This is a list of events that took place in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

Incumbents

Afghanistan

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Bahrain

Bangladesh

Bhutan

Brunei

Cambodia

China

Cyprus

Georgia

India

Indonesia

Iran

Iraq

Israel

Japan

Jordan

Kazakhstan

Kuwait

Kyrgyzstan

Laos

Lebanon

Malaysia

Maldives

Mongolia

Myanmar

Nepal

North Korea

Oman

Pakistan

Palestine

Philippines

Qatar

Russia

Saudi Arabia

Singapore

South Korea

Sri Lanka

Syria

Taiwan

Tajikistan

Thailand

Timor-Leste

Turkey

Turkmenistan

United Arab Emirates

Uzbekistan

Vietnam

Yemen

Events

January

* 1 January **

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

and the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE), or simply the Emirates, is a country in West Asia, in the Middle East, at the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is a Federal monarchy, federal elective monarchy made up of Emirates of the United Arab E ...

become

BRICS BRICS is an intergovernmental organization comprising ten countriesBrazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. The idea of a BRICS-like group can be traced back to Russian foreign ...

members. ** The

Republic of Artsakh Artsakh ( ), officially the Republic of Artsakh or the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh ( ), was a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory was internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Between 1991 and 2023, Artsakh cont ...

is formally dissolved as

Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh (, ; ) is a region in Azerbaijan, covering the southeastern stretch of the Lesser Caucasus mountain range. Part of the greater region of Karabakh, it spans the area between Lower Karabakh and Syunik Province, Syunik. Its ter ...

unifies with

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

. ** A 7.5 Mww earthquake struck the western coast of

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, killing at least 244 people and injuring 1,297 others. * 2 January – A further five were killed when a

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a Maritime Security Regimes, maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with cust ...

aircraft carrying

humanitarian aid Humanitarian aid is material and Humanitarian Logistics, logistic assistance, usually in the short-term, to people in need. Among the people in need are the homelessness, homeless, refugees, and victims of natural disasters, wars, and famines. Th ...

collides with a

Japan Airlines Japan Airlines (JAL) is the flag carrier airline of Japan. JAL is headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its main hubs are Tokyo's Narita International Airport, Narita and Haneda Airport, Haneda airports, as well as secondary hubs in Osaka's Kansai ...

passenger jet, destroying both aircraft. All 379 people aboard the passenger jet were evacuated safely. * 3 January –

2024 Kerman bombings On 3 January 2024, a commemorative ceremony marking the assassination of Qasem Soleimani at his grave in eastern Kerman, Iran, was attacked by two bomb explosions. The attacks killed at least 95 people, and injured 284 others. The Iranian govern ...

: An Islamic State double bombing kills 94 people during a memorial event commemorating the

assassination of Qasem Soleimani On 3 January 2020, Qasem Soleimani, an Iranian major general, was Targeted killing, killed by an American drone strike ordered by U.S. president Donald Trump near Baghdad International Airport in Iraq, while travelling to meet Iraqi prime mi ...

Kerman Kerman (; ) is a city in the Central District (Kerman County), Central District of Kerman County, Kerman province, Kerman province, Iran, serving as capital of the province, the county, and the district. History Kerman was founded as a def ...

, Iran. * 7 January –

2024 Bangladeshi general election General elections were held in Bangladesh on 7 January 2024 in accordance with the Constitution of Bangladesh, constitutional requirement, stating that elections must take place within the 90-day period before the expiration of the current term ...

: The

Awami League The Awami League, officially known as Bangladesh Awami League, is a major List of political parties in Bangladesh, political party in Bangladesh. The oldest existing political party in the country, the party played the leading role in achievin ...

, led by incumbent

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina (''née'' Wazed; born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who served as the tenth prime minister of Bangladesh from June 1996 to July 2001 and again from January 2009 to August 2024. Premiership of Sheikh Hasina, Her ...

, wins a fourth consecutive term amid protests by opposition parties and a large drop in voter turnout. * 9 January – Second round of 2023–24 Bhutanese National Assembly election * 13 January – 2024 Taiwanese general election * 19 January – Japan becomes the fifth country to achieve a soft landing on the

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

, with its SLIM mission. * 25 January –

2024 Nepalese National Assembly election National Assembly elections were held in Nepal on 25 January 2024 in order to elect 19 of the 20 retiring Class III members of the National Assembly (Nepal), National Assembly, the upper house of the Federal Parliament of Nepal. Members of the N ...

