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As the year 2025 comes to a close, SBS News has curated a selection of the most impactful photographs and videos that encapsulate the year’s pivotal events.
Tragedy struck when fifteen individuals lost their lives and many others suffered injuries.
In a poignant moment, a mourner was seen weeping while placing flowers at a vigil held at Bondi Beach, capturing the somber mood of the gathering. This scene was documented by AAP photographer Bianca de Marchi.
Amid the devastation, acts of bravery also emerged. One such moment was captured on video, showing Ahmed Al-Ahmed, a 43-year-old tobacco shop owner, courageously disarming one of the suspected attackers. This clip quickly gained international attention, highlighting the heroism that shone through the darkness.
The horrific attack also witnessed moments of great heroism, with a clip of 43-year-old tobacco shop owner Ahmed Al-Ahmed disarming one of the alleged gunmen going viral around the world.
Mourners place flowers at a memorial at Bondi Beach on 15 December. Source: AAP / Bianca De Marchi
Australians gathered at the site of the attack to hold vigils and commemorate those killed, placing flowers and other tributes at a makeshift memorial site at Bondi Pavilion.
The deadliest shooting in Australia since the Port Arthur massacre in 1996 has prompted the NSW government to introduce stricter protest and firearm laws.
Surfers and swimmers form a ring during a paddle out at Bondi Beach following the shooting. Source: AAP / Mick Tsikas
‘March for Humanity’
Organisers estimated up to 300,000 people took part in the protest. Police said the figure was 90,000. Source: AAP / Dean Lewins
Israel repeatedly denied it was behind chronic food shortages in Gaza, instead accusing Hamas of deliberately preventing supplies from being distributed and looting aid for themselves, which the militant group denies.
‘March for Humanity’ organisers said up to 300,000 people took part in the protest in Sydney, while NSW Police put the figure at 90,000.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange joined thousands of protesters during the March for Humanity in Sydney. Source: AAP / Flavio Brancaleone
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, former foreign minister Bob Carr and federal MP Ed Husic took part in the march.
Pope Francis’ funeral, Pope Leo’s inauguration
The choice of a simple wooden coffin was due to Pope Francis’ wish to have “the funeral of a shepherd, not of a sovereign”, as Catholic archbishop Diego Giovanni Ravell put it at the time. Source: AAP / Gregorio Borgia / AP
However, one of the most iconic images to emerge from the occasion had nothing to do with the late pontiff — save for the fact that his funeral served as a moment for two world leaders to hold a face-to-face meeting.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with US President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the funeral of Pope Francis in St Peter’s Basilica, Vatican City in April. Source: AAP / Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP
In early May, following two days of deliberation, the group of cardinals known as the conclave chose the new leader of the Catholic Church — and the world’s nearly 1.4 billion Catholics.
Pope Leo became the 267th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church in May, taking part in a formal ceremony to mark the beginning of his papacy.
Worshippers attend the inauguration of Pope Leo XIV at St Peter’s Square at the Vatican in May. Source: AAP / Flavio Brancaleone
Some 200,000 people gathered for the two-hour papal mass in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican.
Australians go to the polls
Labor was elected for a second consecutive term in May, with Australians turning out to the polls — some after a morning dip at the beach.
Early morning swimmers place their vote at Bondi Surf Bathers’ Life Saving Club in May. Source: Getty / Lisa Maree Williams
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was joined by his now-wife Jodie Haydon and son Nathan at Labor’s election night party.
“And it is with a deep sense of humility and a profound sense of responsibility that the first thing that I do tonight is to say thank you to the people of Australia for the chance to continue to serve the best nation on earth.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was joined by son Nathan and partner Jodie Haydon at Labor’s election night party. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch
Hong Kong’s Tai Po fire
More than 160 people were killed during the blaze, with dozens injured, according to the latest local official figures.
The massive fire in Hong Kong’s Tai Po district killed at least 161 people, according to local authorities. Source: AAP / Vernon Yuen / Nexpher Images / Sipa USA
Hong Kong has set up an inter-departmental task force to investigate the cause of the fire and how it spread so quickly, but has not yet released its findings.
Albanese’s White House visit
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and US President Donald Trump during their meeting at the White House in October. Source: AAP / Lukas Coch
A moment of tension emerged when Trump told Australia’s ambassador to the US, Kevin Rudd, “I don’t like you either” in response to a question about previous disparaging remarks by Rudd about the president.
Daniel Andrews at Beijing military parade
In September, former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews attended China’s World War Two military parade in Beijing, alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Daniel Andrews has defended the controversial visit to China. Source: AAP / Sergei Bobylev
The military parade was part of China’s celebration of the 80th anniversary of the victory of World War Two.
Former foreign minister Bob Carr was also invited to attend the event, but he chose to attend separate indoor events instead.
Cyclone Alfred
Tropical Cyclone Alfred barrelled down the Queensland coast in March, bringing torrential rain and flooding.
Boys play in sea-foam at Coolangatta on the Gold Coast in March. Source: AAP / Dave Hunt
Tens of thousands of people were left without power, and one fatality was recorded.
Waves crash onto rocks as people look on at the Gold Coast Seaway in March. Source: AAP / Jono Searle
The cyclone ranked among the 10 most economically catastrophic events of 2025, according to the United Kingdom-based humanitarian relief charity Christian Aid, causing losses of roughly $1.8 billion, AAP reported in late December.
Gaza ceasefires and hostage-detainee exchanges
Following two years of horrific images emerging from the Gaza Strip, the world witnessed a period of more positive images in October, after a US-brokered ceasefire deal led to the release of the remaining Israeli hostages taken by Palestinian militant groups on 7 October 2023.
