An A-Z list of 2025’s biggest stories

Scroll backmost done the past year, and the aforesaid words travel up again and again.

The top-trending presumption of 2025, from artificial quality to Zohran Mamdani, shaped headlines crossed politics, conflict, exertion and climate.

As the twelvemonth comes to a close, AJ Labs has compiled an A to Z database of names, places and issues that generated sustained involvement passim 2025, according to a escaped investigation of our ain most-viewed communicative tags and those that appeared successful Google’s astir searched.

Taken together, these presumption are a patchwork of issues that are besides apt to spill into 2026, from ongoing conflicts to a changing technosocial scenery not seen since the dawn of the internet.

This is 2025 from A to Z, by the words that made the year.

Artificial Intelligence

AI adoption is rapidly growing, and immoderate of the biggest conversations this twelvemonth person been connected however it volition shingle up the workplace and reimagine economies.

In October, the Reuters Institute carried retired a survey successful six countries and recovered that the proportionality of respondents who said they utilized a generative AI system specified arsenic ChatGPT jumped from 40 percent to 61 percent this year. As governments effort to modulate the fast-growing technology, fears of occupation losses and echoes of a dotcom-style bust person besides resounded with large AI players specified arsenic Nvidia, Google, Meta and OpenAI making monumental circular deals this year.

According to UBS projections, planetary yearly AI spending is expected to swell to $375bn by the extremity of the twelvemonth earlier topping $3 trillion annually by 2030 - this includes spending connected AI infrastructure, arsenic good arsenic powerfulness and resources for energy demand.

Bitcoin

Bitcoin surged to caller heights successful 2025, driven by organization inflows and the maturation of crypto ETFs successful the US.

President Trump positioned himself arsenic the “crypto president,” and propelled household crypto ventures and the broader assemblage into the mainstream. He overturned the US Securities and Exchange Commission's crackdown connected crypto companies, rewarding those pro-crypto executives and firms who donated millions successful the 2024 predetermination rhythm to enactment candidates aligned with their agenda.

On October 6, Bitcoin reached an all-time precocious of $126,080, marking a defining infinitesimal for the integer asset, earlier reminding investors however rapidly momentum tin reverse arsenic it finishes the twelvemonth astatine $88,400.

Charlie Kirk

Conservative activistic and media fig Charlie Kirk became a cardinal and arguable fig successful 2025 pursuing his assassination, which sent shockwaves done US authorities and globally.

As the laminitis of Turning Point USA, Kirk had spent years astatine the centre of field civilization wars, wherever helium built a ample pursuing done provocative speeches connected assemblage campuses and done his adjacent alignment with Donald Trump and the MAGA movement.

On September 10, helium was changeable dormant adjacent wherever helium was engaged successful a statement astatine Utah Valley University. His assassination triggered reactions crossed the governmental spectrum, and intensified debates astir governmental unit and extremism successful the US.

Donald Trump

US President Donald Trump warrants a standalone nonfiction for the scale, velocity and unprecedented quality of changes helium unleashed during his second term, and for the wide web of issues tied to his leadership.

In 2025 alone, helium signed 225 enforcement orders, surpassing the fig helium signed during his full archetypal term.

Returning to bureau connected January 20, helium began his word by pardoning those progressive successful the 2021 Capitol Hill riots. Soon after, helium announced sweeping planetary tariffs - but often focused connected China, followed by the “One Big Beautiful Bill”, which triggered heavy national spending cuts and stripped backing from large US programmes, including USAID. His medication tightened migration enforcement and rolled backmost biology and diverseness policies.

Internationally, helium questioned longstanding alliances, scaled backmost enactment for Ukraine and escalated unit connected Iran, including US strikes connected its atomic facilities. Domestically, his policies polarised Americans and politicians alike, particularly erstwhile it came to healthcare and defence spending, which led to the longest authorities shutdown close earlier Thanksgiving.

And that’s conscionable immoderate of what helium did this year.

Elections

Following an unprecedented predetermination rhythm successful 2024, polls were a small much muted this year, but inactive noteworthy, with immoderate 69 elections taking spot globally, involving hundreds of millions of eligible voters worldwide.

National elections took spot successful countries specified arsenic Germany, Canada and Japan, alongside dozens of parliamentary, statesmanlike and section contests crossed Africa, Asia and Europe. In Japan, Sanae Takaichi became the archetypal pistillate to clasp the station of premier minister.

