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01-01-2026
GAZA STRIP: The New Year has been welcomed with celebrations across the globe watch the highlights in 90 seconds
In New York City, its famous ball dropped to cheers, while fireworks lit up the world’s tallest building in Dubai, and London enjoyed a thunderous 12-minute spectacular
In the Antarctic, the crew of the RRS Sir David Attenborough quite literally rang in the New Year see the moment here
And a “time-travelling” UK pharmacist finally made it to American Samoa celebrating New Year twice
It’s taken a full 26 hours but 2026 has finally arrived everywhere on Earth.
The world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, was lit up with a huge fireworks display, New York City’s Times Square welcomed the new year with its famous ball-drop, and fireworks filled the sky over the Thames in central London.
The new year actually began (for some) at 10:00 GMT, Wednesday, on the Pacific atoll of Kiritimati also known as Christmas Island and ended around 1,300 miles away on Baker Island at 12:00 GMT on Thursday.
We’ve been hearing from people in every corner of the globe including a couple among the first to celebrate on Kiritimati, to the crew of the RRS Sir David Attenborough sailing around the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.
And we heard from one New Year enthusiast, a pharmacist from Coventry, UK who took advantage of the peculiar time zone dynamics to welcome in 2026 twice. First in Samoa, and then 24 hours later and a short plane ride away in American Samoa. We also spoke to a bartender in Australia who walked into 2026 and then walked out again but we’re not quite done with the celebrations, New Year’s Day is of course an event of its own. So, starting 2026 as we mean to continue, please enjoy the picture below of Postman Pat joining the Southern RNLI New Year Day Dip on the Essex coast.
However you choose to mark the moment, a final Happy New Year from us. We’re ending our live coverage now you can read more about the UK’s celebrations here.
However, Israel’s decision to revoke the licences of 37 international NGOs, including Doctors Without Borders, known by its French initials MSF, has come into effect as the Israeli government pushes to demonize organizations that assist Palestinians, among them United Nations agencies, with unproven accusations of links to Hamas.
People in Gaza have started 2026 not with hope or certainty, but with despair as they face more Israeli restrictions amid a humanitarian catastrophe, Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud reports from Gaza City.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Meteorological Department has warned of severe weather starting today, with heavy rain, thunderstorms and hail expected across the territory. Winds will gust up to 50km/h (31mph), with authorities warning of flash flooding in valleys and low-lying areas.
Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza has killed at least 71,271 Palestinians and wounded 171,233 since it began in October 2023. A total of 1,139 people were killed in Israel during the October 7, 2023, attacks, and about 200 were taken captive.
Imprisoned Palestine Action members have been on hunger strikes in prisons around the UK for more than 50 days.
The Palestine Action members are being held on remand in prisons over their alleged involvement in break-ins at the UK subsidiary of Elbit Systems in Filton near Bristol, where equipment was reportedly damaged, and at a Royal Air Force base in Oxfordshire, where two military aircraft were sprayed with red paint.
The prisoners deny the charges against them, which include burglary and violent disorder. (Int’l News Desk)
