World in pictures, December 31, 2025
The best photos from the international wire agencies as chosen by The Age picture editors
10 Images
The best photos from the international wire agencies as chosen by The Age picture editors
December 31, 2025 — 6.57pm
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Myanmar people visit Shwedagon Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar. Myanmar began a multiphase general election on December 28, 2025 with voting set to continue into January 2026 under the military administration following the 2021 military coup and subsequent conflict. Credit:Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images
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Prisoners produce hospital gowns in the Central Industrial Penitentiary near Santa Ana, El Salvador. The prison is part of the country’s “Plan Zero Ocio” (Zero Leisure Plan), where Salvadorians convicted of common crimes, non-gang-related, reduce their sentences through work, either inside the prison or outside on public service projects.Credit:John Moore/Getty Images
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Riders with horses and hounds take part in the Old Surrey, Burstow and West Kent Hunt Boxing Day meet in Chiddingstone Causeway, England. The government has announced plans to follow-through on a manifesto pledge to ban trail hunting, as part of a package of animal welfare reforms.Credit:Dan Kitwood/Getty Images
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Donte Jackson #26 of the Los Angeles Chargers takes the field before a game against the Houston Texans at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. Credit:Katelyn Mulcahy/Getty Images
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Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men clash with police officers as they block a main highway during a demonstration against drafting into the Israeli army in Bnei Brak, Israel. Ultra-Orthodox Jewish groups, including the extremist Jerusalem Faction, are protesting the reported arrests of Haredi men who have recently refused conscription to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF).Credit:Amir Levy/Getty Images
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A woman shapes a Mochi, New Year rice cakes, to celebrate the coming year at Zuiganji Buddhist temple in Himeji, Japan. Japan celebrates the New Year on January 1st each year, following the Gregorian calendar. The Japanese zodiac year is usually associated with twelve animals: the rat, cow, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig. 2026 is the Year of the Horse.Credit:Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images
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Dancers prepare to leave the Bear Festival in Comănești, Romania. The Bear Festival (Festivalul Ursilor) is a centuries-old tradition from Moldavia in which dancers wearing heavy bear skins perform drum-led rituals around Christmas and New Year, a practice that once involved live bears and now symbolises renewal, good fortune and the warding off evil spirits.Credit:Andrei Pungovschi/Getty Images
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The Georgia Southern Eagles holds up the Vulcan trophy after beating the Appalachian State Mountaineers 29-10 in the JLab Birmingham Bowl at Protective Stadium in Birmingham, Alabama.Credit:Jason Clark/Getty Images
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Lebron James #23 of the Los Angeles Lakers dunks the ball against Demar Derozan #10 of the Sacramento Kings during the second quarter at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California.Credit:Luke Hales/Getty Images
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Rescue workers remove rubble from a residential building that was badly damaged during Russian air strikes, on December 27, 2025 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Russia attacked Ukraine with hundreds of missiles and drones on Saturday, killing two people in Kyiv and surrounding areas, and injuring at least 46 others, according to authorities. Credit:Elise Blanchard/Getty Images