* 31 January –

Sultan of Johor The Sultan of Johor (Malay language, Malay: ''Sultan Johor''; Jawi script, Jawi: ) is a hereditary seat and the sovereign ruler of the Malaysian state of Johor. In the past, the sultan held absolute power over the state and was advised by a '' ...

Ibrahim Iskandar ascends to the throne as the 17th

Yang di-Pertuan Agong The King of Malaysia, officially ''Yang di-Pertuan Agong'' ( Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ), is the constitutional monarch and Figurehead, ceremonial head of state of Malaysia. The office was established in 1957, when the Federation of Malaya gained ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

February

* 2 February – The US launches

airstrikes An airstrike, air strike, or air raid is an offensive operation carried out by aircraft. Air strikes are delivered from aircraft such as blimps, balloons, fighter aircraft, attack aircraft, bombers, attack helicopters, and drones. The official d ...

on 85 targets in Iraq and Syria in response to a deadly drone attack on a US military base. *7 February –

2024 Azerbaijani presidential election Presidential elections were held in Azerbaijan on 7 February 2024. Incumbent president Ilham Aliyev, who has held office since 2003, won a fifth consecutive term with over 92% of the vote, defeating his closest runner-up Zahid Oruj, who obtained ...

: Amid an opposition boycott, President

Ilham Aliyev Ilham Heydar Oghlu Aliyev (born 24 December 1961) is an Azerbaijani politician who has been the fourth president of Azerbaijan since 2003. He is also the leader of the New Azerbaijan Party since 2005. The son and second child of former Aze ...

is reelected to a fifth term. * 8 February –

2024 Pakistani general election General elections, originally scheduled to be held in 2023, were held in Pakistan on 8 February 2024 to elect the members of the List of members of the 16th National Assembly of Pakistan, 16th National Assembly of Pakistan, National Assembly. The ...

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

politicians, most of whom are members of the

banned A ban is a formal or informal prohibition of something. Bans are formed for the prohibition of activities within a certain political territory. Some bans in commerce are referred to as embargoes. ''Ban'' is also used as a verb similar in meaning ...

political party

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is a political party in Pakistan established in 1996 by cricketer and politician Imran Khan, who served as the country's prime minister from 2018 to 2022. The party is led by Gohar Ali Khan since late 2023. ...

, win a plurality of seats in the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repr ...

. * 14 February –

2024 Indonesian general election General elections were held in Indonesia on 14 February 2024 to elect the President of Indonesia, president, Vice President of Indonesia, vice president, and People's Consultative Assembly (MPR), which consists of the House of Representatives (I ...

Prabowo Subianto Prabowo Subianto Djojohadikusumo (born 17 October 1951) is an Indonesian politician, businessman, and former four-star Indonesian Army, army general who is serving as the eighth and current president of Indonesia since 2024. He was previously t ...

wins the

presidential election A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President. Elections by country Albania The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public. Chile The p ...

, and the Democratic Party of Struggle wins the most votes in the legislative election.

March

* 1 March –

2024 Iranian legislative election Legislative elections were held in Iran on 1 March 2024 for the first round, and on 10 May 2024 for the second round. They were held four years after the previous election in 2020. The election had a preregistration for the first time as a resu ...

* 15–17 March –

2024 Russian presidential election Russian presidential elections, Presidential elections were held in Russia from 15 to 17 March 2024. It was the eighth presidential election in the country. The incumbent president Vladimir Putin won with 88% of the vote, the highest percentage ...

April

* 1 April – Israel attacks the Iranian embassy in Damascus, killing 16 people. * 3 April – A powerful earthquake with a magnitude of 7.4 strikes off the eastern coast of

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, with small tsunamis reaching heights of hitting

Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan. It consists of three main island groups—the Okinawa Islands, the Sakishima Islands, and the Daitō Islands—spread across a maritime zone approximately 1,000 kilometers east to west an ...

. * 4 April – 2024 Kuwaiti general election * 10 April –

2024 South Korean legislative election Legislative elections were held in South Korea on 10 April 2024. All 300 members of the National Assembly (South Korea), National Assembly were elected, 254 from first-past-the-post South Korean Legislature Constituencies, constituencies and 46 ...

