2015 was dominated by the war against the so-called Islamic State (IS) in Iraq and Syria, the increasingly complex Syrian situation, a number of jihadist terrorist attacks throughout the world, a migration crisis in Europe, the election of a left-wing Syriza government in Greece, a nuclear deal with Iran and a global climate change agreement.

In Iraq and Syria, IS continued to sicken and disgust the world with their acts of genocide and crimes against humanity. Earlier in the year, IS made territorial gains in both Iraq (Ramadi) and Syria (Palmyra). However, since October a coalition of mainly Kurdish and other fighters managed to retake vast areas of territory from IS control including Singar and Tikrit in Iraq; Ramadi is also expected to be liberated soon. Western-led airstrikes against IS largely made it possible for the Kurds to advance and retake territory.

Britain’s Parliament gave the go-ahead for the bombing of IS targets in Syria; Russia also started conducting airstrikes in Syria but Western powers claimed Moscow, which supports the regime of Bashar al-Assad, is mainly attacking the moderate Syrian rebels and not IS. Furthermore, Amnesty International has accused Russia of deliberately targeting civilians, which if true amounts to war crimes.

The Syrian conflict became more and more complicated with the Russian airstrikes – the shooting down of a Russian jet by Turkey exemplified this complication – but a political process for a possible diplomatic solution to the war did begin in Vienna, despite differences over Assad’s future. The resolution passed unanimously by the UN Security Council just over a week ago, which sets out a timetable for formal talks and a unity government in Syria within six months, is encouraging.

IS or IS-affiliated groups also carried out a number of fatal terrorist attacks throughout the world. The most notorious ones included two attacks in Paris – one on the offices of Charlie Hebdo and a second, much more fatal one last month in four separate strikes in the capital, the murder of Egyptian Christians in Libya, the attack by al-Shabab gunmen at Garissa University in Kenya, bomb attacks against Shi’ites in Saudi Arabia, Yemen and Beirut, the bombing of a Russian jetliner over Sinai, suicide bomb attacks in Ankara, shooting sprees in Tunisia, and multiple attacks by Boko Haram in Nigeria, the country which has suffered the most at the hands of jihadists. In Bamako, the capital of Mali, an al-Qaeda linked group carried out a fatal attack on a hotel.

The Paris attacks led to the EU agreeing to share more intelligence between its members, the European Commission proposing the creation of a standing European border force that could take control of the bloc’s external frontiers, and the UN Security Council unanimously adopting a resolution declaring IS “a global and unprecedented threat to international peace and security” and urging all countries to “take all necessary measures” to combat the group. Finance ministers from the UN Security Council also adopted a resolution aimed at starving IS of funds.

Europe faced a migration crisis with a sudden influx of hundreds of thousands of refugees over its borders, half of them from Syria, as well as thousands of Africans crossing the Mediterranean. A number of EU summits were held to deal with migration and an EU – Africa Migration Summit was held in Malta in November in which the EU pledged the setting up of a Trust Fund worth €1.8 billion to help foster stability in Africa. Some EU countries suspended their membership of the Schengen agreement as worries over migration and terrorism increased. In an unprecedented move Sweden’s Social Democratic Prime Minister, Stefan Löfven, announced that most refugees would now only receive temporary residence permits, in a bid to stop the huge influx of migrants, mainly Syrians, who were pouring into his country at a rate of 10,000 a week.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel proved her leadership credentials in tackling the sudden influx of Syrian refugees, where she said those fleeing the conflict in Syria were welcome in Germany. The European Commission meanwhile, devised a resettlement plan for refugees to be distributed throughout the EU using a quota system. This has got off to a slow start with opposition from many Eastern European countries such as Hungary, led by the right-wing Victor Orban, much to the anger of countries like Italy, which have long argued for burden-sharing within the EU.