Far right

Far-right authorities took centre stage, particularly connected societal media, wherever specified narratives were salient successful shaping nationalist opinion.

In Europe, far-right parties recorded immoderate of their strongest results connected record, including becoming the second-largest unit successful Germany’s national election, wherever the AfD won 20.8 precent of the vote.

Elsewhere, rallies successful the UK, specified arsenic "Unite the Kingdom", led by right-wing activistic Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, known arsenic Tommy Robinson, caused a huge turnout of protesters and counter-protesters successful August. Elon Musk’s relation successful the rally - wherever helium appeared successful beforehand of protesters via a unrecorded nexus - highlighted the power societal media networks present play successful promoting peculiar narratives and the almighty figures steering the wheel.

Gaza

Israel’s genocidal warfare connected Gaza passed 2 years, with Israeli forces continuing their aerial and crushed assaults, displacing the colonisation repeatedly. A peculiar turning constituent was erstwhile the IPC declared famine successful Gaza successful August, pursuing Israel’s continued blockade of assistance and the purposeful starvation of the population.

In 2025 alone, Israel killed astatine slightest 25,000 Palestinians and injured 62,000 others.

In October, a ceasefire was brokered betwixt Hamas and Israel. However, Israeli attacks person continued.

Houthis

The Iran‑aligned Houthis successful Yemen were cardinal successful the wider Middle East crisis, drafting planetary attraction for some subject actions and diplomatic developments.

The group’s attacks connected commercialized shipping and subject targets successful the Red Sea and against Israel continued to disrupt a cardinal planetary commercialized route, prompting Israeli and US aerial strikes connected Houthi positions and infrastructure passim the year.

According to ACLED, determination were much than 48 strikes connected Yemen successful 2025 from Israel, including strikes connected Hodeidah port.

Iran

On June 13, Israel launched a barrage of strikes, hitting dozens of nuclear, military, and infrastructure sites crossed Iran, including the country’s main atomic installation successful Natanz.

During the 12-day conflict, Israel besides attacked residential neighbourhoods, sidesplitting respective atomic scientists and subject commanders. Iran retaliated with hundreds of ballistic missiles against Israeli cities.

On June 22, the concern escalated erstwhile the United States joined the attacks, bombing 3 atomic facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Isfahan.

The attacks drew wide planetary concern, prompting exigency UN Security Council meetings and sparking crisp retaliation from Iran, including ballistic rocket launches toward US bases successful the portion and threats to planetary shipping done the Strait of Hormuz.

Jeffrey Epstein

In 2025, the Jeffrey Epstein saga continued to marque headlines arsenic new documents, emails and images were released nether the Epstein Files Transparency Act, with the New York Times claiming much than 130,000 papers person been released to date.

Photos of Epstein's backstage island, telephone logs and email exchanges with high‑profile figures were published by the House Oversight Committee, drafting planetary attraction and sparking heated governmental debate.

Among the astir talked‑about revelations successful precocious 2025 were emails successful which Epstein allegedly referenced Donald Trump and claimed a unfortunate had spent clip astatine his house, starring to fierce partisan disputes implicit discourse and accuracy. The White House called the disclosures a smear, portion critics argued they raised uncomfortable questions astir elite networks.

Kendrick Lamar

Kendrick Lamar was 1 of the most-talked-about artists successful music, driven by the ongoing effect of his opus Not Like Us, which became his longest-charting rap opus ever, spending much than 50 weeks connected the Billboard Hot 100.

The opus besides topped charts aft Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime performance, which was watched by much than 133.5 cardinal viewers.

Louvre

In October, the Louvre Museum successful Paris was shaken by 1 of the astir audacious creation robberies successful caller memory, erstwhile thieves made disconnected with priceless French crown jewels worthy an estimated $102m.

Using a truck‑mounted assistance to scope a second‑floor window, the pack broke successful during wide daylight, chopped show cases with powerfulness tools and escaped connected scooters successful a brazen raid that took little than 8 minutes portion the depository was unfastened to visitors.

French authorities launched a nationwide manhunt, but the bulk of the stolen jewels remains missing. The heist exposed important information gaps astatine the world’s most‑visited museum, prompting exigency upgrades.

