TRANSCRIPT:
- People around the world usher out 2025, embracing 2026 with hope...
- Woman drowns, man missing in New Year’s Day surf incidents at Sydney beaches...
- Matildas captain Sam Kerr celebrates New Year’s Eve with wedding to partner Kristie Mewis.
People around the world have ushered out 2025 and welcomed the New Year as midnight swept west from Pacific islands near the International Date Line, including Kiritimati, Tonga and New Zealand.
In Australia, Sydney rang in 2026 with its traditional harbour fireworks, with about 40,000 pyrotechnic effects lighting up the skyline under heightened security.
The celebrations carried a sombre note, coming just weeks after 15 people were killed in an attack at a Jewish festival at Bondi Beach.
A minute’s silence was held at 11pm, with a menorah projected onto the Harbour Bridge in tribute to the victims, with hundreds of thousands gathered to see in the New Year.
The tribute was followed by a performance of Never Tear Us Apart by singer-songwriter Matt Corby.
A woman has died and a man remains missing after separate incidents in dangerous surf at Sydney’s eastern beaches on New Year’s Day.
Emergency services were called to Maroubra before dawn after a 25-year-old woman was swept into the ocean by strong waves near a rock pool.
Her body was recovered about an hour later.
A short distance away at Coogee, a major search is under way for a man believed to be in his twenties who got into trouble in the water early this morning.
Authorities have warned conditions are hazardous, with powerful waves, flash rips and a hazardous surf warning in place along the state's coast.
They are urging beachgoers not to enter the water.
Victoria Police are investigating a violent stabbing in Carlton that left two men seriously injured late last night, in an incident unrelated to New Year’s Eve celebrations.
Police were called to Logan Street at about 11:45pm, after reports a group of up to seven men armed with knives and machetes attacked two victims outside a restaurant before fleeing in vehicles.
The injured men, a 20-year-old from Heidelberg West and an 18-year-old from New South Wales, were taken to hospital for treatment.
Detectives from the Crime Investigation Unit are examining CCTV footage and are working to determine whether the attack was targeted.
Police are urging witnesses, or anyone with dashcam footage from the area at the time, to come forward.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has used his New Year’s address to reaffirm confidence in Russia’s eventual victory in the war in Ukraine.
Speaking as the Kremlin clocks struck midnight, Mr Putin praised Russian troops deployed in the conflict.
"You have taken the responsibility to fight for your native land, for truth and justice. Millions of people across Russia, I assure you, are thinking of you on this New Year’s Eve, empathising with you, and placing their hopes in you. We are united in sincere, selfless, and devoted love for Russia. I congratulate all our fighters and commanders on the coming New Year! We believe in you and in our victory."
The Russian president did not mention ongoing peace negotiations, instead striking a defiant tone as bells rang at the Spasskaya Tower and the Russian national anthem played.
Matildas captain Sam Kerr has capped off 2025 by marrying her long-term partner, American soccer player Kristie Mewis, in a private New Year’s Eve ceremony in Perth, Western Australia.
The couple exchanged vows in front of about 120 guests at a residence in the Swan Valley, with teammates from both the Australian and U-S national teams among those attending.
Their son, Jagger, whom they welcomed in May 2024, was part of the celebrations, with Kerr carrying him down the aisle.
Kerr and Mewis began their relationship publicly in 2020 and became engaged in 2021.