An election in Greece at the beginning of the year brought the radical anti-austerity left-wing Syriza party led by Alexis Tsipras to power, leading to another eurozone crisis. The Syriza government wasted six months in ‘negotiations’ and then called a referendum on the austerity measures imposed by the EU and the IMF, urging voters to reject them, which they did. However, with the situation deteriorating and the EU not budging Tsipras was forced to accept even harsher bailout conditions which Greek votes backed when they re-elected Syriza in another election in September. Once again Chancellor Merkel showed great leadership in this crisis.

Pope Francis continued to speak out in favour of social justice and the environment

In Britain the Conservatives won an absolute parliamentary majority, their first since 1992, the Liberal Democrats were reduced to eight seats, the Scottish Nationalists won all of Scotland’s seats except for three, and Labour turned to the left after their defeat by electing Jeremy Corbyn as the new leader. Prime Minister David Cameron made it clear that renegotiating aspects of the UK’s EU membership would be a priority.

In France, President François Hollande’s ratings in the polls increased after the Paris attacks but his Socialist Party’s popularity did not. Consistently high unemployment coupled with people’s fears in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks led to the right-wing National Front coming first in the first round of regional elections. However, a higher voter turnout and tactical voting in the second round led to the National Front being soundly defeated.

In Spain the dominance of the two main political parties came to an end after last week’s elections which saw Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s Popular Party with the most votes but short of an overall parliamentary majority. Rajoy’s slide in popularity was due to a combination of corruption allegations and austerity measures. Spain now has a four-party system (excluding the minor and regional parties) consisting of the Popular Party, the Socialist Party and two newcomers: the left-wing Podemos and the liberal Citizens party. Weeks of wrangling now lie ahead in the attempt to form a coalition government.

In Portugal the centre-right coalition led by Pedro Coelho consisting of the Social Democratic Party and the People’s Party led also garnered the most votes but lost its overall majority. An attempt by Coelho to form a minority government was voted down in Parliament and consequently Socialist leader António Costa, whose party came second in the election, formed an alliance with the other parties on the left, including the Communists, and was appointed Prime Minister.

In Denmark the centre-left parliamentary bloc led by Social Democrat Helle Thorning-Schmidt was defeated at the polls and replaced by a centre-right minority government headed by Lars Lokke Rasmussen. Rasmussen has to rely not only on the other centre-right parties for his majority but also the anti-immigration Danish People’s Party, which become the second-largest party in Parliament.

In Poland, the Law and Justice Party, which espouses right-wing populism, was elected to office. It has threatened the independence of the Constitutional Court, attacked the media, appointed a chief of security services who had been previously convicted of abuse of power and made the ridiculous suggestion that former prime minister Donald Tusk, now President of the European Council, should be prosecuted for his handling of the 2010 air crash in which President Lech Kaczynski died. It is a sad and difficult time for Poland, once a shining example of a successful new EU member State.

In Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development party won an absolute majority of seats in November’s election after losing that majority in an earlier election. The truce between the Turkish military and the Kurdish PKK broke down, and Erdogan’s Nationalist anti-Kurdish rhetoric was largely responsible for his electoral victory.

In Russia, Opposition politician Boris Nemstov, who was opposed to President Vladimir Putin’s involvement in the war in Ukraine, was shot dead in Moscow, joining a list of victims which includes journalists and human rights activists who were critical of the Kremlin. The Russian economy did not perform well and is expected to contract by 3.8 per cent this year; the fall in the price of oil and EU and US sanctions against Moscow over its behaviour in Ukraine did not help. A Minsk 2 ceasefire agreement, however, was signed between Putin, Hollande, Merkel and Ukrainian President Petro Petroschenko which has eased the fighting somewhat in eastern Ukraine. Merkel played a key role in the ceasefire agreement.

Libya continued to be divided between the internationally recognised government of Tobruk and a rival government in Tripoli. The power vacuum and lack of a central authority led to IS increasing its presence in the North African country. The UN intensified its efforts at encouraging the formation of a national unity government and last week a peace agreement was signed in Morocco between the two sides, which however, has been opposed by the leaders of the country’s two Parliaments.