: The Democratic Party and Democratic Alliance wins 176 seats, while the

People Power "People power" is a political slogan denoting the Populism, populist driving force of any social movement which invokes the authority of grassroots opinion and Will (philosophy), willpower, usually in opposition to that of conventionally organis ...

and People Future, to which

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Yoon Suk Yeol Yoon Suk Yeol (; born 18 December 1960) is a South Korean politician and former prosecutor who served as the 13th president of South Korea from 2022 until Impeachment of Yoon Suk Yeol, he was removed from office in 2025. The shortest-serving ...

belongs, wins only 108 seats. * 16 April –

2024 Persian Gulf floods In April 2024 heavy rain severely impacted states in the Persian Gulf, causing flash flooding across the region. Several states recorded nearly a year's worth of rain in a single day. The floods had a significant impact across the region, wi ...

: At least 32 people are killed when heavy rainfall strikes the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, causing flash flooding. This caused many disruptions for

Emirates airline Emirates is one of the two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates (the other being Etihad Airways). Based in Garhoud, Dubai, the airline is a subsidiary of The Emirates Group, which is owned by the government of Dubai's Investment Corpor ...

Dubai International Airport Dubai International Airport () is the primary international airport serving Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and is the world's busiest airport by international passenger traffic as of 2024. It is also the busiest airport in the Middle East as ...

. * 19 April –

2024 Indian general election General elections were held in Elections in India, India from 2024 elections in India, 19 April to 1 June 2024 in seven phases, to elect all List of constituencies of the Lok Sabha, 543 members of the Lok Sabha. Votes were counted and the res ...

: Indians begin voting to elect members to the 18th

Lok Sabha The Lok Sabha, also known as the House of the People, is the lower house of Parliament of India which is Bicameralism, bicameral, where the upper house is Rajya Sabha. Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha, Members of the Lok Sabha are elected by a ...

. With 968 million people eligible to vote, this election is expected to be the largest election in history. Voting will continue in a total of seven phases, lasting until June. * 21 April –

2024 Maldivian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in the Maldives on 21 April 2024, having previously been scheduled for 17 March. The election date was changed to April after President Mohamed Muizzu ratified election postponement bill by the People's Majlis pa ...

May

* 10 May – The

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

passed a resolution to grant the

State of Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

the right to be seated among

member states A member state is a state that is a member of an international organization or of a federation or confederation. Since the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) include some members that are not sovereign states ...

in alphabetical order. This will go into effect at the next session of the UN General Assembly on 10 September 2024. * 15 May –

Lee Hsien Loong Lee Hsien Loong (born 10 February 1952) is a Singaporean politician and former military officer who served as the third Prime Minister of Singapore, prime minister of Singapore from 2004 to 2024, thereafter serving as a Senior Minister of S ...

Prime Minister of Singapore The prime minister of Singapore, is the head of government of Singapore. The President of Singapore, president appoints the prime minister on the advice and consent of the Cabinet of Singapore. The incumbent prime minister is Lawrence Wong, ...

since 2004, is succeeded by former

Deputy Prime Minister A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...

Lawrence Wong Lawrence Wong Shyun Tsai. In this Chinese name, the Chinese surname, family name is Huang (surname), Wong. In accordance with custom, the Western-style name is Lawrence Wong and the Chinese-style name is Wong Shyun Tsai. (born 18 December 197 ...

as prime minister, ahead of the next general election in 2025. * 19 May – Iranian President

Ebrahim Raisi Ebrahim Raisolsadati (14 December 1960 – 19 May 2024), better known as Ebrahim Raisi, was an Iranian politician who served as the eighth president of Iran from 2021 until 2024 Varzaqan helicopter crash, his death in a helicopter crash in 202 ...

and Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian were killed, along with seven other passengers and crew, in a

helicopter crash A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

near the

Azerbaijan–Iran border The Azerbaijan–Iran border (, ) is 689 km (428 mi) in length and consists of two non-contiguous sections separated by the 44-km long Armenia–Iran border. Description Western (Nakchivan) section The border starts in the north-west at t ...

