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The year that was, as told through 24 photos.

We're hurtling towards the end of another year.

From politics to penguins, there were countless moments that wrote themselves into the history books.

There were scenes of unbearable devastation that seemed beyond comprehension.

We were stopped in our tracks, forced to reckon with the uncomfortable, or to witness awe-inspiring forces of nature.

And then there were the relentless, unyielding moments of hope that buoyed our faith in humanity.

It was a perfectly normal summer's day in Butler, Pennsylvania when Donald Trump arrived to speak at a campaign rally. 

On stage he revved up the crowd, delivering his go-to lines while pointing to a chart about immigration. 

Then a would-be assassin's bullet skimmed his ear, the shot just centimetres from becoming fatal.

More bullets were fired.

The Secret Service scrambled.

In an instant, the striking image of a bloodied Trump thrusting his fist in the air against the American flag became one of the most memorable pictures of the year.

A week later, US President Joe Biden withdrew his bid for the White House, stepping aside to throw his support behind Vice-President Kamala Harris.

The move to put a younger women of colour in the driving seat re-energised the Democratic Party just months out from polling day.

It was a glass ceiling the United States had yet to shatter.

Hillary Clinton won the popular vote in 2016, but would this time be different?

Millions of Americans looked to one woman and held out hope.

As we know, Trump won the election by completing a clean sweep of the major battleground states.

But millions of women and young girls witnessed someone who looked like them vie for the highest office in the land.

In Australia, a busy shopping centre became a crime scene when an attacker stabbed and killed six people and injured 12 others.

Ashlee Good, Dawn Singleton, Jade Young, Pikria Darchia and Yixuan Cheng, as well as unarmed security guard Faraz Tahir, died during the attack at Westfield Bondi Junction.

NSW Police Commissioner Karen Webb said it was "obvious" from CCTV that the attacker "focused on women and avoided the men".

The stabbing rampage was only brought to an end when lone police officer Amy Scott fatally shot the attacker.

Inspector Scott was hailed a hero by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and received a bravery award.

At the time, Mr Albanese said "a woman has been killed every four days so far this year", and called violence against women in Australia "an epidemic".

Sydney's queer community was shattered when Jesse Baird and Luke Davies were allegedly murdered at the hands of a NSW police officer.

Beau Lamarre-Condon, who had a brief relationship with Mr Baird, was charged with the murder of the young couple, allegedly shooting them with a police handgun.

Their deaths cast a sombre shadow over the year's annual Mardi Gras parade, straining the event's already complicated history with the police force.

In the days and weeks that followed, mourners paid their respects with a spontaneous floral tribute outside Mr Baird's home.

One written message in a bunch of flowers left for the young couple read: "End domestic violence. Justice must be served."

Australia faced its fair share of wild weather in 2024, from destructive floods to raging fires.

In summer, Far North Queensland bared the brunt of Cyclone Kirrily, which uprooted trees, damaged properties and left thousands without power.

Further down the coast, many residents' homes and belongings were destroyed during to flooding, as Kirrily delivered more wet weather to the state's north-west.

Overseas, Hurricane Milton brought havoc in Florida by whipping up tornadoes, destroying homes and knocking out power to millions.

At least 10 people died, with the scale of the category five monster even bringing a seasoned weatherman to tears.

"I apologise, this is just horrific," John Morales said while live on air for NBC.

"You know what's driving that, I don't need to tell you, global warming, climate change, is leading to this."

In November, Spain's Valencia region endured more rain in eight hours than it had in the preceding 20 months, with officials calling the deluge "extraordinary".

At least 223 people lost their lives.

The flooding was triggered by the DANA weather phenomenon, which climate scientists say is being exacerbated by the affects of climate change.

Spain's reigning monarch, King Felipe VI, had mud thrown in his face by angry locals during a tense tour of the region.

Residents shouted at the king to "get out" and labelled him a "killer". King Felipe said he understood their "anger and frustration".

Elections in 2024 tested democracy like never before as almost half the world went to the polls.

Britain's Conservative prime minister Rishi Sunak shocked his cabinet colleagues when he announced a snap general election in May.

A soaked Mr Sunak made the announcement in the pouring rain as protesters blasted D:Ream's 1993 hit Things Can Only Get Better on loudspeakers.

It set the tone for a turbulent Tory campaign.

Sir Keir Starmer led Labour to a landslide victory, ending 14 years of Conservative leadership.

Mr Sunak apologised to the nation following his defeat, the worst in the Conservatives' parliamentary history.

When the royal family posted an innocuous Mother's Day portrait of a smiling Princess Catherine with her three children, few could have predicted how it would take a viral firestorm from bad to worse.

The Princess of Wales had already been under intense scrutiny online for her lack of public appearances since the previous Christmas. 

