From Donald Trump's second term in the White House to the turbulent football calendar, here are five things to watch in 2025:
Trump 2.0
In the days following his convincing victory in the US presidential election, Donald Trump has named several of his nominees to form his future White House cabinet ahead of his inauguration on 20 January.
The list includes anti-vaxxer Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary and Elon Musk as co-chairman of the Government Efficiency Division, raising concerns about what Trump's second term could mean for the United States and the world.
At the swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol in Washington, 82-year-old Joe Biden will hand the mantle to Trump, who, two years his junior, will become the oldest US president in history by the end of his four-year term.
Climate
Could 2025 be the year the world's greenhouse gas emissions stop rising?
Researchers point to signs from the world's biggest polluter, China, responsible for 30% of global emissions, where carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels are expected to rise only slightly this year.
The Global Carbon Project's Glenn Peters says the total amount of CO2 emitted from the burning of coal, oil and gas worldwide could peak in the next few years.
This carbon pollution is the main driver of increasingly dangerous climate change.
But even if there is a peak, Ignacio Aronis Velasco of the think tank E3G said countries cannot afford to "slack off" and then must quickly reduce their emissions to aim for carbon neutrality.
Football fever
Can there be too much of a good thing? In 2025, the issue of player burnout is likely to dominate amid a busy calendar.
In the summer, when players would normally have time to recover from national championships, the expanded 32-club Club World Cup awaits.
And that will come after a particularly busy season that will see the long-awaited expanded Champions League.
It's all part of a trend in football to increase the number of high-profile matches - the next World Cup in 2026 will welcome 16 more countries, bringing the total to 104 instead of 64 matches.
The spectre of Saudi Arabia will also loom as the 2034 World Cup host will put more money into the game, which could lead to changes.
Other controversies that are likely to cause sparks relate to the continued use of VAR technology, which is currently in a love-hate relationship between players, fans and pundits.
Kumbh Mela
The largest gathering of humanity on the planet will take place from January 13 to the end of February with tens of millions of people showered with rose petals and sacred ash during the grand Hindu festival on the sacred riverbanks of India.
Classified by UNESCO as an intangible cultural heritage, the mega-festival, known as the Kumbh Mela, is held every three years.
The venue alternates between four sacred sites on the waters of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers, considered among the holiest in Hinduism.
In 2025, it will take place in the northern city of Prayagraj. The last time the festival was held there in 2013, 120 million people attended.
Returns of Oasis and BTS
On one side are the sinister bad boys of Britpop and on the other are the fresh-faced darlings of K-pop.
Both Oasis and BTS will return in 2025 to the delight of their fans after a hiatus from the scene for very different reasons.
Fronted by Gallagher brothers Liam and Noel, Oasis will return after a noisy split in 2009 - one of many - leading to a 15-year separation.
The band behind "Wonderwall" and "Champagne Supernova," songs that achieved anthemic status in the 1990s, is embarking on a world tour that kicks off in the U.K. and Ireland before heading to the Americas.
In the initial scramble to buy tickets from official websites, many fans who were unable to purchase them sought alternative sources - leading to an avalanche of ticket scams.
The mood will be quite different in South Korea, where the hugely popular K-Pop boy band BTS promises to reunite in June after its members complete their mandatory military service.
It's the comeback that millions of fans and an entire multibillion-dollar industry have been waiting for.
Experts say the megastars' return to performances and public life could lift South Korea's cultural exports even higher. | BGNES