. * 22 May –

May 2024 Vietnamese presidential election An indirect presidential election was held in Vietnam on 22 May 2024. The election took place just one year after the 2023 election of President Võ Văn Thưởng, who resigned on 20 March 2024 as part of a broad anti-corruption purge led b ...

June

* 9–26 June –

2024 Thai Senate election Senate elections were held in Thailand from 9 to 26 June 2024, the first of its kind under the 2017 constitution of Thailand, 2017 Constitution. Under the Constitution, the transitional Senate of Thailand expired on 10 May 2024. Afterwards, the ...

* 23 June – 2024 Hajj disaster: More than 1,300 people are reported to have died due to extreme heat during the annual

Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

pilgrimage in

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

, Saudi Arabia. * 28 June **

2024 Iranian presidential election Early presidential elections in Iran were held on 28 June and 5 July 2024 following 2024 Varzaqan helicopter crash, the death of incumbent president Ebrahim Raisi in a 2024 Varzaqan helicopter crash, helicopter crash on 19 May. Four candidates ...

(first round). ** 2024 Mongolian parliamentary election.

July

* 5 July –

Masoud Pezeshkian Masoud Pezeshkian (, ; born 29 September 1954) is an Iranian politician and physician who has been serving as the ninth president of Iran since 28 July 2024. Pezeshkian served as governor of Piranshahr and Naghadeh counties and was elected to ...

is elected

president of Iran The president of the Islamic Republic of Iran () is the head of government of the Iran, Islamic Republic of Iran and the second highest-ranking official, after the Supreme Leader of Iran, supreme leader. The 1980 Iranian presidential election, fi ...

. * 15 July –

2024 Syrian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Syria on 15 July 2024. The date was set by a decree issued by President Bashar al-Assad on 11 May 2024. 250 members were elected to serve a four-year term in the People's Assembly. Under the Ba'ath party, ...

* 19 July – 75 people are killed during the

2024 Bangladesh quota reform movement The 2024 Bangladesh quota reform movement was a series of anti-government and pro-democracy protests in Bangladesh, spearheaded primarily by Universities in Bangladesh, university students. Initially focused on restructuring Quota system of B ...

. The

government of Bangladesh The government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh () is the central government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Constitution of Bangladesh comprising the executive (the president, prime minister and cabinet), the ...

imposes a curfew. * 23 July –

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

brokers a unity agreement between rival

Palestinian Palestinians () are an Arab ethnonational group native to the Levantine region of Palestine. *: "Palestine was part of the first wave of conquest following Muhammad's death in 632 CE; Jerusalem fell to the Caliph Umar in 638. The indigenous p ...

factions

Fatah Fatah ( ; ), formally the Palestinian National Liberation Movement (), is a Palestinian nationalist and Arab socialist political party. It is the largest faction of the confederated multi-party Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and ...

and

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

to form a single government. * 30 July **At least 334 people are killed, over 200 injured and 281 missing following

landslides Landslides, also known as landslips, rockslips or rockslides, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, mudflows, shallow or deep-seated slope failures and debris flows. Landslide ...

Wayanad district Wayanad () is a district in the north-east of the Indian state of Kerala, with its administrative headquarters at the municipality of Kalpetta. It is the only plateau in Kerala. The Wayanad Plateau forms a continuation of the Mysore Plateau, ...

, Kerala, India. **Israel carries out an airstrike in the

Dahieh Dahieh (, ) is a predominantly Shia Muslim suburb in the south of Beirut, in the Baabda District of Lebanon. It has a minority of Sunni Muslims, Christians, and a Palestinian refugee camp with 20,000 inhabitants. It is a residential and commerc ...

suburb of

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

, killing

Hezbollah Hezbollah ( ; , , ) is a Lebanese Shia Islamist political party and paramilitary group. Hezbollah's paramilitary wing is the Jihad Council, and its political wing is the Loyalty to the Resistance Bloc party in the Lebanese Parliament. I ...

commander Fuad Shukr, who it accused of ordering the Majdal Shams attack. * 31 July –

Ismail Haniyeh Ismail Haniyeh (, ; 29 January 1962 – 31 July 2024) was a Palestinian politician who served as third chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau from May 2017 until Assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, his assassination in July 2024. He also served as ...

, the political leader of

, is assassinated at his residence in

Tehran Tehran (; , ''Tehrân'') is the capital and largest city of Iran. It is the capital of Tehran province, and the administrative center for Tehran County and its Central District (Tehran County), Central District. With a population of around 9. ...