Conspiracy theories about the princess were only inflamed when photo agencies deemed the Mother's Day image to have been digitally altered.

Buckingham Palace put the rumours to rest by revealing Princess Catherine had been diagnosed with cancer — she has since completed her chemotherapy treatment.

The intense speculation around the princess saw Time magazine nominate the royal for its annual Person of the Year honour, with the publication saying she "stirred a conversation about privacy and health for public figures".

The Princess of Wales wasn't the only figure to grab the internet's attention.

Pesto, Melbourne's giant nine-month-old penguin chick, captured hearts and boggled minds with his sheer size.

Weighing 22.5 kilograms, young Pesto was nearly double the size of his parents, with his fluffy brown build rivalling his adult peers.

"He is a chunky monkey, but he is healthy," one aquarium keeper said.

Pesto became a viral sensation and a tourism destination, with artists Olivia Rodrigo and Katy Perry visiting the aquarium during their Australian tours.

Around the world, we were dazzled by show-stopping spectacles on display across our skies.

In April, millions paused and looked up to witness a total solar eclipse, where the Moon completely covered the Sun for more than four minutes in some places.

The astronomical event was visible from Mexico, the United States and Canada.

Many took to the streets or crowded on rooftops to catch a glimpse, with protective glasses becoming a hot commodity. 

Crowds broke into cheers at the moment of totality, with those unable to witness the event tuning in online.

In May, Australian skies were lit up in striking hues of green, pink and red thanks to the aurora australis phenomenon.

The awe-inspiring sight was triggered by the first geomagnetic storm in 20 years.

For three days, the world experienced the most spectacular show of northern and southern lights many have ever seen.

From celebrity power couples to overnight sensations, there was no shortage of moments in pop culture that kept us entertained.

When NFL player Travis Kelce kissed superstar Taylor Swift on the field after the Kansas City Chiefs became back-to-back Super Bowl champions, it looked like a love story pulled straight out of one of Swift's songs.

But it was far from the most-talked-about sporting moment of the year.

In August, Rachael "Raygun" Gunn stepped onto the world stage at the Paris Olympics, not knowing her life was about to change.

Representing the nation in her green and gold tracksuit, Raygun competed in a round robin against fellow B-girls nearly half her age at the Place de la Concorde.

Raygun secured not a single point for her country, but her unusual style of breaking saw her moves go viral.

Her Olympic battles racked up millions of views online and drew an overwhelming amount of attention to an Olympic sport that may well never return.

In July, a little-known computer program triggered an IT meltdown that paralysed systems around the world.

In an instant, millions of computers went out of action, displaying what's known in the industry as the Blue Screen of Death.

Nearly every conceivable type of business was affected, from airports to petrol stations, hospitals, universities — even the ABC's broadcasting and digital outputs.

The culprit? A US-based software company called CrowdStrike.

Its Falcon software is deeply embedded in the world's computing infrastructure and is nearly ubiquitous for protecting Windows computers from cyber threats.

In the end, it was a faulty software update that led to what experts have called potentially the largest global IT outage in history.

In June, Julian Assange became a free man after pleading guilty to one charge of espionage in a federal United States court as part of a plea deal with prosecutors.

Within hours, the WikiLeaks founder landed on home soil in Australia, bringing the former fugitive's decade-long diplomatic drama to an end.

Crowds erupted in cheers as Assange waved at supporters and embraced his wife on the tarmac.

Assange's lawyer Jen Robinson said his return to Australia was "the product of 14 long years of legal battles, political advocacy and ongoing campaigning".

Months later, Assange spoke about his years of incarceration in a high-security UK prison, saying his time behind bars was a "relentless struggle to stay alive, physically and mentally".

"It strips away one's sense of self," he said.

"Isolation has taken its toll."

Russia's invasion of Ukraine continued this year, with another bleak winter beginning to settle over the conflict-stricken region.

In October, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy spruiked his "victory plan" with his sights set on ending the war with Russia "no later than" 2025.

Russia has been focused on capturing the entirety of Donbas since the start of the February 2022 invasion, and fighting has intensified in recent months.

Ukraine has managed to hold some territory in Russia's Kursk region after staging a cross-border incursion in August.

In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was ready for "negotiations and compromises", but warned that Ukraine's resolve to fight Russian forces "will run out" in coming months.

"Soon, those Ukrainians who want to fight will run out, in my opinion, soon there will be no-one left who wants to fight," Mr Putin said.

On October 7, 2023, in an surprise assault, Hamas-led terrorists infiltrated southern Israel from Gaza and went on a rampage.

An estimated 1,200 people were killed in Israel, while some 250 others were taken hostage to Gaza.

