2024 has been a trying year on the world stage, as the forces of disarray grew stronger. Geopolitical tensions increased, with ongoing wars ground on. The only breath of fresh air was Summer Olympics and Paralympics held in Paris. The French showed their commitment when it came to spectacle and pageantry, and the athletes too showed their dedication and sportsmanship. US elections kept the drawing rooms cosy with discussions and presumptions, of which some came true. And many more events which became the newsmakers in the year passing by. So, before we jump to the new year, here is a look at some notable world events of 2024 which made the headlines. Toping the charts was of course the US elections.
Donald Trump Vs Kamala Harris: US Presidential Polls 2024
Donald Trump’s defeat of Democrat Kamala Harris in 2024 will go down as the greatest political comeback in U.S. history. The Capitol Hill riot which even the senior members of the Republican Party said he was “morally responsible for,” Trump’s political obituary seemed written. His comeback owed to his unique appeal to Republican base voters, public dissatisfaction with the economy and illegal immigration, and Joe Biden’s acceptance rate showing a constant downward trend. After Biden dropped out of the race in July after the disastrous debate, the Democrats rallied around Harris as their presidential candidate. However, that did not translate into victory on Election Day. Instead, Trump won and claimed an “unprecedented and powerful mandate.”
COP29: Clarion Call To Save Environment
The UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) closed with a new finance goal to help countries to protect their people and economies against climate disasters, and share in the vast benefits of the clean energy boom. With a central focus on climate finance, COP29 brought together nearly 200 countries in Baku, Azerbaijan. The International Energy Agency expects global clean energy investment to exceed USD 2 trillion for the first time in 2024.
The new finance goal at COP29 builds on significant strides forward on global climate action at COP27, which agreed an historic Loss and Damage Fund, and COP28, which delivered a global agreement to transition away from all fossil fuels in energy systems swiftly and fairly, triple renewable energy and boost climate resilience. COP29 also reached agreement on carbon markets – which several previous COPs had not been able to achieve. These agreements will help countries deliver their climate plans more quickly and cheaply, and make faster progress in halving global emissions this decade, as required by science.
Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore Awaited Return:
NASA astronauts Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore just got their space mission extended till March 2025 once again, meaning they won’t be back on Earth until spring, 10 months after rocketing into orbit on Boeing’s Starliner capsule. The latest delay in Indian-origin Sunita Williams and Butch Wilmore’s homecoming was announced by NASA to allow more time to “complete processing” on a new SpaceX spacecraft that will be used for the mission. The two test pilots initially planned on being away just a week when they blasted off June 5 on Boeing’s first astronaut flight to the International Space Station. Their mission grew from eight days to eight months after NASA decided to send the company’s problem-plagued Starliner capsule back empty in September.
But now the astronauts won’t return till end of March or even April because of a delay in launching their replacements, according to NASA. A fresh crew needs to launch before Wilmore and Williams can return and the next mission has been bumped more than a month, according to the space agency.
Rishi Sunak Is Voted Out, Kier Starmer New Prime Minister Of United Kingdom
Keir Starmer became UK’s new Prime Minister after his Labour Party secured a landslide victory in a general election in which the weary voters inflicted a “sobering verdict” on Rishi Sunak-led Conservatives, who suffered their worst electoral drubbing.
Starmer, 61, assumed charge as the 58th prime minister after his customary audience with King Charles III at Buckingham Palace, following Sunak’s meeting with the British monarch.
The Labour Party secured 412 seats in the 650-member House of Commons, up 211 from the last election in 2019. Sunak’s Conservatives won just 121 seats, down 250 seats from the previous election. While the Labour had a vote share of 33.7 per cent the Conservatives had 23.7 per cent.
“Our country has voted decisively for change, for national renewal and a return of politics for public service,” said Starmer in his inaugural address from a lectern outside 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the British prime minister.
End of Syrian civil war after 14 years:
The fall of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s government on December 8, 2024, brought to a dramatic close his nearly 14-year struggle to hold onto power as his country fragmented amid a brutal civil war that became a proxy battlefield for regional and international powers. Assad’s downfall came as a stark contrast to his first months as Syria’s unlikely president in 2000, when many hoped he would be a young reformer after three decades of his father’s iron grip. Only 34 years old, the Western-educated ophthalmologist was a rather geeky tech-savvy fan of computers with a gentle demeanour. But, when protests against his rule broke out in March 2011, Assad resorted to the harsh tactics once used by his father to try and suppress them. As the uprising escalated into a full-blown civil war, he relied on his military to bombard opposition-controlled cities, backed by allies Iran and Russia. International human rights groups and prosecutors accused Syria’s government-run detention centres of widespread torture and extrajudicial killings.
