PARIS: The world ushered in 2025 on Tuesday, with huge crowds waving goodbye to the old year that brought Olympic glory, a dramatic Donald Trump return and turmoil in the Middle East and Ukraine.
It is all but certain that 2024 will go down as the hottest year on record, with climate-fuelled disasters wreaking havoc from the plains of Europe to the Kathmandu Valley.
Sydney -- the self-proclaimed “New Year´s capital of the world” -- sprayed nine tonnes of fireworks from its famed Opera House and Harbour Bridge at midnight local time (1300 GMT).
“Just to see all the beautiful colours and enjoy being in this situation with so many people in wonderful Australia,” said 71-year-old retired nurse Ruth Rowse ahead of the display.
As champagne corks popped and New Year´s Eve parties kicked into gear along picturesque Sydney Harbour, many revellers were relieved to see the past 12 months in the rearview mirror.
“It would be nice for the world if it all sort of fixed itself, sorted itself out,” insurance worker Stuart Edwards, 32, told AFP before the fireworks.
Taylor Swift brought the curtain down on her Eras tour this year, pygmy hippo Moo Deng went viral and teenage football prodigy Lamine Yamal helped Spain conquer the Euros.
The Paris Olympics united the world for a brief few weeks in July and August.
Athletes swam in the Seine, raced in the shadows of the Eiffel Tower and rode horses across the manicured lawns outside the Palace of Versailles.
It was a global year of elections, with countless millions going to the polls across more than 60 countries.
Vladimir Putin prevailed in a Russian ballot widely dismissed as a sham, while a student uprising toppled Bangladesh´s reigning prime minister.
However, no vote was as closely watched as the November 5 contest that will soon see Trump back in the White House.
From Mexico to the Middle East, his looming return as commander-in-chief is already making waves.
The president-elect has threatened to pile economic pain on China and boasted of his ability to halt the Ukraine war within “24 hours”.
Turmoil rippled across the Middle East as Bashar al-Assad fled Syria, Israel marched into southern Lebanon and doctored electronics exploded in a wave of Israeli assassinations targeting Hezbollah.
Civilians grew weary of the grinding war in Gaza, where dwindling stocks of food, shelter and medicine made a humanitarian crisis even bleaker.
“I lost many loved ones, including my father and close friends, starting from the beginning of the year,” Wafaa Hajjaj told AFP from Deir el-Balah, where masses of displaced residents now cram into crowded tents.
“May security and safety return, and may the war finally come to an end.”
There was hope and trepidation as the new year approached in Syria, which is still reeling after Islamist-led rebels toppled longtime ruler Assad.
“We were hesitant to go out this year because of the security situation, but we decided to overcome our fears,” lawyer Maram Ayoub, 34, told AFP from the capital Damascus.