Hundreds of Palestinians gathered to greet those released from Israeli prisons. Source: Getty / Salwan Georges / The Washington Post
It followed a ceasefire earlier in the year, which also saw similar exchanges. That truce only lasted until it was broken by a wave of Israeli airstrikes in March, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accusing Hamas of refusing to release Israeli hostages and rejecting proposals to extend the ceasefire.
Meanwhie, Hamas accused Israel of going after “defenceless civilians” and overturning the ceasefire agreement.
Einav Zangauker, the mother of hostage Matan Zangauker — who was not part of the first phase of releases — gathered with other families of hostages and their supporters to light a makeshift Shabbat table on fire while blocking a highway in Tel Aviv on 24 January 2025. Source: Getty / Alexi Rosenfeld
As part of the October deal, Hamas also agreed to hand over the remains of Israeli hostages who died while in captivity.
A body, believed to belong to one of two Israeli hostages remaining in Gaza, is handed over to International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) teams in Beit Lahia, Gaza, on 3 December 2025. Source: Getty / Hamza ZH Qraiqea / Anadolu
As of late December, it had handed over the remains of all but one, with the group citing logistical difficulties in the devastated territory.
Famine in Gaza
The report detailed that famine in Gaza City and surrounds was “entirely man-made, it can be halted and reversed”, with the committee calling for swift action. Israel dismissed the findings, with Netanyahu saying Israel “does not have a policy of starvation”.
Palestinian children hold out their pans in front of a charity kitchen in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip in September. Source: Getty / NurPhoto
An image of toddler Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq, a child in Gaza, went viral and was published widely by media outlets as a depiction of reports of starvation in the enclave.
Oxfam Australia told SBS News at the time that children with pre-existing conditions may already experience immune deficiencies, so are often most affected by a lack of food.
An image of toddler Muhammad Zakariya Ayyoub al-Matouq facing life-threatening malnutrition went viral in 2025. Source: Anadolu / via Getty Images
Marko Kerac, who helped draw up the World Health Organization’s treatment guidelines for severe acute malnutrition, also said it was typical in the early stages of a hunger crisis that those most impacted suffered from pre-existing illnesses.
However, it said the situation across the Gaza Strip was still critical, and that 1.6 million people are expected to face acute food insecurity over the next four months. The UN says aid is still restricted, and has called for unimpeded humanitarian access across Gaza.
Erin Patterson found guilty
In 2023, Patterson deliberately poisoned her former in-laws, Don and Gail Patterson, Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson and her husband Ian Wilkinson by serving them a beef Wellington meal containing death cap mushrooms at her Gippsland home.
Erin Patterson was sentenced to life in prison in August after being found guilty on murder and attempted murder charges in July. Source: AAP / Jason Edwards
Don and Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson died in hospital days after the meal, while Ian Wilkinson spent two months in hospital recovering.
The Zelenskyy-Trump clash
After the meeting, Trump said he and Zelenskyy were “getting a lot closer, maybe very close” to an agreement to end the war in Ukraine.
Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelenskyy shake hands at the start of a joint news conference following a meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in December. Source: AAP / Alex Brandon
But both leaders acknowledged one or two “thorny issues” remain unresolved.
Ukraine insisted on pausing the war on the current battle lines, but Russia wanted to claim all of Donbas.
Assassination of Charlie Kirk
Kirk, founder of conservative group Turning Point USA, had been a long-time keen supporter of Trump, who attended Kirk’s memorial service and called him a “martyr for American freedom”.
Erika Kirk joins US President Donald Trump onstage during the memorial service for political activist Charlie Kirk at State Farm Stadium in September. Source: Getty / Joe Raedle
Kirk’s widow Erika said she forgave the alleged shooter during her husband’s memorial service.
Nepal’s gen Z uprising
Thousands of young protesters took to the streets of Kathmandu in September demanding the government lift a social media ban and tackle corruption. Source: AFP / Prabin Ranabhat
The protests left at least 72 people dead and hundreds injured — although some younger Nepalis said the gen Z protesters who sparked the demonstrations shouldn’t be blamed for the violence that ultimately transpired.
The Singha Durbar, the seat of Nepal government’s various ministers offices was set on fire during protests on 9 September. Source: Anadolu / Sunil Pradhan / via Getty Images
General elections are expected to be held on 5 March 2026.
A post-Assad Syria
While those events are outside the remit of this compilation, it was not until January 2025 that photos emerged of a statue of former president Hafez al-Assad that had been toppled on top of a mountain in Dayr Atiyah.
Hafez al-Assad ruled Syria until his death in 2000, with his son Bashar al-Assad stepping in to replace him as president until he was overthrown in 2024. Source: AP / Ghaith Alsayed
After meeting Trump in the Saudi capital Riyadh in May, Syria’s new president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, made a historic visit to the White House in early November.
Speaking to reporters in the Oval Office several hours after meeting with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa, US President Donald Trump said: “We want to see Syria become a country that’s very successful … and I think this leader can do it, I really do.” Source: AAP / Syrian Presidency press office via AP
During his visit, the former al-Qaeda fighter — who spent years in US-run prisons in Iraq and had a US$10 million ($15 million) bounty on his head (lifted in late 2024) — was seen shooting hoops with US military commanders.
In early December, many Syrians turned out to celebrate the first anniversary of the fall of the Assad regime.
Revellers took to the streets of Syria’s capital of Damascus ahead of the one-year anniversary of the fall of the Assad Regime on 8 December, which has been declared an official public holiday, labelled Liberation Day. Source: Getty / Chris McGrath
