Auckland rang in 2026 with a downtown fireworks display launched from New Zealand's tallest structure, Sky Tower, making it the first major city to greet the new year at a celebration dampened by rain.

South Pacific countries are the first to bid farewell to 2025. Clocks strike midnight in Auckland, a population of 1.7 million, 18 hours before the famous ball drops in New York's Times Square.

Auckland's five-minute display involved 3500 fireworks launched from various floors of the 240-metre Sky Tower. Smaller community events were cancelled across New Zealand's North Island due to forecasts of rain and possible thunderstorms.

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Subdued events after devastating year

In Indonesia, cities scaled back New Year's Eve festivities as a gesture of solidarity with communities devastated by catastrophic floods and landslides that struck parts of Sumatra island a month ago, claiming more than 1100 lives.

The capital, Jakarta, will not ring in 2026 with its usual fanfare, choosing instead subdued celebrations with a calm and reflective program centred on prayers for victims, city Governor Pramono Anung said last week.

Makassar Mayor Munafri Arifuddin urged residents of one of Indonesia's largest cities to forgo parties altogether, calling for prayer and reflection instead. "Empathy and restraint are more meaningful than fireworks and crowds," he said.

Concerts and fireworks on Indonesia's tourist island of Bali have been cancelled and replaced with a cultural arts event featuring 65 groups performing traditional dances.

Hong Kong was ringing in 2026 without the usual spectacle over iconic Victoria Harbour after a massive fire in November killed at least 161 people. The facades of landmarks were turning into countdown clocks presenting a light show at midnight.

Temple bells rang across Japan, and some people climbed mountains to see the year's first sunrise. Others were eating noodles in a traditional wish for long life because of the noodle's shape. In South Korea's capital, Seoul, a bell tolling was held at the Bosingak Pavilion.

Palestinians in Gaza said they hope the new year brings a definitive end to the war between Israel and Hamas that has battered the enclave for two years, as negotiators push for progress into the ceasefire's challenging second phase.

"We hope that it will be a good year for our people in Palestine," said Faraj Rasheed, noting that thousands continue to live in harsh conditions in tent camps.

Others described 2025 as a year of loss. "The war humiliated us," said Mirvat Abed Al-Aal, displaced from the southern city of Rafah.

Berliners celebrate in snowfall, additional security in NYC

Tourists and Berliners marked the end of 2025 by taking selfies and making snowmen in front of the German capital's cathedral and the iconic Brandenburg Gate. The Berlin TV Tower was nearly invisible thanks to the falling flakes and fog.

Greece and Cyprus were turning down the volume, replacing traditional fireworks with low-noise pyrotechnics, light shows and drone displays in capital cities. Officials said the change is intended to make celebrations more welcoming for children and pets, particularly animals sensitive to loud noise.

Police in New York City will have additional anti-terrorism measures at the Times Square ball drop, with "mobile screening teams". It is not in response to a specific threat, according to NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch.

After the ball drops it will rise again, sparkling in red, white and blue, to mark the country's upcoming 250th birthday.

Zohran Mamdani will take office as mayor at the start of 2026. Two swearing-in ceremonies are planned, starting with a private ceremonial event about midnight in an old subway station.

Britain's Queen Camilla has spoken publicly for the first time about her personal experience of indecent assault, saying that speaking out was one way she could use her royal platform to shine a light on the epidemic of violence against women.

Camilla, who has made fighting domestic abuse one of her signature causes, recalled fending off a man who attacked her on a train in the 1960s when she was a teenager.

"I was reading my book, and you know, this boy, man, attacked me, and I did fight back,'' Camilla told the BBC.

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"And I remember getting off the train and my mother looking at me and saying, 'Why is your hair standing on end?' and 'Why is a button missing from your coat?'"

While the attack made her "furious," Camilla said, she kept it quiet for many years until she heard other women recount their own stories.

She said she decided to speak up because domestic violence has been a "taboo subject" for so long that most people don't realise how bad the situation is.

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"I thought, well, if I've got a tiny soapbox to stand on, I'd like to stand on it," she said.

"And there's not a lot I can do except talk to people and get people together."

The comments came in a group interview with the surviving family members of Louise Hunt, 25, her sister Hannah, 28, and their mother Carol, 61, who were murdered by Louise's ex-partner at their home outside London in July 2024.

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The queen praised former racing commentator John Hunt and his daughter Amy for their work fighting domestic violence.

"Wherever your family is now, they'd be so proud of you both,'' Camilla said.

"And they must be, from above, smiling down on you and thinking, 'My goodness me, what a wonderful, wonderful father, husband, sister'. They'd just be so proud of you both."

While this is the first time Camilla has spoken publicly about the attack she experienced, it was previously recounted in the book "Power and the Palace," published earlier this year by Valentine Low, a former royal correspondent for the Times of London.

That account was based on what the queen told former Prime Minister Boris Johnson when he was mayor of London.

According to Low's book, Camilla was on a train to London's Paddington Station when the man sitting next to her reached out and attempted to touch her.

She fought him off by removing her shoe and bashing him in the groin. When she got to Paddington she found a man in uniform and told him what had happened, and the man was arrested.

Support is available from the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service at 1800RESPECT (1800 737 732).

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Surf lifeguards have carried out 93 rescues since October 25 in the Eastern region.

Emergency services were called to the scene about 7.20pm.

She says they walked home at night in deep mud and heavy rain with no sober driver.

Between 6 and 7% of the portal’s 1.8 million users may have had data accessed.

Twelve months ago, mortgage holders were looking forward to a new year that promised to be full of interest rate cuts.

The outlook now, though, is considerably bleaker.