Unending Russia-Ukraine war:
On February 24, 2022, the world watched in horror as Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, inciting the largest war in Europe since World War II. In the months prior, Western intelligence had warned that the attack was imminent, amidst a concerning build-up of military force on Ukraine’s borders. The intelligence was correct: Putin initiated a so-called “special military operation” under the pretence of securing Ukraine’s eastern territories and “liberating” Ukraine from allegedly “Nazi” leadership (the Jewish identity of Ukraine’s president notwithstanding).
Once the invasion started, Western analysts predicted Kyiv would fall in three days. This intelligence could not have been more wrong. Kyiv not only lasted those three days, but it also eventually gained an upper hand, liberating territories Russia had conquered and handing Russia humiliating defeats on the battlefield. Ukraine has endured unthinkable atrocities: mass civilian deaths, infrastructure destruction, torture, kidnapping of children, and relentless shelling of residential areas. But Ukraine persists.
Israel bombarding of Hamas:
War between Israel and Palestinian militants, especially Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ), that began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a land, sea, and air assault on Israel from the Gaza strip. The October 7 attack resulted in more than 1,200 deaths, primarily Israeli citizens, making it the deadliest day for Israel since its independence. More than 240 people were taken hostage during the attack. The next day, Israel declared itself in a state of war for the first time since the Yom Kippur War in 1973. The war began with the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) conducting air strikes on the Gaza Strip, followed weeks later by the incursion of ground troops and armoured vehicles. By November 2024 more than 43,000 Gazans, about 2 percent of the territory’s population, had been killed and two-thirds of the buildings in the Gaza Strip had been damaged or destroyed.
Turmoil In Bangladesh:
On August 5, 2024, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina resigned and fled to India amidst escalating anti-government protests, leading to a military takeover. The political crisis in Bangladesh began with student-led protests in mid-July 2024, primarily triggered by a controversial Supreme Court decision to reinstate job quotas for certain groups, including 30% for descendants of veterans from the 1971 liberation war. This decision reversed a 2018 policy change that had abolished such quotas in response to earlier student protests, sparking widespread dissatisfaction among students and young professionals who felt their merit-based opportunities were being compromised. The discontent quickly expanded into broader anti-government demonstrations, reflecting deeper issues such as economic challenges, corruption, and human rights abuses. The government’s violent response to these protests, which resulted in over 300 deaths and more than 20,000 injuries, further fuelled public outrage. The intensity and scale of the protests eventually compelled the military to intervene, leading to Hasina’s resignation. The coup has raised significant concerns about the future of democracy in Bangladesh. The country has a history of military coups, raising concerns about the return of civilian rule. Meanwhile, the actions of the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus will be crucial in determining the political trajectory of Bangladesh.
Left Rise In Sri Lanka
Marxist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake was declared winner of the Sri Lankan presidential election by the country’s Election Commission after an unprecedented second round of counting of votes. Dissanayake, 56, the leader of the Marxist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party’s broader front National People’s Power (NPP), defeated his closest rival Sajith Premadasa of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB). The election was the first to be held since mass protests unseated Gotabaya Rajapaksa in 2022 after the country suffered an economic crisis.
Greatest Sporting Event : Paris Hosts Olympics 2024
The 2024 Summer Olympics (French: Les Jeux Olympiques d’été de 2024), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad (French: Jeux de la XXXIIIe olympiade de l’ère moderne) and branded as Paris 2024, was an international multi-sport event held from 26 July to 11 August 2024 in France. Having previously hosted in 1900 and 1924, Paris became the second city ever to host the Summer Olympics three times (after London, which hosted the games in 1908, 1948, and 2012).Paris 2024 marked the centenary of Paris 1924 and Chamonix 1924 (the first Winter Olympics), as well as the sixth Olympic Games hosted by France (three Summer Olympics and three Winter Olympics) and the first with this distinction since the 1992 Winter Games in Albertville. The Summer Games returned to the traditional four-year Olympiad cycle, after the 2020 edition was postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The United States topped the medal table for the fourth consecutive Summer Games and 19th time overall, with 40 gold and 126 total medals. China tied with the United States on gold (40), but finished second due to having fewer silvers; the nation won 91 medals overall. This is the first time a gold medal tie among the two most successful nations has occurred in Summer Olympic history. Japan finished third with 20 gold medals and sixth in the overall medal count. Australia finished fourth with 18 gold medals and fifth in the overall medal count. The host nation, France, finished fifth with 16 gold and 64 total medals, and fourth in the overall medal count. The Paris Olympics broke all-time records for ticket sales, with more than 9.5 million tickets sold (12.1 million including the Paralympic Games)
Certainly, The year 2024 has been a year of upheavals and tensions on the geopolitical front. One only hopes that 2025 will be more peaceful and harmonious, making the world a better place to live in.
Happy New Year!