This year, 12 months on from October 7, Gaza's Ministry of Health recorded the official death toll had reached at least 42,000.

The World Health Organization and human rights groups argued the real death toll of the invasion and bombardment of Gaza was likely much higher.

The Israeli military said on August 15 that it had killed 17,000 "terrorists", meaning members of Palestinian militant groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad.

The IDF later told Israeli media it had identified 10,000 of them, but its methods and evidence were given in a classified briefing and could not be verified.

Thousands of people remain missing in Gaza and have not been included in official death figures. About 100,000 have also been injured.

The conflict in Lebanon has been waged in parallel with Gaza. A day after the Hamas attack on Israel, Iran-backed Hezbollah started firing rockets into Israel.

Israeli forces and Hezbollah militants exchanged fire across the border.

In subsequent weeks, tens of thousands of people fled homes on both sides of the border.

In late July, Israel killed senior Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in a strike near Beirut.

Days later, Hezbollah launched hundreds of rockets and drones at Israel in one of the biggest clashes in more than 10 months of border warfare.

Then, at least 12 people, including two children, were killed and nearly 3,000 others injured after pagers used by Hezbollah exploded across Lebanon.

According to Israeli authorities, Hezbollah strikes have killed 45 civilians in northern Israel and the Golan Heights.

In November, the US brokered a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hezbollah, though both sides have since accused each other of violating the terms of the ceasefire.

In October, former One Direction member Liam Payne died after falling from a third-storey balcony at a hotel in Buenos Aires.

Shock and grief rippled through a generation of fans who had grown up with One Direction's music, helping the British boy band to become one of the biggest acts of the 21st century.

Three people have been charged in connection with Payne's death after an autopsy revealed traces of alcohol, cocaine and a prescription antidepressant in his system when he died.

Harry Styles, Zayn Malik, Niall Horan and Louis Tomlinson reunited in November to farewell the 31-year-old at a funeral in England.

When King Charles III and Queen Camilla toured Australia, independent senator Lidia Thorpe made international headlines when she interrupted their royal reception in Canberra.

The monarch had finished his address when Senator Thorpe, who was wearing a fur cloak and had been standing quietly during the proceedings, stepped out into the aisle and began yelling.

"You committed genocide against our people. Give us our land back. Give us what you stole from us — our bones, our skulls, our babies, our people," she shouted as she strode towards the stage, where the king and queen sat next to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.

"Give us a treaty, we want treaty."

As she exited the hall after being escorted out by security, the Gunnai, Gunditjmara and Djab Wurrung senator yelled: "F**k the colony."

Senator Thorpe was later censured for her protest against the king, for which she said: "You've only given me more exposure".

 "If the colonising king were to come back to Australia, I would do it again."

Prince William has described the last 12 months as "brutal" and "probably the hardest year in my life" as both his wife and father revealed they had cancer. 

In February, Buckingham Palace announced the king's diagnosis and said he would subsequently be postponing public engagements as he undergoes treatment.

King Charles and Princess Catherine's health disclosures were a marked departure from the secret history of royal ailments.

But the House of Windsor has adopted a policy of transparency in recent decades when it comes to health issues as the monarchy modernises.

"I'm so proud of my wife, I'm proud of my father, for handling the things that they have done," Prince William said.

"But from a personal family point of view, it's been brutal."

In October, attention turned to Queenslanders as residents headed to the polls in the last state election before Albanese and Peter Dutton go head-to-head next year.

The LNP, led by David Crisafulli, managed to flip the Sunshine State blue, making Queensland the only mainland state to be governed by the Liberals.

While Mr Crisafulli toppled Labor premier Steven Miles, the LNP's victory was much tighter than many predicted.

His victory ended a decade of Labor domination, with the ALP governing Queensland for 30 of the past 35 years.

"What lessons the Albanese government takes from the outcome, and how it responds, are critical," Jacob Greber, the ABC's chief digital political correspondent, wrote at the time.

Before the year came to a close, Syria's political landscape was turned on its head.

Rebels swept through the country, meeting little resistance from Bashar al-Assad's men as they advanced further towards the capital Damascus.

Once they reached the city gates, Assad fled for a new life in Moscow.

Syria now stands at a crossroads.

There are many concerns now about what the dominant rebel faction, the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), will do with its new-found power.

HTS is a listed terrorist organisation in Australia, the US and the UK because of its prior links to the Islamic State and Al Qaeda.

It has promised to set up an inclusive government that protects the rights of ethnic and religious minorities and has won praise from Syrians so far for prioritising stability and service provision.

The abrupt end of the Assad family's five-decade rule saw celebrations at the release of prisoners and the potential return of refugees.

But as Syrians look ahead, many remain cautiously hopeful or dreading the worst.