By the end of 2025, the world felt newly unsettled. Donald Trump’s return to the White House reshaped the context for nearly every major story, sending tremors through conflict zones and alliances alike. Added to that was the rapid advance of artificial intelligence, inspiring both optimism and anxiety about where humanity was headed next. It was as if the global chessboard were being reset, with the post–World War II order giving way to something new.
President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he delivers his inaugural address at his inauguration as the 47th president in the Rotunda at the Capitol in Washington on Jan. 20.
| KENNY HOLSTON/ THE NEW YORK TIMES
Framed photos, including of Donald Trump, are seen in the Manhattan home of the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein in this image released by the U.S. Department of Justice on Dec. 19. The picture is part of a trove of documents from investigations into Epstein.
| U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT/ VIA REUTERS
Palestinians carry parcels of donated food as others hurry toward a distribution point northwest of Gaza City as humanitarian aid arrives on June 16.
| SAHER ALGHORRA/THE NEW YORK TIMES
U.S. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk, chief executive officer of Tesla Inc., speak during a news conference in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington on May 30.
| BLOOMBERG
A satellite image shows the Skipper, a large crude carrier and the first Venezuela-related vessel seized by the U.S., near the shoreline of Texas on Dec. 21.
| ©2025 VANTOR/VIA REUTERS
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and federal officers detain a migrant as he leaves a hearing during targeted detainment at a U.S. immigration court in New York on Oct. 27. Anti-immigrant sentiment rose in many countries around the world in 2025.
| REUTERS
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy took part in a testy exchange with U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance at the White House on Feb. 28. While maintaining support from Europe, it was hard for Zelenskyy to win over members of the Trump administration.
| REUTERS
2025 saw new records set for high temperatures and widespread fires. On Jan. 7, firefighters worked to extinguish flames at a McDonald’s as the Eaton Fire burned in Pasadena, California.
| REUTERS
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung was elected after a snap poll on June 3, following the tumultuous presidency of Yoon Suk Yeol, who shocked the nation by declaring martial law in 2024.
| BLOOMBERG
Emergency service workers at the site of a Russian air strike on a residential building in Kyiv on Aug. 28.
| BLOOMBERG
A SenseRobot Technology Go robot plays chess at the Super AI Conference in Singapore on June 18. Artificial intelligence continued to progress in 2025, but at the end of the year many market watchers worried about a possible AI bubble.
| BLOOMBERG
Members of the clergy attend the funeral Mass of Pope Francis at the Vatican on April 26. The Argentinian pontiff, who died April 21, was succeeded by Pope Leo XIV, 70, a native of Chicago who holds both American and Peruvian citizenship.
| REUTERS
In an announcement on what was called “Liberation Day” on April 2, the U.S. president unveiled a major round of tariffs against almost every other country in the world, including a baseline tariff of 10% on all imports.
| REUTERS