Migration

This year, migration debates continued to grip authorities chambers worldwide, with polarising argumentation changes adopted successful antithetic countries.

In Europe and North America, asylum rules and borderline controls were tightened - a woody betwixt France and the UK for a “one in, 1 out” program connected tiny vessel crossings came into effect nether the Labour government.

Across the pond, the US saw 1 of the astir assertive migration enforcement policies, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) escalating operations successful the country. More than 68,000 people were detained by ICE, and hundreds of thousands are reported to person been deported.

Nuclear

As it stands, successful 2025, determination are 12,241 atomic warheads progressive worldwide, with respective countries expanding oregon modernising their stockpiles alternatively of reducing them, arsenic they person for the past 2 decades.

Most significantly, the twelvemonth was marked by nonstop US and Israeli strikes connected Iranian atomic facilities, with Pentagon officials saying it delayed Iran’s atomic programme by astir 1 to 2 years.

On the vigor front, 2025 saw a premix of enlargement and contraction successful atomic power. The US and UK signed a landmark partnership to accelerate precocious and tiny modular reactors, promising thousands of jobs. While successful Germany, atomic phase-out continued, with the closing of ageing plants, contempt different European nations looking towards atomic powerfulness for greenish energy.

Occupied West Bank

In parallel to Israel's ongoing warfare successful Gaza, it launched the largest subject battle successful decades connected the West Bank, expanded amerciable Israeli settlements, and carried retired regular location demolitions.

The UN's OCHA documented 1,680 attacks by Israeli settlers successful much than 270 communities crossed the West Bank truthful acold successful 2025 - an mean of 5 incidents per day.

The olive harvest has besides continued to beryllium marked by wide settler violence, with 178 attacks documented successful October and November successful 88 communities.

Pope

In April, the Catholic Church underwent a historical enactment modulation with the decease of Pope Francis and the predetermination of a caller pontiff.

The 2025 conclave was notable for being the largest successful the Church’s history, with 133 cardinal electors gathering successful the Sistine Chapel to ballot connected the adjacent pope, surpassing erstwhile limits connected electors and reflecting the planetary diverseness of the College of Cardinals.

After respective rounds of concealed ballots, the cardinals selected Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, who took the sanction Pope Leo XIV, marking the archetypal clip a pope has been elected from the United States.

Qatar

In 2025, Qatar was not lone a cardinal diplomatic player, but besides a flashpoint successful the region’s wider conflicts.

In September, Israel carried retired an unprecedented aerial onslaught connected Doha, targeting Hamas leaders who were gathering to sermon a US‑backed ceasefire deal, sidesplitting a Qatari information authoritative and others, and triggering wide condemnation of the onslaught arsenic a usurpation of Qatari sovereignty and planetary law.

The onslaught prompted exigency meetings of Gulf and Islamic bodies successful solidarity with Doha, arsenic it became the sixth state that Israel attacked this year.

RSF

Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were a cardinal operator of the country’s devastating civilian war, expanding their territorial power and deepening what the United Nations described arsenic 1 of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

The paramilitary radical consolidated its grip implicit ample parts of occidental Sudan, including areas astir el-Fasher successful North Darfur, wherever UN officials and rights groups reported wide killings that near tens of thousands of civilians dormant and wide demolition of displacement camps.

According to ACLED, astatine slightest 4,200 civilians were killed by the RSF. They were accused of systematic abuses, including ethnically targeted violence, intersexual assault, looting and attacks connected hospitals and assistance convoys.

Syria

December 8 marked 1 twelvemonth since the al-Assad dynasty, which lasted much than fractional a century, was removed from powerfulness by a rebel offensive.

The 14-year-long warfare led to 1 of the world’s largest migration crises, with immoderate 6.8 cardinal Syrians, astir a 3rd of the population, fleeing the state astatine the war’s highest successful 2021.

More than 782,000 Syrians documented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) person returned to Syria from different countries implicit the past year.

Tariffs

On April 1, Trump imposed reciprocal tariffs connected the US's trading partners, rattling planetary commercialized and expanding tensions successful planetary relations.

The levies besides led to a fig of companies saying they would displacement proviso chains. It is estimated that the US-imposed tariffs generated much than $124.5bn successful gross betwixt January and September 2025. However, the Tax Foundation estimates that Trump tariffs magnitude to an mean taxation summation of $1,100 per US household successful 2025.

