Here’s What Happened Around The World In August 2023
Take a look back at some of the biggest stories that happened around the world in August 2023.
Take a look back at some of the biggest stories that you may have missed in August 2023.
1. Spain’s football president kissed this woman player on the lips after Spain’s World Cup win and people are furious
People are furious after the president of the Spanish football federation kissed Spanish soccer player, Jennifer Hermoso, on the lips after Spain won the Women’s World Cup.
On Sunday Aug. 20, Spain beat England 1-0 to win the 2023 Women’s World Cup in Sydney, Australia, a first for the country.
Following the win, the players, including Hermoso, went up to receive their medals and congratulations from FIFA President Gianni Infantino, Spain’s Queen Letizia, Infanta Sofía and Spanish Soccer Federation President Luis Rubiales.
In a video of the moment, Rubiales can be seen hugging Hermoso, before grabbing her head and kissing her on the mouth.
He then lets her go with a pat on the back and Hermoso walks away
His actions triggered a debate about toxic masculinity in Spain, as well as the sexism and lack of respect for women’s sports and athletes.
2. Thailand has named a new prime minister but it’s not the young, progressive leader people elected
Thailand’s parliament has approved Srettha Thavisin, a real estate developer, as its prime minister, even though his party did not win the most votes in the general election.
In May, Move Forward, a young progressive opposition party, won a surprise victory, in the election, when voters resoundingly rejected the military party, which had ruled since seizing power in a coup in 2014.
Despite winning the majority of votes, Pita still required the approval of the full National Assembly.
On Tuesday Aug. 22, three months after the election, the parliament approved Thavisin as the country’s new prime minister with 482 votes, surpassing the 374 votes he needed to secure a majority.
After the election results, Pheu Thai had initially agreed to form a coalition with Move Forward but dissolved the coalition after Pita’s suspension.
Pheu Thai subsequently formed a new coalition with pro-military parties that support the 2014 junta, betraying a promise it had made to voters that it would keep the military out of politics.
Although Srettha had previously promised to amend Thailand’s lèse majeste law, which jails people for criticizing the monarchy, he has now said the party is opposed to any changes to the law.
However, it is not clear if he will be able to govern effectively given Pheu Thai is in an 11-party coalition, CNN reported.
3. Trans men in Italy are entering the Miss Italy pageant after it banned trans women from competing
Trans men in Italy are entering the Miss Italy pageant after it banned trans women from competing.
After a trans woman was crowned the first trans Miss Netherlands in July, Patrizia Mirigliani, the organizer of the Miss Italy pageant, criticized the Dutch pageant, saying that it was an “absurd strategy to make the news”.
Mirigliani’s comments caused a controversy, but Miss Italy organizers still confirmed that only people who are assigned female at birth can compete.
Federico Barbarossa, a trans man activist, then announced on Instagram that he had successfully registered for Miss Italy as he was assigned female at birth.
Since then, more than 100 trans men have reportedly registered for the competition.
Miss Italy organizers told local media that it had indeed received “some” of these applications.
It confirmed that the men will be eligible to take part in the selection process, starting with local casting.
4. This 16-year-old Nepalese girl died after she was banished to a shed because she was on her period
A 16-year-old girl in Nepal died after she was banished to a shed because she was on her period.
Anita Chand died in Baitadi district on Wednesday Aug. 9 after she was bitten by a snake when she was sleeping in the shed.
The practice, known as chhaupadi, originates from a Hindu superstition that periods carry a curse and girls and women become “impure” when they are menstruating.
As a result, during their periods, women and girls are banned from participating in daily activities and banished to a “period hut” outside of the house, where they must stay for the duration.
Chand is the first reported death from chhaupadi since 2019, when a 21-year-old woman suffocated to death after she lit a fire to stay warm in the stone hut.
Local police are now investigating Chand’s death, although her family have denied that Chand was on her period when she died.
5. Beijing has been hit by its deadliest flooding in a century and the videos look unreal
Typhoon Doksuri wreaked havoc in Bejing, China, and its neighboring Hebei province, causing devastating flooding.
21 people are confirmed deaths and 26 people still missing, according to AP.
Between July 29 and August 2, the Chinese capital’s Meteorological Bureau recorded 744.8 millimeters of rainfall, shattering a 140-year-old record of 609 millimeters set in 1891.
Last year’s total rainfall in Beijing barely reached 500 millimeters.
The torrential downpour destroyed roads, submerged vehicles, caused power outages, and contaminated drinking water, with rivers rising to dangerous levels.
Zhuozhou, a small city southwest of Bejing in Hebei, suffered the worst impact, with nearly one-sixth of its population forced to seek safety elsewhere.
Meanwhile, over 1.2 million people in Hebei were relocated, according to Reuters.
6. This Somali runner was so slow to finish an international 100-meter race and people have questions
Somalia has suspended the chairwoman of its athletics federation after a seemingly untrained and non-athlete runner took part in an international university sport competition.
The incident occurred during the third heat of the first round for the women’s 100-meter race at the International University Sports Federation’s (FISU) Summer World University Games in China on Tuesday, Aug 1.