, Iran.

August

*1 August – 2024 American–Russian prisoner exchange: Twenty-six individuals are released from

Ankara Esenboğa Airport Ankara Esenboğa Airport is an international airport of Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. In 2024, the airport has served more than 12 million passengers in total, 9 million of which were domestic passengers. It ranked 4th in terms of total p ...

in a prisoner exchange between the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. *5 August –

Prime Minister of Bangladesh The prime minister of Bangladesh (, : Bāṅlādēśēr Prôdhānmôntrī), officially prime minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh (, : Gôṇôprôjātôntrī Bāṅlādēśēr Prôdhānmôntrī), is the head of government of the Ba ...

announces her resignation and flees to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

following nationwide protests. *6 August –

Yahya Sinwar Yahya Ibrahim Hassan Sinwar (; 29 October 1962 – 16 October 2024) was a Palestinian militant and politician who served as chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau from August 2024, and as the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip from February ...

, Hamas' leader in the

Gaza Strip The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. I ...

, is appointed as the chairman of Hamas' political bureau. *7 August – The

Move Forward Party The Move Forward Party (MFP; , ) was a major social democratic and progressive political party in Thailand. It was the second incarnation of the progressive Future Forward Party, which was founded in 2018 and dissolved by the Constitutional C ...

is dissolved and

Pita Limjaroenrat Pita Limjaroenrat (, ; born 5 September 1980), nicknamed Tim (, ), is a Thai businessman and former politician. A former member of the House of Representatives (Thailand), House of Representatives, he previously served as leader of the Move For ...

, alongside other senior politicians from the party, are banned from politics by the

Constitutional Court of Thailand The Constitutional Court (, , ), officially the Constitutional Court of the Kingdom of Thailand, is a Thai court created by the 1997 constitution with jurisdiction over the constitutionality of parliamentary acts, royal decrees, draft legisl ...

. *8 August – Nobel laureate

Muhammad Yunus Muhammad Yunus (born 28 June 1940) is a Bangladeshi economist, entrepreneur, and civil society leader who has been serving as the Chief Adviser of Bangladesh, Chief Adviser of the Interim government of Muhammad Yunus, interim Yunus ministry, g ...

assumes office as Chief Adviser of an

interim government A provisional government, also called an interim government, an emergency government, a transitional government or provisional leadership, is a temporary government formed to manage a period of transition, often following state collapse, revolut ...

formed after Sheikh Hasina's resignation in Bangladesh. *14 August – The

dismisses the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Srettha Thavisin Srettha Thavisin (, , ; born 15 February 1962) is a Thai businessman and former politician who served as the 30th Prime Minister of Thailand from 2023

for illegally appointing a minister to his cabinet who had a prison sentence.

Paetongtarn Shinawatra Paetongtarn Shinawatra (, , ; born 21 August 1986) is a Thai politician who is the 31st prime minister of Thailand since 2024 and leader of the Pheu Thai Party since 2023. A member of the Shinawatra family, she is the youngest child of the 23rd ...

succeeds him as Prime Minister of Thailand. *17 August –

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania, between the Indian Ocean, Indian and Pacific Ocean, Pacific oceans. Comprising over List of islands of Indonesia, 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, ...

's 79th

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...

celebration is held in Nusantara. The celebration is supposed to inaugurate Nusantara as the new

capital of Indonesia The capital of Indonesia, officially the capital of the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia (), is Jakarta, one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Southeast Asia. Jakarta, previousl ...

, but this does not occur due to delays. *25 August – The

Israel Defense Forces The Israel Defense Forces (IDF; , ), alternatively referred to by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the national military of the State of Israel. It consists of three service branches: the Israeli Ground Forces, the Israeli Air Force, and ...

begin a series of

preemptive strikes A preemptive war is a war that is commenced in an attempt to repel or defeat a perceived imminent offensive or invasion, or to gain a strategic advantage in an impending (allegedly unavoidable) war ''shortly before'' that attack materializes. I ...

against targets in the south of

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

. *31 August – A helicopter crashed in

Kamchatka Krai Kamchatka Krai (, ) is a federal subjects of Russia, federal subject of Russia (a krai), situated in the Russian Far East. It is administratively part of the Far Eastern Federal District. Its administrative center and largest types of inhabited l ...