Ukraine

The warfare successful Ukraine entered its 4th twelvemonth successful 2025 and was defined by intensified fighting, stalled diplomacy and a displacement successful US argumentation that reshaped the conflict’s trajectory.

On the battlefield, Russian forces controlled astir 19 percent (118,000 quadrate kilometres oregon 45,550sq miles) of Ukrainian territory, having made incremental but costly gains implicit the people of the twelvemonth connected the eastbound front.

The struggle saw a marked escalation successful precocious warfare, including expanded usage of long-range missiles and, significantly, the use of drones connected some sides.

Venezuela

Another overseas argumentation run nether the Trump medication that drew planetary attraction was the concern successful Venezuela, wherever Trump’s mandate against “narcoterrorists” transformed the Caribbean into a caller battlefield.

Since August, Washington deployed thousands of troops, warships and craft crossed the region, reopened subject bases successful Puerto Rico and conducted drills, successful what analysts picture arsenic the largest US beingness successful Latin America successful decades.

In September, the US began a bid of strikes connected Venezuelan boats it claimed were trafficking drugs to the US, with the full decease toll arsenic a effect of these attacks tallying much than 100 dead.

Weather

The twelvemonth 2025 kicked disconnected with the devastating Palisades Fire successful Los Angeles, which destroyed thousands of homes and buildings. According to Gallagher Reinsurance Brokers, full planetary insured nonaccomplishment for the archetypal 9 months of 2025 for earthy catastrophes and climate-related events was estimated astatine $105bn, making it the sixth consecutive twelvemonth with losses of much than $100bn.

Other utmost upwind events, specified arsenic dense rains and flooding, besides battered ample parts of Asia successful precocious 2025: Northern Vietnam experienced historical flood levels aft prolonged tropical rainfall, portion India and Pakistan dealt with monsoon‑related floods that were among the deadliest of the year. Typhoon Ragasa and different Pacific storms brought aggravated winds and floods to the Philippines, Taiwan and confederate China.

In October, Hurricane Melissa became the strongest tempest to deed Jamaica, making landfall arsenic a Category 5, causing wide damage.

Xi Jinping

Xi Jinping pushed for strategical autonomy and determination dominance successful 2025.

At home, helium oversaw China’s 14th Five-Year Plan, with authorities media citing dependable maturation and laying the groundwork for 2026. He besides chaired the 25th Shanghai Cooperation Organisation summit successful Tianjin, hosting much than 20 heads of authorities and positioning China arsenic a cardinal unit successful Global South and Eurasian security.

Relations with the US were dominated by renewed and assertive commercialized and exertion tensions, pursuing Trump’s tariff mandate, which saw some sides escalate into a tit-for-tat of levies, which, astatine 1 point, entered triple digits, but a mid-year truce saw unit easiness connected planetary markets.

Yoon Suk Yeol

In December 2024, South Korea was thrust into a governmental situation aft then-President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law, citing rising unrest and an alleged menace to nationalist security.

It resulted successful the deployment of troops, detention of absorption lawmakers and the curtailing of property freedom. A twelvemonth on, prosecutors indicted Yoon Suk Yeol for insurrection connected December 15, accusing him of seeking to provoke subject aggression from North Korea to assistance consolidate his power.

Earlier this month, peculiar authoritative Cho Eun-seok told a briefing that his squad had indicted Yoon, 5 erstwhile furniture members, and 18 others connected insurrection charges, pursuing a six-month probe into his declaration of martial instrumentality past year.

Zohran Mamdani

After Trump, the astir talked astir US person successful 2025 mightiness conscionable beryllium Zohran Mamdani, who became New York City’s archetypal Muslim, South Asian and African-born politician by winning 50.8 percent of the vote.

Campaigning connected rent freezes, cosmopolitan childcare, nationalist transit and greenish infrastructure and galvanising multiracial working-class coalitions crossed the city, helium won the primaries successful June.

However, his run experienced aggravated scrutiny and backlash online, with Equality Labs tracking much than 17 cardinal societal media posts astir him successful 2025 containing Islamophobic, xenophobic and polarising content.

Mamdani is scheduled to beryllium sworn successful connected January 1, 2026.