THE year 2025 was defined by major shifts in global leadership and geopolitical realignments. Donald Trump returned to the US presidency for a second term, while Friedrich Merz took power as Germany’s chancellor. The Catholic Church also made history with the election of Pope Leo XIV, the first American pontiff.
On the war front, a fragile ceasefire paused fighting in Gaza, while Russia’s war in Ukraine persisted. Natural disasters and technological milestones also dominated the headlines. Hurricane Melissa devastated the Caribbean as a Category 5 storm, while wildfires in Los Angeles and floods in Southeast Asia caused billions in damage. In Europe, a brazen heist at the Louvre shocked the public. Technology also sparked debate when OpenAI’s GPT 4.5 reportedly passed the Turing Test, signaling a major leap in artificial intelligence capabilities.