The Nobel Peace Prize for 2015 was awarded to the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet for its decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the 2011 revolution. Despite the odds Tunisia remained the only glimmer of hope in the Arab Spring.

Yemen was engulfed in a tragic civil war between the forces loyal to the government of Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi and the Houthi Shi’ite rebels loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Saudi airstrikes against the Houthis and the presence of both al-Qaeda and Islamic State made a difficult situation even more complicated.

North and South Korea were on the brink of war when North Korea shelled the South Korean city of Yeoncheon

Egypt remained under the tight grip of President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi who continued to crack down on the banned Muslim Brotherhood as well as on civil rights. In a twist that brought international condemnation former President Mohammed Morsi and 100 other Muslim Brotherhood members were sentenced to death by an Egyptian court.

Saudi King Abdullah died in January and was replaced by his half-brother, King Salman. The kingdom continued to be under the spotlight for its clampdown on dissidents and civil rights campaigners such as blogger Raif Badawi – awarded the European Parliament’s Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought – who was accused of insulting Islamic values and later sentenced to 1,000 lashes and 10 years in prison. The Saudi government was also urged to do more to stop the funding of jihadist movements by wealthy private donors and to clamp down on certain Wahabi clerics who preach a doctrine of intolerance.

The Middle East peace process remained stalled with no sign of a return to the negotiating table by the Israelis and Palestinians. Israel continued to build illegal settlements in the West Bank and the surprise re-election of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud Party only made matters worse. Throughout the year there were persistent clashes in the West Bank between Palestinians and Israeli troops. Netanyahu showed his disrespect towards President Barack Obama when two weeks before the Israeli election he addressed the Republican-controlled US Congress where he criticised the possibility of a nuclear deal with Iran.

The Iranian nuclear deal was undoubtedly the best news of the year. The historic deal between Iran and the 5 +1 world powers (US, Russia, Britain, China, France and Germany) (and the EU) sharply decreased the chance of a war and has the potential to open up a new chapter in relations between Iran and the West (in particular the US) and to change the geo-political dynamics of the region. Particular credit goes to Obama for his patient belief in diplomacy and to Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani, without whom no deal would have been possible. The landmark deal curbs Iran’s nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief.

During a visit to India, US President Obama and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a breakthrough on a pact that will allow US companies to supply India with civilian nuclear technology. The historic 2006 India-US nuclear deal had been held up for eight years amid US concerns over who would be liable for any nuclear accident, but this has now been resolved.

The mass murder by the co-pilot of a Germanwings plane, Andreas Lubitz, who intentionally started a descent into the French Alps while the captain was locked out of the cockpit, was one of the huge stories of the year and shocked the entire world. This terrible tragedy resulted in the deaths of 150 people of various nationalities, including 72 Germans and 50 Spaniards. The plane was on its way from Barcelona to Dusseldorf. Lubitz had suffered from a psychological illness and had been depressed, raising serious questions about the psychological screening of pilots.

To everyone’s delight, the world reached a climate change agreement in Paris at a summit earlier this month. The main highlights of the agreement include a pledge to keep global temperatures “well below” 2.0C and to “endeavour to limit” them even more, to 1.5C, to limit the amount of greenhouse gases emitted by human activity, to review each country’s contribution to cutting emissions every five years, and for rich countries to help poorer nations adapt to climate change by providing $100 billion by 2020. US President Obama was instrumental in leading the world towards an agreement.

In the US, where the economy continued to perform well and job creation continued to rise, President Barack Obama continued to express his frustration at the number of mass shootings – including one in San Bernadino, California by alleged IS sympathisers and another in Charleston, South Carolina by a white supremacist – as well as Congress’s reluctance to enact gun control legislation. The spotlight was also on a number of police forces throughout the US for their acts of brutality and excessive use of force. One of Obama’s foreign policy decisions was to extend the US military presence in Afghanistan beyond 2016.