This is what we know about what interest rates might do in 2026.

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Will interest rates rise in 2026?

It's possible, and some banks think we'll get a hike as soon as February 3.

"With what we know at the moment, I don't think there are interest rate cuts on the horizon for the foreseeable future," RBA Governor Michele Bullock said after the central bank's final rates decision of the year on December 9. 

"The question is, is it just an extended hold from here, or is it a possibility of a rate rise? 

"They are the two things the board will be looking closely at coming into the new year."

Those hawkish comments have led a range of economists to tip a rate hike in 2026.

Commonwealth Bank head of Australian economics Belinda Allen says the first meeting of the year will be a live one, and both CBA and NAB are predicting a 25-basis-point increase on the first meeting of the year.

NAB has forecast even more pain, pencilling in a further cut in May.

The market is more pessimistic. 

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The market has been pricing in around a 27 per cent chance of a hike in February (that figure has been both slightly higher and lower throughout late December, but was at zero at the start of the month), and an end-year cash rate of about 4 per cent.

Not everyone agrees with that, though.

The other half of the big four banks, Westpac and ANZ, are predicting a year of holds, as are some economists.

"We expect to see the cash rate remain at 3.6 per cent in 2026, with the swing back to rate hikes more a story for 2027," AMP chief economist Shane Oliver wrote. 

"But we concede that the risks look like they are now a bit more to the upside on rates in 2026. 

"However, our assessment is that the swing in the money market from expecting 2 or 3 more cuts after the August RBA meeting to now expecting nearly two hikes (in 2026) is premature and a bit too extreme."

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Why aren't interest rates expected to come down?

Casual observers – particularly those with a mortgage – might be wondering why we're suddenly talking about the prospect of rate hikes, not cuts.

After all, it was only a few months ago that economists were talking about the cash rate settling around 3.1 per cent.

The reason for the turnaround is an unexpected surge in inflation.

Having fallen back into the central bank's target band of 2-3 per cent, the consumer price index (CPI) jumped to 3.2 per cent in the September quarter and again to 3.8 per cent in October, with underlying inflation not too far behind.

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The data-driven RBA will get two new batches of inflation figures before its February decision – for November on January 7 and December on the 28th.

If inflation cools off, so too will the chance of a rate hike. 

But if it comes in hot once again, then mortgage holders will have every right to feel nervous about the first rates decision of the year.

"If trimmed mean inflation in the December quarter does not fall back as we expect (and comes in around 0.9 per cent quarter-on-quarter or more), then a hike as early as February is possible," Oliver said.

"December quarter CPI inflation is the key to what happens early next year on rates."

The information provided on this website is general in nature only and does not constitute personal financial advice. The information has been prepared without taking into account your personal objectives, financial situation or needs. Before acting on any information on this website you should consider the appropriateness of the information having regard to your objectives, financial situation and needs.

The men fell from the amusement feature about 2am during one of its final rides.

North Queensland remains on alert as a deadly weather system continues to lash the region, causing dangerous flooding.

Heavy rain continues to batter the north-east tropical coast, where a severe weather warning remains in place today.

Coastal areas between Townsville and Bowen are expected to be lashed with 100 to 200mm rain today, with higher totals possible on the coastal fringe, all the way up to Cairns.

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The downpour could trigger further flash flooding, according to the Bureau of Meteorology, where waterways are already swollen as a result of heavy rainfall in recent days.

"We are still seeing heavy rain across northern Queensland," Bureau of Meteorology meteorologist Jonathan How said. 

"We're reminding Queenslanders that even though the rain is starting to ease from later today and into tomorrow, these heavy showers could still bring flash flooding and still cause river rises."

The deluge is expected to ease in the afternoon before picking back up this evening along the coast between Rollingstone and Ayr.

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Flood warnings are also current for the Mulgrave, Russell, Tully, Murray, Cloncurry and Georgina catchments.

Water levels along the Leichhardt River peaked near 16.25 metres at Lorraine on Tuesday, causing major flooding.

The main flood peak is now approaching Floraville, where river levels are expected to continue rising in the coming days. 

Moderate flooding is likely at Normanton, in the state's north-west, where river levels at Glenore Weir are just above 12 metres and slowly rising.

The body of a man in his 70s was found in a car submerged in floodwaters in Normanton on December 30.

Thankfully, a weather warning for heavy rain across the north-west of the state, including the Northern Goldfields, Upper Flinders, North West and Central West districts, has been cancelled after conditions eased.

Residents in Winton and Corfield could be hit by severe thunderstorms in the coming hours.

Record rainfalls across North Tropical Coast

Rainfall topped a metre at three locations on Queensland's North Tropical coast yesterday.

Bingil Bay was hit with a deluge of 1114.2mm over the last four days, while South Mission Beach and Cowley beach each received nearly 1050mm in the same period.

By comparison, Brisbane's annual rainfall is just over a metre, according to WeatherZone.

Parts of Queensland's North Tropical Coast could see a further 400 to 800mm by the start of next week, which could potentially take totals from this event close to two metres of rainfall.

Record-breaking rain also fell inland in Queensland's Gulf Country, North West, and Northern Goldfields and Upper Flinders forecast districts

Major flooding is expected to continue along many waterways in the north, including the Herbert, Bohle, Flinders, Nicholson, Leichhardt, Norman, Gilbert, Western and Diamantina Rivers.

Premier David Crisafulli announced disaster relief for the affected areas earlier this week.

People are urged to stay up to date on the BoM website and the Queensland government's disaster website.

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NZ will have an annual duty-free quota of 206,000 tonnes, rising to 214,000 tonnes.