nervous investors are already questioning whether the yearslong AI boom might be starting to resemble something more like a market bubble.
Athletes will gather on Italy’s famed Dolomites to hit the slopes for the Winter Olympics.
And for a brief few weeks between June and July, nations will come together for the biggest football World Cup in history.
For the first time, 48 teams will compete in the world’s mostwatched sports event, playing in venues across the US, Mexico and Canada.
From the beaches of Brazil to the far-flung reaches of New Zealand, the tournament is expected to draw millions of fans.
The article is from AFP
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