, Russia, killing all 22 occupants on board.

September

*10 September –

2024 Jordanian general election General elections were held in Jordan on 10 September 2024 to elect the 20th House of Representatives (Jordan), House of Representatives, the Bicameral legislature, lower house of the Parliament of Jordan. Background On 25 July 2024, King Abdu ...

*17 – 18 September – Thirty-two people are killed and more than 3,200 are injured after

pager A pager, also known as a beeper or bleeper, is a Wireless communication, wireless telecommunications device that receives and displays Alphanumericals, alphanumeric or voice messages. One-way pagers can only receive messages, while response p ...

s and

walkie-talkie A walkie-talkie, more formally known as a handheld transceiver, HT, or handheld radio, is a hand-held, portable, two-way radio transceiver. Its development during the Second World War has been variously credited to Donald Hings, radio engineer A ...

s used by

militants and medics explode in two massive cyberattacks.

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

is the presumed perpetrator. *20 September – Israel assassinates Hezbollah leader Ibrahim Aqil and ten other senior leaders in

following an intensification of fighting between Israel and Hezbollah in the wake of the pager explosions that occurred earlier in the week. *21 September –

2024 Sri Lankan presidential election Presidential elections were held in Sri Lanka on 21 September 2024. Incumbent President of Sri Lanka, president Ranil Wickremesinghe ran for re-election as an Independent politician, independent candidate, making him the first sitting president ...

Anura Kumara Dissanayake Anura Kumara Dissanayake (born 24 November 1968), commonly referred to by his initials AKD, is a Sri Lankan politician who has been the tenth and current president of Sri Lanka since 2024. Dissanayake is the first Sri Lankan president to be ele ...

is elected

President of Sri Lanka The president of Sri Lanka ( ''Śrī Laṅkā Janādhipati''; ''Ilaṇkai janātipati'') is the head of state and head of government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. The president is the chief executive of the union governm ...

, with a second round of vote counting held for the first time in Sri Lanka's history. * 23 September – The deadliest day of the

Hezbollah–Israel conflict Hezbollah, a Shia Islamism, Shia Islamist political party and militant organization that was established in Lebanon in 1985, has been involved in a long-running conflict with Israel as part of the Iran–Israel proxy conflict and the Israeli–Le ...

since 2006 occurs, with 569 people killed and 1,835 wounded by Israeli airstrikes in Lebanon. * 27 September – The

Israeli Air Force The Israeli Air Force (IAF; , commonly known as , ''Kheil HaAvir'', "Air Corps") operates as the aerial and space warfare branch of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). It was founded on May 28, 1948, shortly after the Israeli Declaration of Indep ...

bombs A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-tra ...

the central headquarters of

in Beirut, killing several people, including

leader

Hassan Nasrallah Hassan Nasrallah (, ; 31 August 196027 September 2024) was a Lebanese cleric and politician who served as the third secretary-general of Hezbollah, a Shia Islamist political party and militia, from 1992 until his assassination in 2024. Bor ...

October

*1 October **The

invade southern

, escalating its conflict against Hezbollah. **The Japanese parliament elects

Shigeru Ishiba Shigeru Ishiba (born 4 February 1957) is a Japanese politician who has served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since 2024. He has been a member of ...

as the new

prime minister of Japan The is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its ministers of state. The prime minister also serves as the commander-in-chief of the Japan Self-Defense Force ...

, with members from the

Liberal Democratic Party Several political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party, Democratic Liberal Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties have usually followed liberalism as ideology, although they can vary widely from very progr ...

forming the majority. Following his appointment, he reveals his cabinet and calls for a snap election on October 27, securing a national mandate. **Iran attacks Israel with ballistic missiles as a response to Israel's assassination of Hassan Nasrallah and Ismail Haniyeh. * 6 October – The

2024 Kazakh nuclear power referendum A referendum on the construction of the first nuclear power plant in Kazakhstan took place on 6 October 2024. The initiative was aimed at reducing fossil fuel reliance, curbing greenhouse gas emissions and bolstering national electricity genera ...

is held and approved. *16 October –

, leader of Hamas, is killed in a gunfight with Israeli forces in

Rafah Rafah ( ) is a city in the southern Gaza Strip, Palestine, and the capital of the Rafah Governorate. It is located south-west of Gaza City. In 2017, Rafah had a population of 171,889. Due to the Gaza war, about 1.4 million people from Gaza C ...

