Donald Trump was sworn in as US President for a second term in 2025. A crackdown on immigration, trade wars, and controversial statements defined Trump's first term.

Not only that, after his own government's defeat in the 2020 presidential election, he called the election results rigged.

The Russia-Ukraine war has been shaking the global economy and geopolitics since Biden's term began. While in opposition, Trump claimed, 'If I had been elected president, Russia would not have had to invade Ukraine.'

Before the last election, he promised, 'I will end this war within 24 hours of being elected president.'

Trump's first year in his second term will end on January 20. And, he has recently admitted that it will be difficult to conclude the Russia-Ukraine peace talks easily. After meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at his resort in Miami, Florida on Sunday, Trump said, 'This is not a negotiation that can be completed in one day.' But I think there will never be a more favorable time to make peace than now.’

Trump-Zelensky clash On February 14, US Vice President J.D. Vance delivered a controversial speech at the Munich Security Conference that sent shockwaves through the Western alliance. He accused countries like Britain and Germany of anti-democratic tendencies. He claimed that these tendencies were more dangerous than the Russian invasion of Europe. Within two weeks of this, Vice President Vance and President Trump publicly criticized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

Trump accused Zelensky of ‘gambling with World War III.’ Watching Vance and Trump’s attacks on Zelensky during the live televised discussion, people thought the US would immediately abandon Ukraine.

Despite this bitterness, European leaders managed to improve relations between the US and Zelensky over a period of time. However, the Trump administration ended the economic and military aid received from the US to Ukraine.

As a result, the Russian army has become very dominant in the last year of the war that has been going on for the past four years. Russia has occupied about 99 percent of the territory in Donetsk and 75 percent in Luhansk Oblast under the Donbas region.

Despite this, President Trump has continued his efforts to facilitate peace talks between Ukraine and Russia. For that, last August, he invited Russian President Vladimir Putin to Alaska for discussions. Trump is also continuing his meetings with Ukrainian President Zelensky. The war has so far claimed a large number of lives. Similarly, millions have been displaced.

Increase in customs duties

On April 2, Trump announced that he would increase tariffs on many countries around the world. Its impact on the global trading system was profound.

The US's goal was to reduce China's growing trade influence, but to do so, it also imposed tariffs on its allies. As a result, other countries ended up having to side with China. After that, Trump, who hesitated, gradually reduced tariffs on some countries.

India-Pakistan War

The four-day conflict between India and Pakistan in May was not just a border clash. Both countries launched powerful attacks on each other's territory.

Eventually, India stopped its attacks on Pakistan. Pakistan supported Trump's efforts to take revenge. It even said that Trump deserved the Nobel Peace Prize and later recommended him for the award, which Trump did not receive. However, India denied Trump's claim that he was mediating in relations with Pakistan.

Israel-Iran war

Israel had been threatening to attack Iran's nuclear program for years. In June this year, it carried out this threat.

Shortly after Israel attacked, Trump also ordered American bombers to attack the nuclear site. The air war between Iran and the United States lasted for about 12 days. Trump claimed that Iran's nuclear program had been completely destroyed. However, many did not believe this claim.

Gaza peace plan

The initial phase of the Gaza peace plan came into effect on October 10. This was an important step towards stopping the conflict that began after Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

But Israel continued its attacks here, contrary to the peace plan. The peace plan states that the reconstruction process will begin after Hamas disarms and Israel completes its withdrawal from Gaza. This plan, which was initiated by Trump, aims to build a modern city in Gaza.

However, the second phase of the agreement has not been implemented. Trump has been warning Hamas to disarm. However, he has not pressured Israel to stop the attacks.

The Israel-Hamas war has killed an estimated 70,000 people in Gaza. The humanitarian situation in Gaza is very bad due to Israel's continuous attacks.

Despite all these problems, the hope of a lasting peace with the concrete implementation of the agreement is alive.

Trump-Xi meeting The trade war with China defined Trump's first term. As soon as he returned to the US presidency last January, he again increased tariffs on Chinese goods. In response, China also tightened its export restrictions on rare earth minerals. This threatened to severely impact the production system in the US and European markets. This led the US to break the deadlock with China. In October, Xi and Trump held talks in Busan, South Korea.

Cambodia-Thailand War

The border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia has escalated into war twice this year

. Although the ancient Shiva temple 'Preah Vihar' in the Dangriga mountain range falls within Cambodia, Thailand has been claiming the surrounding area as its own.

Thailand was dissatisfied when Cambodia listed the temple on the World Heritage List in 2008. In 2013, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled that Cambodia also owns the disputed area around the temple. However, Thailand has not given up its claim to the surrounding area.

