The World This Week

In this special edition of The World This Week, our panel of journalists look back at the big stories from 2025 and ahead at what to expect in 2026. The year started with a political tempest in the US. A chaotic, unpredictable diplomatic circus by White House design: friends are foes, foes are friends as the art of the deal went global and the 45th president Donald Trump became the 47th. "The madman theory" said supporters, "a madman reality" said critics, as 12 months of temperamental tariffs ensued, and the term TACO was born (that's "Trump Always Chickens Out", in case you need it for the Christmas pub quiz). European allies started to find the "pay as you play" rules overwhelming, triggering the shifting of alliances elsewhere. President Vladimir Putin was allowed back in from the cold, embraced in the physical chill of Alaska. A man wanted by the ICC is not a concern for Trump, who started a trend of "limo diplomacy" as the world’s strongmen leaders took a series of on-camera car-shares as they spoke, albeit without microphone or karaoke. It's also been a year where it turned out the war in Ukraine wasn't solvable in 24 hours, but remains a country digging in and holding on. So is President Volodymyr Zelensky, who is now under political fire for a corruption scandal, and under pressure from Trump to concede territory and call elections despite the conflict raging on.  It's also been a year of aggressive enforcement of US immigration policies, with ICE raids, a surge in deportations, paused decisions on asylum applications and Somalis labelled as garbage. The top trending Google search was Charlie Kirk, another most searched was Zohran Mamdani, the social media savvy politician who optimised the algorithm, going from zero in the polls to hero of the left and elected the next mayor of New York. He campaigned on the making the Big Apple affordable again and raising the plight of Palestinians in Gaza. After two ceasefires and the death toll reaching 70,000 in Gaza, all of the living hostages were released, with the Trump plan still holding as we speak.  In Iran, Operation Midnight Hammer saw extraordinary US air strikes on its nuclear bunkers. Meanwhile Sudan, the world's biggest humanitarian crisis and so-called "forgotten war", continued in the shadows of international attention.  There were coups in Madagascar and Guinea-Bissau, and conflict brewing in Latin America, where US gunboat diplomacy continues to play out off the coast of Venezuela.  It was also a year that has seen a shower of online AI slop. It took a while to verify that Venezuela's autocratic leader Nicolas Maduro was in fact dancing to his own speech, retitled "No War, Yes Peace". In Paris at the Louvre, the crown jewels were gone in 420 seconds. In Italy, a new era began at the Vatican with an American papacy as Cardinal Robert Prevost became Pope Leo XIV. Three hours north in Venice, the world watched the Bezos' so-called "wedding of the year": three days of chaos in the floating city, after the world had also watched him send his fiancée into space on a celebrity rocket trip, with a strange mix of passengers, leading many critics to speculate what planet they were on. Produced by Gavin Lee, Rhea Smircic, Daniel Whittington and Laura Burloux

This week brought frantic peace manoeuvres over Ukraine, as a leaked 28-point plan triggered emergency talks and a swift Geneva rewrite, with President Donald Trump quietly shelving his ultimatum while Kyiv grappled with a corruption scandal. In West Africa, Guinea-Bissau plunged into turmoil after a sudden military coup left President Embalo telling FRANCE 24 he had been deposed. Nigeria declared a national emergency after the worst mass school kidnappings since Chibok, as pressure mounted from Washington. Meanwhile, Rachel Reeves' tax-raising budget in the UK sparked a full-blown political pantomime, drawing furious fire from the opposition. Produced by Gavin Lee, Antonia Cimini, Guillaume Gougeon and Laura Burloux

This week saw Ukraine brace for a fourth winter of war as President Volodymyr Zelensky shores up support amid reports of a secret 28-point peace plan involving territorial concessions and military cuts – a proposal blasted by European allies – while rolling blackouts, relentless strikes and a corruption scandal trigger calls for a no-confidence vote. In Washington, a defining moment in President Donald Trump’s second term saw a MAGA rebellion force through the release of all government and FBI files on the Epstein investigation, prompting a visibly irritated president to sign it into law while insisting it marked a victory for transparency. Plus, a G20 summit is taking place in South Africa, but the US is boycotting the event. Produced by Gavin Lee, Antonia Cimini, Guillaume Gougeon and Laura Burloux

This week, President Trump has threatened to sue the BBC for one billion dollars after it emerged its Panorama programme misleadingly edited his speech. The US President also sent a formal letter to Israeli President Isaac Herzog, asking for a pardon for his ally the prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who’s facing a long running trial for alleged bribery and fraud. And after three weeks in prison, Nicolas Sarkozy has been released ahead of an appeal trial to be held next year.

It’s been a week that’s seen a remarkable political upset in New York, where 34-year-old Zohran Mamdani became the city’s youngest mayor in 130 years – and its first Muslim and immigrant leader in generations. The Democratic Socialist's pledge to make New York more affordable galvanised young voters, though his call to tax the rich unsettled the party establishment. In Ukraine, fierce fighting continues for control of Pokrovsk, the fortress city key to Donetsk’s supply lines, as Russia claims to have encircled it and President Volodymyr Zelensky vows defiance on the front line. In Mexico, President Claudia Sheinbaum – after being groped by a man in public – has vowed to criminalise street harassment nationwide, calling it an attack on all women. And here in France, this week saw the controversial opening of Chinese e-commerce giant Shein's first ever physical shop – in a storied Parisian department store. Produced by Gavin Lee, Henri-Pierre Mafulu and Guillaume Gougeon