. * 21 October –

October 2024 Vietnamese presidential election An indirect presidential election was held in Vietnam on 21 October 2024. The election took place just five months after the May 2024 election of President Tô Lâm who has since been appointed as the general secretary of the Communist Party of ...

: The

National Assembly of Vietnam The National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (N.A.; ) is the Unicameralism, unicameral parliament and the highest body of state power of Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Vietnam. The National Assembly is the only branch of governmen ...

elects

Lương Cường Lương Cường (; born 15 August 1957) is a Vietnamese politician and former army General officer, general who is currently serving as the 14th president of Vietnam since October 2024. He also served as the permanent Member of the Secretariat s ...

as the new

president of Vietnam The president of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam () is the head of state of Vietnam, elected by the National Assembly of Vietnam from its delegates. Since Vietnam is a one-party state, candidates for the post are nominated by the Central Commit ...

. He replaced

Tô Lâm Tô Lâm (; born 10 July 1957) is a Vietnamese politician and former police officer who has served as General Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam, general secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) since August 2024 and the 13th p ...

, who was formally appointed as the general secretary of the Communist Party. * 27 October **

2024 Japanese general election General elections were held in Japan on 27 October 2024 due to the early dissolution of the House of Representatives (Japan), House of Representatives, the lower house of the National Diet, by Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba. Voting took place in ...

: The governing LDP loses its parliamentary majority for the first time since 2009, but still wins the most seats. The CDP wins its best result in party history. **

2024 Uzbek parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held on Uzbekistan on 27 October 2024 to elect members of the Legislative Chamber of Uzbekistan, Legislative Chamber. Electoral system The 150 members of the Legislative Chamber of Uzbekistan, Legislative Chamber a ...

November

* 9 November – A suicide bombing at the Quetta railway station in

Balochistan, Pakistan Balochistan (; ; , ) is a province of Pakistan. Located in the southwestern region of the country, Balochistan is the largest province of Pakistan by land area but is the least populated one. It is bordered by the Pakistani provinces of Khybe ...

kills at least 26 people. The bombing was orchestrated by the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), and is the first time that the organization had attacked the center of

Quetta Quetta is the capital and largest city of the Pakistani province of Balochistan. It is the ninth largest city in Pakistan, with an estimated population of over 1.6 million in 2024. It is situated in the south-west of the country, lying in a ...

. * 14 November –

2024 Sri Lankan parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Sri Lanka on 14 November 2024 to elect 225 Member of Parliament (Sri Lanka), members to the new parliament. The 16th Parliament of Sri Lanka was dissolved on 24 September 2024. The submission of nominations ...

National People's Power The National People's Power (NPP), known in Sinhala language, Sinhala as Jathika Jana Balawegaya (JJB), is a left-wing politics, left-wing Electoral alliance, political alliance in Sri Lanka. It is the current ruling party of Government of Sri ...

coalition wins a

supermajority A supermajority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority rules in a democracy can help to prevent a majority from eroding fun ...

in the

17th Parliament of Sri Lanka The 17th Parliament of Sri Lanka, known officially as the 10th Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is the current Parliament of Sri Lanka, with its membership determined by the results of the 2024 Sri Lankan parliamen ...

. * 26 November – Israeli Prime Minister

Benjamin Netanyahu Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...

announces that a ceasefire deal has been agreed to end fighting with

in Lebanon. * 30 November – Syrian civil war: Opposition forces seize control of most of

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

, prompting the first Russian airstrikes on the city since 2016.

December

* 3 December –

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

declares

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

during a late-night address broadcast live on YTN television, accusing the country's main opposition Democratic Party of sympathizing with

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...

and engaging in anti-state activities. The martial law was lifted by the National Assembly the following day. * 8 December – Syrian civil war:

President of Syria The president of Syria (), officially the president of the Syrian Arab Republic, is the head of state and head of government of Syria. The president directs the executive branch and serves as the commander-in-chief of the Syrian Army and Syrian ...