The US presidential election got underway with billionaire Donald Trump surprisingly in the lead for the Republicans and Hilary Clinton the front-runner for the Democrats – although Vermont Senator Bernard Sanders was doing well in the polls. Trump’s right-wing populist rhetoric, his crude language, as well as his insults directed at Muslims, women and Mexicans shocked many people but he nevertheless continued to lead among the Republicans.

The mass murder by the co-pilot of a Germanwings plane who intentionally started a descent into the French Alps shocked the world

The right-wing drift of the Republican party as a whole also worried many observers, with many of the party’s presidential candidates adopting ultra conservative positions in both domestic and foreign policy.

Australia got a new Prime Minister, the fourth in five years, when a revolt within the ruling Liberal Party ousted Tony Abbott and replaced him with Malcolm Turnbull. Canada got a new Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, as the Liberals defeated the Conservatives in the general election. In Latin America an encouraging development was the re-establishment of US – Cuba diplomatic relations in July. President Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro had a historic meeting on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas in Panama in April.

There was good news from Venezuela, where the Opposition Democratic Unity coalition won a landslide victory in the country’s legislative elections. Its two thirds majority means it can challenge President Nicolas Maduro, a doctrinaire Socialist and successor to Hugo Chavez, and put an end to the country’s unfortunate chapter which was characterised by the jailing of Opposition politicians, food shortages, economic mismanagement, super high inflation and unemployment and GDP contraction.

Argentina decided it was time for a change after 12 years of Peronist rule (first Nestor Kirchner, and for the past eight his widow Christina Kirchner) and elected the centre-right mayor of Buenas Aires, Mauricio Macri, as President. In Brazil the economy shrank by 4.5 per cent in the fourth quarter, adding to the woes of President Dilma Rousseff who was threatened with impeachment by the Opposition over corruption allegations.

North and South Korea were on the brink of war last August when North Korea shelled the South Korean city of Yeoncheon leading to South Korea firing several artillery rounds in response. Tensions later eased after rounds of talks between the two countries. Earlier this month, however, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un suggested that his country has the capacity to launch a hydrogen bomb; this has not been independently verified.

In November the leaders of China and Taiwan, President Xi Jinping and President Ma Ying-jeou, held historic talks in Singapore – their first in more than 60 years. The talks were largely symbolic, but nevertheless important.

Between June and August China’s stock market indexes fell sharply, by around 30 per cent, and around $3-$4 trillion were wiped out, leading to fears of a spillover effect on the Chinese economy and consequently the global economy. Thankfully this did not happen.

There was very good news for democracy in Burma with the landslide victory of Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy in the country’s election. The NLD will control the next Parliament and can choose the next President but the military-drafted Constitution guarantees that unelected military representatives take up 25 per cent of the parliamentary seats and have a veto over constitutional change.

A 7.8 magnitude earthquake in Nepal in April killed over 9,000 people, injured more than 23,000 and left hundreds of thousands of people homeless with entire villages flattened. A second major earthquake (7.3) occurred in May killing 153 people and injuring more than 3,200.

A historic presidential election was held in Nigeria in which Muhammadu Buhari defeated incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan. Mr Buhari became the first Opposition candidate to win a presidential election in Nigeria. In Burundi violent clashes took place between the security forces and opponents of President Pierre Nkurunziza who wanted to run for a third term in office. An attempted coup only complicated matters.

Pope Francis continued to speak out in favour of social justice and the environment with the release of his encyclical in June. He spoke on a similar theme during a speech to the United Nations in September when he warned against “a selfish and boundless thirst for power and material prosperity”.

The Pope made history by becoming the first Pontiff to address Congress when he visited the US and showed his commitment to strengthening ties between Christians and Muslims by visiting Bosnia, Kenya and the Central African Republic. Pope Francis’s visit to the Philippines in January had become the largest papal event in history, with around six to seven million attendees in his final Mass at Manila.