2025 calendar detail is freaking everyone out as global challenges loom for Planet Earth
There’s no getting around it, 2024 left the world shaken and in some cases irrevocably altered. The good news? It only gets worse from here!
There’s no getting around it, 2024 left the world shaken and in some cases irrevocably altered — and there’s good reason to be concerned about 2025.
Given the state of play between multiple superpower adversaries, the next 12 months may turn out to be some of the most consequential in recent history.
In an ominous omen for the coming year eagle-eyed social media users have noted that the first three days of the year are Wednesday (1st), Thursday (2nd), and Friday (3rd) which in people’s phone calendars spells out “WTF”.
The last time that happened was 2020, and we all know how that played out.
But it’s not just calendar details have have people concerned. It’s safe to say there’s a fair bit going on in the world that could boil over.
From Ukraine to Washington, from the South China Sea to the Korean Peninsula and then the Middle East, the landscape of global politics is a volatile mosaic of crises that demand attention from the world’s leaders.
It’s been a year where the balance of power has been tested and old tensions have resurfaced in force.
Then thrown into the mix: Trump 2.0, the rapidly evolving AI revolution and cost of living pressures putting the general public in a vicegrip. There’s quite a lot on the plate for the “developed” world.
Take a look a some of the biggest issues pressing against the globe in 2025 below.
Ukraine War: An Unresolved Crisis
In February 2022, Russia launched its brutal invasion of Ukraine and the world has been held hostage, in some way or another, by the ongoing bloodshed ever since.
2024 was another year of devastation for the nation of 37 million. Almost three years on, Ukraine’s military continues to resist Russia’s territorial ambitions, but life for the average citizen has deteriorated, with children in particularly prone locations being forced to spend their days underground.
Despite tireless resistance and continual Western support, the situation remains anything but resolved with Russia periodically reclaiming ground.
Vladimir Putin has not eased on his initial pledge to reclaim the nation as part of his “special military campaign” and has resisted Western efforts to whittle away his nation’s economy, while simultaneously pouring everything he can into maintaining the conveyor belt of military aged men to the frontlines.
The introduction of North Korean troops to Russia’s side has also painted a bleak picture, with some analysts going so far as claiming it is the “unofficial” beginning of WWIII given two “axis” powers are now working together on the same battlefield.
Verified reports of what they are actually doing to assist the war effort have been hard to come by however.
Jeffrey W. Hornung of the non-profit research organisation RAND goes so far as arguing that the increasing involvement of East Asian powers could be grounds for labelling it a proxy war.
“Besides the recent arrival of at least 10,000 North Korean soldiers on the Russian side, the evolving roles of China, Japan, and South Korea raise the question of whether a widening proxy war is being fought in Ukraine,” he said in a November report.
“By all indications, the answer is yes: The war is setting a new precedent for Indo-Pacific nations to compete for their interests on the global stage.”
Foreign interests aside, Ukraine’s efforts to reclaim occupied territories will remain a focal point in the first quarter of 2025.
The challenge for NATO and the US will be to balance continued support for Ukraine without triggering a broader confrontation with Russia.
Donald Trump has vowed to end the conflict as soon as he gets in office, but we’ve all heard a politician say things like that before.
Korean Peninsula heating up
On the other side of the world, the Korean Peninsula is going through a particularly tense period of politics, both internal and external.
North Korea conducted a series of provocative missile tests and trash balloon launches in 2024, stoking the patience of its more democratic neighbour to the South.
Experts at the Asan Institute of Policy Studies told news.com.au this year that Kim Jong-un is growing his nuclear weapons arsenal by almost a dozen a month. While most analysts agree the North would never dare to flex its nuclear might, the worrying rhetoric pushed out by Pyongyang’s ruling elite has continued to put a cloud over the region.
A tightened relationship with Russia has also done little to ease tensions as South Korean officials scramble to keep the 70-year peace with the North intact.
Kim Jong-un has managed to not only defy global sanctions but also strengthen his position at home through the renewed partnership with Vladimir Putin, which was solidified when the Russian leader flew into Pyongyang in June.
South Korea is also going through a turbulent political period after President Yoon Suk Yeol abruptly declared martial law, running counter to his nation’s purported stance against the authoritarianism of the North.
He now faces the possibility of impeachment and will appear in front of the nation’s corruption watchdogs.
All eyes on the South China Sea
2024 saw China continue to expand its influence through both diplomatic and military means, warning neighbouring nations to steer clear of its dispute with Taiwan.
Beijing’s claim over virtually all of the South China Sea, one of the world’s busiest maritime routes, is a point of fierce contention with several Southeast Asian nations, including the Philippines and Vietnam.
The US, under Biden’s administration, has made clear that it will not back down in the face of China’s growing military presence in the region. Australia has also committed to defending Taiwan’s sovereignty.
“The failure of Chinese and Southeast Asian leaders to resolve the disputes diplomatically could undermine international laws governing maritime disputes and encourage destabilising arms build-ups,” the Center for Preventive Action wrote in a September report.
The situation in 2025 looks poised to further test international waters. As China continues its militarisation of islands in the region, and with the US committed to supporting its allies through freedom of navigation operations, the South China Sea could become the flashpoint for another direct military conflict.
As it stands, the region remains a volatile mix of rising nationalism, conflicting territorial claims, and an increasingly assertive China.
The Trump Factor: A New Era in the US
Donald Trump’s landslide victory indicated that a large portion of America was flat-out fed up with the current state of affairs.
Witnessing four years of outrageous Joe Biden gaffes was simply too much for the nation of 330 million. Kamala Harris took up the reins of his campaign and spent two months refusing to do off-the-cuff interviews with certain people outside the mainstream media lexicon, and that was that.
Several million middle-of-the-road voters took another punt with Trump, rejecting the Democrats’ state of affairs which many believe have accelerated the decline of the nation, especially for those on low and middle incomes, the demographic the American left purport to bat for.
Whether Trump 2.0 does anything for the bulk of American taxpayers remains to be seen. But his definitive victory in 2024, like in 2016, was clearly a battle won on the cultural battleground, with voters indicating they are tired of political correctness, career politicians and government bloat.
The controversial appointment of Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, to declutter the US government has also lit a flame under staunch left wing mouthpieces.
Some believe Musk’s shuffle towards Trump in recent years are part of a masterplan to scrap regulations on his already booming businesses to make more money, while others believe he is a good-hearted US constitutionalist who only wants to see his nation thrive.
Australia will no doubt feel the effects of the Trump presidency, but it will take a few years before we can judge if he truly did “make America great again”.
Middle East in turmoil
The Middle East is at yet another pivotal point in its history. Conflict has unfortunately defined the region for many years, and the recent reshuffling of order in countries like Syria, coupled with the ongoing crisis between Israel and Palestine and several terrorist group supporters have left several questions unanswered about the future.
The conflict in Gaza escalated further in 2024, following the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.
Israel’s subsequent military response resulted in widespread devastation, with tens of thousands of civilians and children killed as part of the “collateral damage”.
In 2025, the situation will continue to sit on a knife’s edge.
The international community continues to grapple with the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with efforts to broker ceasefires and humanitarian aid facing massive challenges.
The prospects for a lasting peace hinge on the willingness of both parties to engage in meaningful dialogue and the ability of global powers to facilitate such discussions.
Meanwhile in Syria, fall of President Bashar al-Assad’s regime has left an ominous power vacuum.
The international community is actively engaged in efforts to stabilise the country, stressing the importance of respecting minority and women’s rights, preventing terrorism, and securing humanitarian aid.
The intense rivalry between Israel and Iran is also anticipated to persist, with each side seeking to expand its influence in the region.
President Trump is likely to adopt a more assertive stance in the Middle East, focusing on countering Iranian influence and addressing the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
AI: The robots are getting buff
It’s almost become a cliche to say “artificial intelligence stands at a precipice”.
But there’s no other way of putting it.
We are currently gazing into a bizarre future brimming with potential, but the real question is: just how long am I going to be in a job?
The past year has been another massive leap forward in the AI renaissance, with breakthroughs that have redefined the boundaries of what is possible.
The launch of Google’s Veo 2, an AI video generator, has also set new standards in video content creation, outperforming its predecessors with remarkable accuracy and creativity.
In the corporate sphere, Salesforce unveiled Agentforce 2.0, an AI agent program that integrates with Slack, enhancing reasoning, integration, and customisation capabilities.
One Aussie AI developer, who chose to remain nameless, predicted to me that it would be “less than five years” before most jobs done solely with a computer could be reliably replaced with AI.
We’ll just have to wait and see if the world’s major employers opt to embrace a complete shift towards machine workers and usher in a new era of absurdity.
Maybe we can all get behind universal basic income once the inevitable comes to pass. Maybe.
What can you do about all this?
Probably nothing.
Just stay informed and hope to hell some maniacal dictator doesn’t hit his big red nuke button.
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