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Sydney fireworks held under enhanced police presence after recent attackSeoul's Bosingak bell chimes 33 times to welcome peace and prosperityBrazil aims to break record with massive Copacabana Beach celebration *Ukrainians, Russians express hopes for peace**media[400058]** As Wednesday turned to Thursday, people around the world said goodbye to a sometimes challenging 2025 ‌and expressed hopes for the New Year to come.Midnight arrived first on the islands closest ‌to the International Date Line in the ‍Pacific Ocean, including Kiritimati (Christmas Island), Tonga and New Zealand. FIREWORKS LIGHT UP SYDNEYIn Australia, Sydney began 2026 with a spectacular fireworks display, as per tradition. ⁠Some 40,000 pyrotechnic effects stretched 7km across buildings and barges in its harbour and featured a waterfall effect from the Sydney Harbour Bridge.**media[400063]**This year, it ‍was held under an enhanced police presence, weeks after gunmen killed 15 people at a Jewish event in the city.Organizers held a minute's silence at 11pm local time for the victims of the attack, with the Harbour Bridge lit up in white and a menorah - a symbol of Judaism - projected onto its pylons."After a tragic end to the year for our city, we hope that New Year's Eve will provide an opportunity to come together and look with hope for a peaceful and happy 2026," Sydney's Lord Mayor Clover Moore ‌said ahead of the event.**media[400059]**In Seoul, thousands gathered at the Bosingak bell pavilion, where a bronze bell was struck 33 times at midnight -- a tradition rooted in Buddhist cosmology. The chimes are believed to dispel misfortune and welcome ‍peace and prosperity for the year ⁠ahead. DRUMS AT THE GREAT ‌WALL OF CHINAAn hour to the west, there were celebrations and a drum performance at the Juyong Pass, at the Great Wall of China just outside Beijing. Revellers wore headgear and waved boards emblazoned with "2026" and the symbol of a horse. February will mark the arrival of the Year of the Horse on the Chinese lunar calendar.In Hong Kong, the annual New Year's fireworks display was called off after the apartment complex blaze in November that killed 161 people. Instead, a light show with the theme of 'New hopes, new beginnings' transformed facades in the Central district.**media[400060]**In Croatia, celebrations got off to an early start. Since 2000, the town of Fuzine has held its countdown at noon, a tradition that has since spread across the country. Crowds cheered, toasted each other with champagne and danced to music - all in the middle of ​the day. Some brave souls in Santa ‌hats took a plunge into the icy waters of Lake Bajer. BRAZIL LOOKS TO BREAK RECORDOn Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro - locals welcomed in the New ⁠Year in warmer weather with a music and ‍fireworks party known as "Reveillon." Organizers were hoping to beat their 2024 Guinness World Record for the biggest New Year's Eve celebration.**media[400061]**Elsewhere, preparations got under way for the more traditional midnight toast. In subzero temperatures in New York, organizers began putting up security barriers and stages ahead of the crowds that will flock to Times Square for the annual ball drop.Greece's ancient Parthenon Temple on the Acropolis had a quiet New Year. The mayor of Athens said silent, environmentally friendly fireworks ​were used, citing distress caused by loud displays to pets, animals and some people.**media[400057]**In snowy Kyiv and Moscow, both Ukrainians and Russians saw in the New Year, expressing hopes of peace after nearly four years of conflict. "I wish for the war to end, I think that this is the main and most important topic for our country," said a woman in central Moscow who gave her name only as Larisa and said she had traveled from distant Altai Krai to see the Russian capital in the winter holidays with her family.**media[400062]**Many Ukrainians lamented that peace still seemed a distant prospect. But wrapped up warm and visiting a Christmas tree set up in front of ⁠Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, nine-year-old Olesia was more optimistic. "I think there will be peace in the New Year," she said. 

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney signed a memorandum of understanding to build a pipeline more than 1,000 kilometers long to transport oil to the Pacific Ocean, in order to partially reduce his country’s dependence on the United States for its exports.During the signing ceremony, Carney praised the agreement, saying it would make Canada stronger and more independent, and that the relationship with the United States, once very close, has now become a point of weakness.For her part, Premier of Alberta Danielle Smith said that the agreement with the province of Alberta stipulates that Ottawa will support the construction of the pipeline, which is planned to transport one million barrels of oil per day from Alberta to an export terminal on the west coast, from where the oil will be shipped to Asia.She added that the pipeline will mean that the province and the country will no longer depend on a single customer.The project comes amid growing tensions between Ottawa and Washington since the election of President Donald Trump, who imposed tariffs on his neighbor and publicly called for annexing it to his country. 

An earthquake measuring 5.2 on the Richter scale struck on Thursday the Solomon Islands in the Pacific Ocean.The US Geological Survey (USGS) said that the epicenter of the earthquake occurred 83 km west of Kirakira, at a depth of 59.8 km.There have been no reports of casualties or material damage due to the earthquake so far.The Solomon Islands are located in a region known for seismic activity and strong earthquakes.

An earthquake measuring 4.4 on the Richter scale struck Papua New Guinea on Monday. The earthquake's epicenter was located 129 km from Rabaul, at a depth of 192.1 km, the US Geological Survey (USGS) reported. Papua New Guinea lies within the Ring of Fire, a vast area encircling the Pacific Ocean that is known for its intense seismic and volcanic activity. The region contains about 90% of the world's active volcanoes and frequently experiences powerful earthquakes.