The world will welcome the year 2025, on Tuesday-Wednesday night, as a farewell to a year that witnessed the organization of the Olympic Games in France, the return of Donald Trump to power in the United States, the flight of Bashar al-Assad from Syria, and unrest in the Middle East and Ukraine.
It seems certain that the year 2024 will be recorded as the hottest year ever, at a time when disasters fueled by climate change will cause severe damage in areas extending from the plains of Europe to the Kathmandu Valley.
Sydney, which calls itself the “New Year’s Capital of the World,” welcomed the new year by launching nine tons of fireworks from the Opera House and the Sydney Harbor Bridge at midnight.
Before the show, Ruth Rosie, a 71-year-old retired nurse, expressed her happiness “to see all these beautiful colors and enjoy this situation with so many people in wonderful Australia.”
As New Year’s Eve celebrations get underway along Sydney Harbor on Tuesday afternoon, many revelers are relieved to bid farewell to the past 12 months.
“It would be better for the world if everything sorted itself out,” insurance employee Stuart Edwards, 32, told AFP as crowds gathered on Sydney’s waterfront.
Taylor Swift brought the curtain down on her The Era Tour this year as videos of a baby Thai hippopotamus named Mu Ding went viral, while 16-year-old soccer player Lamine Yamal helped the Spanish team win the European Cup. .
For weeks in July and August, the world’s eyes were focused on the Paris Olympics, where athletes swam the Seine, raced under the Eiffel Tower and rode horses outside the Palace of Versailles.
Election year
2024 was an election year par excellence, as millions went to polling stations in more than sixty countries.
Vladimir Putin won a Russian election that many described as a sham, while a student uprising in Bangladesh toppled Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
But none of the polls received the degree of follow-up enjoyed by the US elections on November 5, after which Donald Trump will soon return to the White House.
Trump’s return to the position of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces in the United States is sending tremors from Mexico all the way to the Middle East.
The president-elect threatened to exacerbate economic pressure on China and bragged that he could stop the Ukraine war “within 24 hours.”
Hope and fear
In the Middle East, the rule of the Assad family, which lasted for more than half a century, ended with the flight of President Bashar al-Assad from Syria, and celebrations prevailed throughout the country in the last month of the year.
Israel carried out a military operation in Lebanon against Hezbollah, targeting thousands of its members by detonating the communications devices they were carrying and assassinating many of its leaders, the most prominent of whom was its Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed in an Israeli raid in September.
Meanwhile, the war continued in Gaza, where civilian suffering worsened as food and medicine stocks declined.
Wafa Hajjaj told AFP from Deir al-Balah, where a large number of displaced residents were crowded into crowded tents: “I lost my loved ones, including my father and my close friends, since the beginning of the year.”
She added: “I hope that security and safety will return and that the war will end.”
A mixture of hope and fear prevailed as the new year approached in Syria after the overthrow of Assad.
Lawyer Maram Ayoub (34 years old) from the capital, Damascus, said: “We were hesitant to go out to spend the night this year due to the security situation, but we decided to overcome our fears and not change any of our habits.”
Ayoub believed that 2024 was “a good year, especially since Bashar al-Assad passed away at the end of it.”
As for Ukraine, the Russian invasion is approaching its third anniversary in February.
Ukraine, which faces Russian advances in the east, must now deal with the Trump administration, which seems determined to reduce military aid.
Teacher Katerina Chemirez from Kiev expressed her hope that “Ukraine will finally find peace.”
Russian forces advanced 3,985 square kilometers in 2024, a seven-fold increase over the previous year, according to an analysis by Agence France-Presse of data issued by the US-based Institute for the Study of War.
Football and festivals
The year 2025 promises a lot with advances in artificial intelligence and expectations of slowing inflation.
Members of the British band Oasis will reunite in a long-awaited move, while the famous K-pop band BTS will return to the scene after its members served in the South Korean army.
Football fans will have a date with the Club World Cup, which is hosted by the United States and includes 32 teams.
About 400 million pilgrims are expected to participate in the Kumbh Mela festival on the banks of the rivers of India, which is described as the largest human gathering in the world.
The British Meteorological Service expected record high global temperatures in 2025, which indicates that next year may be among the hottest ever.
Meanwhile, with heavy snowfall in northern Japan, passengers at Hokkaido’s main airport are expected to welcome the New Year in the departure hall.
“It’s great to see snow, but I didn’t think I’d be stuck here,” a man told local network ETB when flights were cancelled. He added: “I may have to spend the night at the airport.”
With electric vehicle sales and reliance on renewable energy on the rise, there is a glimmer of hope that very slow progress on climate change will gain momentum in 2025.
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