2024

2024 (MMXXIV) was a leap year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar, the 2024th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 24th year of the 3rd millennium and the 21st century, and the 5th year of the 2020s decade. The year saw the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war, and the Islamist insurgency in the Sahel. In November, heavy fighting resumed in the Syrian civil war, leading to the toppling of Ba'athist Syria, with Bashar al-Assad leaving Syria in December. Israel's war on Gaza also led to spillover conflicts into numerous countries, most notably Lebanon, which was invaded by Israel in October. This followed an intensification of the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. In the preceding month, Israel escalated an offensive against the group, including an attack using explosives-laden communication devices, and carrying out a bombing of its headquarters which resulted in the killing of the Secretary-General, Hassan Nasrallah. Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, had also been assassinated in the Iranian capital Tehran in July. The conflict sparked widespread protests against the war. The year also saw a rise in activity by the Houthi movement which contributed to a crisis in the Red Sea that impacted global shipping. Approximately 80 countries, representing around 4 billion people, conducted national elections throughout the course of the year, including eight out of ten of the world's most populous countries (Bangladesh, Brazil, Pakistan, Russia, India, Mexico, Indonesia, and the United States) as well as France, the United Kingdom, and Japan. The European Parliament also held elections. Among democracies, over 80 percent saw the incumbent party lose support compared to the last election. Many of these incumbent losses were historic. In countries like Japan, Botswana, and South Africa, incumbent parties that had dominated domestic politics for decades lost their majorities and have either relinquished power or are holding on through coalitions with minor parties. Bassirou Diomaye Faye won the 2024 Senegalese presidential election, becoming the first opposition candidate to win in the first round since independence in 1960. In Sri Lanka, voters delivered a landslide victory to the National People's Power, previously a minor party. Republican Donald Trump won the 2024 United States presidential election, becoming the first U.S. president to be elected to a non-consecutive second term since Grover Cleveland won the 1892 election. In December 2024, South Korean president Yoon Suk Yeol's attempt to declare and impose martial law was thwarted by members of parliament, sparking a political crisis that led to his impeachment and the impeachment of acting president Han Duck-soo.

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