TRANSCRIPT:
- Australians have celebrated the start of 2026 at the iconic Sydney Harbour fireworks....
- Racist flyers found in letterboxes in Newcastle
- Team Canada and China's tennis stars visit a Sydney zoo ahead of their United Cup campaign.
Australians have celebrated the start of 2026 at the iconic Sydney Harbour fireworks.
There was a sombre tinge to the celebrations in the harbour city, held barely two weeks after a father and son allegedly opened fire on a Jewish festival at Bondi Beach.
An image of a menorah was projected onto the Sydney Harbour Bridge, and a minute of silence was hold at 11pm, to honour the 15 people killed in the terror attack.
Hundreds of thousands of people gathered around the harbour in defiance of the recent attack, amid heightened security measures.
"I've seen like a lot of security guards but it makes me feel safe so yeah."
"If anything I think no this is to show that you know we are United in our you know whatever you want to do and we don't Don't Fear the terrorism as such."
Muslim Australians have expressed concerns for their safety after a surge in reports of Islamophobia following the Bondi massacre.
The Action Against Islamophobia group says there's been a 200 per cent rise in reported anti-Muslim behaviour after police revealed the two alleged gunmen at the Bondi terror attack were affiliated with the I-S group.
Ten mosques and Islamic centres across the country have reported being targeted this month, including two break-ins, three threats online and over the phone, and three mosques that have been vandalised.
Sibat Sheikh has been a victim of one of these Islamophobic incidents.
Last week, on her walk to work as a solicitor in Sydney, three women on bikes pulled over beside her.
"They uttered Islamophobic slurs, one of them I clearly heard as "Dirty Muslim". They smiled and sneered at me, then threw raw eggs all over me. You know my pants, my clothes, my shoes, everything was completely soiled and I was at a complete shock and while they were riding past me they continued throwing eggs."
Police are investigating after racist flyers containing white nationalist messaging were dropped into letterboxes across Newcastle, with New South Wales Premier Chris Minns promising swift action against those responsible.
The flyers were distributed in Cooks Hill and surrounding suburbs, and are also understood to have appeared in Sydney and Wollongong.
Newcastle police say inquiries are ongoing.
Speaking in Sydney, Mr Minns says those responsible would face the full force of the law if identified.
"I am aware of them, and they are an incitement to racial hatred. I mean, they're generally being distributed anonymously, but if we catch who's responsible for it, I can promise you, police will throw the book out of them."
Newcastle MP Tim Crakanthorp says racism and hate speech would not be tolerated, urging anyone who received a flyer to report it to police or Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Britain’s Queen Camilla has told the BBC she was indecently assaulted as a teenager, saying speaking out is a way to use her royal platform to expose the scale of violence against women.
Camilla, a long-time advocate against domestic abuse, recalled fending off an attacker on a train in the 1960s and reporting the incident to a uniformed officer at Paddington, leading to the man’s arrest.
She says she stayed silent for years, but decided to share her experience after hearing other women’s stories, arguing domestic violence has remained taboo for so long that many underestimate how widespread it is.
"It's been a taboo subject for so long. People haven't talked about it. I remember something that's been lurking in the back of my brain for a very long time, that when I was a teenager, I was attacked on a train. And I'd sort of forgotten about it, but I remember at the time being so angry. It was anger. And I thought, why is this?
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In sport,
Team Canada and China's tennis stars, have visited a zoo in Sydney ahead of their United Cup campaign.
The United Cup begins on Friday, and will serve as a warm-up for the Australian Open for some of the tournament's big names.
World-number-five Felix Auger-Aliassime says he hopes he can make a big impact in grand slam tournaments in 2026.
All eyes will be on the Rod Laver Arena from January 12, when the first Grand Slam of 2026 gets underway.
