Brief by Shorts91 Newsdesk / 12:00pm on 31 Dec 2025,Wednesday International
The small atoll of Kiritimati in the Pacific nation of Kiribati has become the first place in the world to welcome 2026. The island, also called Christmas Island, lies south of Hawaii and north east of Australia. Kiribati is made up of many coral atolls spread across almost 4,000 kilometres of ocean. The country gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1979 and has a population of about 116,000. Many islands are very low lying and face rising sea levels. New Year events will reach other parts of Kiribati and then move west across the globe. (PC: BBC)