Bashar al-Assad Bashar al-Assad (born 11September 1965) is a Syrian politician, military officer and former dictator Sources characterising Assad as a dictator: who served as the president of Syria from 2000 until fall of the Assad regime, his government ...

leaves

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

after being overthrown, ending his presidency and the

Ba'athist Syria Ba'athist Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic (SAR), was the Syrian state between 1963 and 2024 under the One-party state, one-party rule of the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region, Syrian regional branch of the Ba'ath Party (Syri ...

regime after a total of 61 years. The

Syrian opposition Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

forms the

Syrian Transitional Government The Syrian transitional government () is the current provisional government of Syria, formed on 29 March 2025 under President Ahmed al-Sharaa. It succeeded the Syrian caretaker government headed by Mohammed al-Bashir. The government was ...

as a provisional government. * 12 December –

chess prodigy Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves no hidden information and no elements of chance. It is played on a square board consisting of 64 squares arranged in an 8×8 grid. The players, referred to ...

Gukesh Dommaraju Gukesh Dommaraju (born 29 May 2006) is an Indian chess grandmaster and the reigning World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, Gukesh is the youngest undisputed world champion, the youngest player to have surpassed a FIDE rating of 2750, doing s ...

defeats former world champion

Ding Liren Ding Liren ( zh, c=丁立人; born 24October 1992) is a Chinese chess grandmaster who was the 17th World Chess Champion from 2023–24. He is also a three-time Chinese Chess Champion, was a member of the Chinese chess teams that won the Chess ...

in the 2024 World Chess Championship, breaking the previous age record of 22 set by

Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born Garik Kimovich Weinstein on 13 April 1963) is a Russian Grandmaster (chess), chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion (1985–2000), political activist and writer. His peak FIDE chess Elo rating system, ra ...

by becoming champion at 18 years, 195 days old. * 14 December **

2024 Georgian presidential election Presidential elections were held in Georgia on 14 December 2024. Following amendments to the constitution and Georgia's transition to the parliamentary republic in 2017, which led to the drastic reduction to the presidential powers, this was th ...

Mikheil Kavelashvili Mikheil Kavelashvili ( ka, მიხეილ ყაველაშვილი ; born 22 July 1971) is a Georgian politician and former professional footballer who was sworn in as the sixth president of Georgia on 29 December 2024. His electio ...

of People's Power is elected unopposed. ** South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol's powers and duties are suspended after MPs vote to

impeach Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Euro ...

him, following his

declaration the previous week. * 27 December – Acting

President of South Korea The president of the Republic of Korea (), also known as the president of South Korea (), is the head of state and head of government of South Korea. The president directs the executive branch of the Government of South Korea, government and is ...

Han Duck-soo Han Duck-soo (; born 18June 1949) is a South Korean diplomat, economist, and politician who served as the acting president of South Korea in December 2024 and from March to May 2025 and as the prime minister of South Korea from 2007 to 2008 an ...

impeached Impeachment is a process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In Eu ...

by MPs for failing to promulgate two bills related to president Yoon's legal proceedings. He is succeeded by deputy prime minister

Choi Sang-mok Choi Sang-mok (, born 7 June 1963) is a South Korean politician who served as the acting president and acting prime minister of South Korea from December 2024 to March 2025, following the impeachment of Han Duck-soo, which was subsequently over ...

. * 29 December –

Jeju Air Flight 2216 Jeju Air Flight 2216 was a scheduled International flight, international passenger flight operated by Jeju Air from Suvarnabhumi Airport near Bangkok, Thailand, to Muan International Airport in Muan County, South Korea. On 29 December 2024, the ...

, a

Boeing 737-800 The Boeing 737 Next Generation, commonly abbreviated as 737NG, or 737 Next Gen, is a twinjet, twin-engine narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Launched in 1993 as the third-generation derivative of the Boeing 737, it ha ...

passenger flight from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport in

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estim ...

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

, to

Muan International Airport Muan International Airport is an international airport in Muan County, South Jeolla Province, South Korea. Construction of the airport began in 1997, and the airport opened on 9 November 2007. The airport serves the province of South Jeolla, esp ...

in Muan, South Korea, veered off the runway at Muan International Airport and crashed into a barrier, killing at least 179 people. Two injured survivors were reported.

References

{{Year in Asia, 2024 Years of the 21st century in Asia 2020s in Asia