In July, clashes along the border forced a large number of people to flee. Talks were held here under the mediation of Trump. However, the ceasefire broke down again at the end of November. At least 100 people were killed in the fierce fighting that lasted for about 20 days. More than 500,000 were displaced. After this outcome, the two countries again agreed to a ceasefire at the end of the year. Sudan is ravaged by civil war Sudan's nearly three-year-long civil war has been called 'hell on earth' by many. The war pits the government security forces, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, on one side, and the rapidly growing paramilitary group led by Mohammed Hamdan “Hemedti” the Rapid Support Force (RSF) on the other.

Burhan and Hemedti were together when they seized power in a coup in 2021. But the Sudanese people are now bearing the brunt of the power struggle between the two. The SAF has made Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast its power base and controls major cities in the north and east, which the international community recognizes as the formal government of Sudan.

On the other hand, the RSF maintains control over Darfur and large areas of the central and western parts of the country. The role of external forces in this civil war is also important. Egypt, Russia and Turkey are close to the SAF, while Chad, Ethiopia and the UAE are close to the RSF. The war is estimated to have killed about 400,000 people so far.

More than 12 million have been displaced. Hunger and malnutrition are spreading in large parts of the country, but the available humanitarian assistance is not enough.

The race for artificial intelligence

The United States and China are currently at the forefront of the AI ​​field. Other countries are following them. In January this year, the Chinese company ‘DeepSec’ released an AI model that can compete with the top American model.

This. American companies decided to accelerate their investments, considering this a ‘danger signal’. The Trump administration initially tightened the restrictions imposed by the Biden administration on the export of advanced semiconductors and chips to China. As a result, China had a backlog in developing new technologies.

However, China's strictness on rare earths has caused problems for the US in industrial production, including semiconductors and chips. Finally, Trump reversed the old policy and allowed Nvidia to sell the powerful H200 chip to China in mid-December. This has also drawn major criticism, saying that it threatens national security.

The AI ​​race debate often focuses on the question of 'who will build the most powerful model?' But another important aspect is 'which country can effectively integrate AI into daily administration, industry, and social structures?' China is far ahead in this matter.

Genji generation in rebellion The Genji generation, born between 1997 and 2012, has led to protests and demonstrations around the world this year. This generation is a generation that grew up closely observing the rapid development of the Internet and the global climate crisis.

This generation was also at the forefront of the revolution in Bangladesh in 2024. When Sheikh Hasina was overthrown there, the dictators of the rest of the country had already been overthrown.

In 2025, the youth of this generation took to the streets in about 25 countries including Asia, Africa, America and Europe. This generation raised demands such as a corruption-free society, good governance, and an end to nepotism globally. In Nepal, Madagascar, Mongolia, Peru, Bulgaria and Timor-Leste, it toppled the government.

Interestingly, youth from all over the world used the same flag during the protests. The 'pirate flag' used in the famous Japanese anime One Piece became a common symbol to express the anger of the youth. It represented opposition to injustice, authoritarian tendencies and corruption and freedom, dreams and defiance of oppressive systems.

Election year

The year 2025 will also be remembered as an election year. This year, general elections were scheduled in 72 countries. Adding up the number of voters in all these countries, it comes to around 3.7 billion.

Which made the year 2025 the largest election year in human history.

Important events

January 20: Donald Trump was sworn in as the second term US President

February 17:

The Genji Movement began in Jakarta, Indonesia with the participation of thousands, demanding an end to corruption and nepotism and good governance.

March 9: Mark Carney elected Liberal Party parliamentary party leader in Canada, appointed Prime Minister.

April 4: Impeachment motion passed against South Korean President Yeon Suk-yeol.

May 25: Leaders participating in the Arab-European summit in Spain discuss pressuring Israel for a ceasefire in Gaza. Demand that Israel stop human rights violations and blockade. June 15: The G-7 summit that began in Kananskis, Alberta, Canada, will discuss issues such as climate, AI regulation, and China-Russia policy for three days.

July 6: The 17th BRICS summit begins in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the two-day conference will discuss the financial agenda of finding an alternative to the dollar. August 1:

Continuous street protests have begun in many cities in the US against Trump's second-term policies on immigration, borders and 'America First'. September 8:

Thousands of young people took to the streets in Nepal against corruption, nepotism and the government's decision to shut down social media. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli resigned on September 9. 76 people died and more than 2,000 were injured in the two-day protest. October 9:

Hamas and Israel sign the 20-point Gaza peace plan put forward by the US. Agreement on prisoner exchange along with ceasefire. November 22: