Did the world change forever in 2024? The last 12 months have seen wars, elections, flooding, revolution, and the end of an era. It could be a turning point in human history.
Review of the year: the big stories
Wild ride: In ten years’ time will we remember this was the year when Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race, Donald Trump was nearly assassinated, Israel’s war in Gaza exploded across the Middle East and AI grew by leaps and bounds? Glossary
AI - A computer programme that has been designed to think.
General election - In the UK, when an election is held for all 650 members of the House of Commons. One must take place every five years.
Conservative party - A British political party. Members are known as Tories.
Abrupt - Sudden.
Labour - Britain's main left-of-centre political party.
Israel - A country in the Middle East, and the only Jewish nation in the modern period. It is seen by Jews, Christians and Muslims as the Holy Land.
Hamas - A militant Palestinian organisation, which has controlled the Gaza Strip since 2007. It is listed as a terrorist organisation in the UK.
Gaza - The smaller of two Palestinian territories, home to two million people. It is located on the Mediterranean coast, bordered by Israel and Egypt.
Lebanon - A small country on the eastern Mediterranean coast that has been in the grip of an economic crisis for over a year. It has a native population of just 4.7 million, but migrants and refugees have brought its total population up to almost 7 million.
Hezbollah - A militant organisation based in Lebanon, classified in the UK as a terrorist group. It has made direct attacks on Israel and is believed to have been responsible for assassinating Lebanon's former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri.
Republican Party - Also known as the Grand Old Party or GOP, it is one of the USA's two major political parties. Its first president was Abraham Lincoln. It sits on the right of the political spectrum.
Congress - The legislative branch of the American government, where elected representatives vote on which laws should be passed. Congress is made up of two chambers: the Senate, which contains two members from each of the 50 states, and the House of Representatives, which has representatives from 435 smaller districts.
Syria - A Middle Eastern country that was the site of much of the fighting during the Crusades.
Authoritarian - Enforcing strict obedience to authority.
Paris Agreement - An agreement signed by 196 countries to try to limit global warming.