• Journalists at work

A total of 128 journalists were killed around the world in 2025, more than half of them in the Middle East, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) said Thursday.

The grim toll, up from 2024, “is not just a statistic, it’s a global red alert for our colleagues,” IFJ general secretary Anthony Bellanger told AFP.

The press group voiced particular alarm over the situation in the Palestinian territories, where it recorded 56 media professionals killed in 2025 as Israel’s war with Hamas ground on in Gaza.

“We’ve never seen anything like this: so many deaths in such a short time, in such a small area,” Bellanger said.

Journalists were also killed in Yemen, Ukraine, Sudan, Peru, India and elsewhere.

Bellanger condemned what he called “impunity” for those behind the attacks. “Without justice, it allows the killers of journalists to thrive,” he warned.

Meanwhile, the IFJ said that across the globe, 533 journalists were currently in prison – a figure that has more than doubled over the past half-decade.

Fireworks lit up the midnight sky over Sydney Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House during New Year’s Day celebrations in Australia. Credit: AFP via Getty Images.

The UK rings in the new year with a spectacular fireworks display over London’s Big Ben. Credit: EPA

The London Eye is illuminated by the fireworks display in central London. Credit: PA Media

Scotland welcomes 2026 with world-renowned fireworks over Edinburgh Castle. PA Media

Fireworks light up the sky over the Brandenburg Gate during celebrations in Berlin. Credit: EPA

Crowds on Champs-Elysees avenue in Paris, France enjoy a light show and fireworks on the Arc de Triomphe. Credit: EPA

A firework display from the top of Auckland’s Sky Tower welcomed in the New Year. Credit: Shutterstock

Then Australia lit up the sky over the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour Bridge. Credit: Shutterstock

Source: BBC

•Guinea President Mamady Doumbouya (C) greets supporters during his final campaign rally ahead of the country’s presidential election in Conakry on December 25, 2025. (Photo by PATRICK MEINHARDT / AFP)

Guinea’s junta chief Mamady Doumbouya, who had pledged not to run for office after he seized power four years ago, has been elected president.

Doumboya secured a sweeping majority of the vote – 86.72 percent of the first-round vote, according to the General Directorate of Elections, well over the threshold that would trigger a runoff vote.

Voter turnout stood at 80.95 percent, according to Djenabou Toure, head of the General Directorate of Elections, on Tuesday

Doumbouya, 41, faced eight rivals for the presidency but the main opposition leaders were barred from running and had urged a boycott of the vote held over the weekend.

Doumbouya had placed well ahead in districts of the capital Conakry, often winning more than 80 percent, according to official partial results read out by Toure earlier on RTG public television.

He had a similar lead in several other areas, including Coyah, a town near Conakry, and in other parts of the country, such as Boffa and Fria in the west, Gaoual in the northwest, northern Koundara and Labe, and Nzerekore