President Joe Biden, who will be in his final weeks in office, is expected to deliver the eulogy at the service

And Sydney -- the self-proclaimed "New Year's capital of the world" -- sprayed nine tonnes of fireworks from its famed Opera House and Harbour Bridge to begin the year's farewell.

It was the first new year's celebration without an Assad in power for more than 50 years

China’s President Xi Jinping said yesterday that “no one can stop” unification with Taiwan, as he addressed the nation in a New Year’s speech.

President Vladimir Putin told Russians in a New Year address that the country would move forward with confidence in 2025.

UN rights chief Volker Turk said yesterday that hospitals in the Gaza Strip had become a "death trap", insisting that such facilities must instead be protected during conflict.

Iran’s security chief Ali Akbar Ahmadian said a new group would emerge in Syria to fight Israel following the fall of president Bashar al-Assad, state media reported.

Former England soccer boss Gareth Southgate, London Mayor Sadiq Khan and Paris Olympics gold medallist Keely Hodgkinson were among the hundreds named in King Charles's New Year honours list published on Monday

South Korean authorities began releasing the bodies of plane crash victims to families Tuesday, as investigators raced to determine why the Jeju Air Boeing 737-800 crash landed and burst into flames

Attorney General Stuart Young said the country recorded 61 murders in December

The anniversary comes two days after the death of former US president Jimmy Carter, at age 100, who signed the canal treaties that led to the vital waterway's transfer on December 31, 1999.

The two countries have deepened political, military and cultural ties since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022

Save the Children tells AFP

A South Korean court has issued an arrest warrant for impeached, suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol, investigators said Tuesday, over his short-lived bid to impose martial law on the country

The head of the World Health Organization yesterday called for an end to attacks on hospitals in Gaza after Israel struck one and raided another in the past few days.

Jimmy Carter, the earnest Georgia peanut farmer who as US president struggled with a bad economy and the Iran hostage crisis but brokered peace between Israel and Egypt and later received the Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian work, died at his home in Plains, Georgia on Sunday.

Russia and Ukraine swapped more than 300 prisoners of war yesterday in an exchange brokered by the United Arab Emirates ahead of New Year’s Eve, officials from both countries said.

Germany’s government said yesterday US billionaire tech baron Elon Musk is trying to sway February elections by praising the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), a move strongly rejected by major parties.

The death toll from a road accident in southern Ethiopia has risen to at least 71, according to a local police official.

US President Joe Biden announced $2.5 billion in additional security assistance for Ukraine yesterday as he uses his final weeks in office to surge military aid to Kyiv before President-elect Donald Trump takes power.