In a video that has now gone viral, the woman runner, Nasro Abukar Ali, is left behind, out of frame, almost immediately as she is outpaced by her fellow competitors before the camera pans back to capture her jogging across the finish line with a celebratory hop skip.
Ali finished with a time of 21.81 seconds, more than 10 seconds slower than heat winner Gabriela Silva of Brazil.
A statement released by the Sports Ministry said that preliminary investigations found that Ali is not a “sports person nor a runner”.
Reports suggested that Ali had been chosen to compete as she is related to Khadijo Aden Dahir, the chairman of the Somali Athletics Federation who was suspended.
The sports ministry said Dahir had “defamed the name of Somalia on the international arena” through abuse of power and nepotism”.
It said it plans to pursue legal action.
7. Hawaii’s worst wildfires have killed at least 99 people and the before and after looks unreal
Since Aug. 8, three wildfires have ravaged Hawaii’s West Maui, killing at least 99 people as the desperate search continues.
The blazes have obliterated over 2,200 structures and 2,100 acres of land, including much of Lahaina, a tourist favorite that was once the capital of the Kingdom of Hawaii.
This catastrophe stands as Hawaii’s most devastating natural disaster since the 1960 tsunami, which took 61 lives.
8. Wildfires in Greece are so extreme that they have burned an area larger than New York City
Hundreds of fires are blazing across Greece in what officials are calling the European Union’s most severe wildfire season since 2000.
Among the hundreds of fires that have engulfed the country, one of the largest occurred in Alexandroupolis, a city in the Northern province of Evros, killing at least 20 people, including two children.
Meanwhile, another major wildfire broke out on Mount Parnitha, located to the north of Athens, the nation’s capital.
The wildfires have already burned over 810 square kilometers, an area larger than New York City.
9. Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau slammed meta for blocking news on Canada’s worst wildfires
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called out Meta for blocking news about the nation’s worst wildfires on its platforms during a press conference on Monday Aug. 21.
Canada is currently grappling with its most severe wildfire season ever, with over 1,000 separate fires raging across the country, forcing tens of thousands of families to flee their homes.
However, news about the wildfires is not appearing on Meta’s platforms, including Facebook and Instagram, after the company ended news access for all Canadian users on August 1.
The move came after Canada’s parliament passed a law in June, known as the Online News Act, that demanded tech giants such as Google and Meta share profits with Canadian news publishers for posting content on their platforms.
In response, Meta called the law “fundamentally flawed”, saying that it “ignores the realities of how our platforms work” and ended news access for Canadian users.
“It is so inconceivable that a company like Facebook is choosing to put corporate profits ahead of ensuring that local news organizations can get up-to-date information to Canadians and reach them where Canadians spend a lot of their time — online, on social media, on Facebook,” Trudeau said.
“Right now, in an emergency situation, where up-to-date local information is more important than ever, Facebook’s putting corporate profits ahead of people’s safety, ahead of supporting quality local journalism,” he said. “This is not the time for that.”
10. Women in China are breaking up with their boyfriends after watching “Barbie”
The release of “Barbie” has sparked a deeper discussion about what it means to be a woman in the real world, and this has been no different in China, with women using the movie as a litmus test on their partners.
Women on Chinese social media have reported seeing men who accompanied their women friends or partners to see “Barbie”, walking out the theater half way through the movie.
A user on Chinese social media Xiaohongshu then came up with a litmus test that helps women determine if their boyfriends are worthy of them.
The “Barbie” litmus test divides men into four categories.
The first categorizes men as “toxic” and “misogynistic” if they hate movie, walk out or criticize the woman director.
The second type of man is the ones who can’t understand “Barbie” and look confused when everyone is laughing – meaning he has “no brain or culture”.
“If a man is willing to watch the “Barbie” movie, understands 50% of the message, walks out of the movie theater and thinks the movie is good and interesting, then he must be a man with normal values and stable emotions,” the user wrote.
Finally, if a man loves “Barbie” and wore pink to see the movie, then he must be a Ken, according to the test.
11. Trans women were banned from women’s chess competitions, sparking a controversy
Chess’ governing body has announced that it is banning trans women from competing in women’s competitions, sparking a controversy.
The International Chess Federation – known as FIDE – announced the decision to temporarily ban trans women on Monday Aug. 14, saying officials will need to conduct a review of the situation before a final decision is made.
The governing bodies of many physical sports are working on policies regarding trans athletes, but chess does not require significant levels of physical activity.
According to FIDE’s announcement, chess players who were assigned male at birth and transition will be banned from competing.
FIDE will then analyze the player’s individual case before making a decision about their participation, according to CNN.
The review process could take up to two years.
The organization also said that trans men who won women’s titles before transitioning would have their titles abolished.
The decision has been criticized by chess players and human rights organizations, with the National Center for Transgender Equality calling them “insulting” to all women and the game itself.
12. Russia’s jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been sentenced to another 19 years in prison
Russia’s jailed main opposition leader Alexei Navalny has been sentenced to another 19 years in prison for “promoting extremism”.
Navalny, who is Russian president Vladimir Putin’s biggest critic, is already in jail, serving a total sentence of 11.5 years.
Russian media reported Navalny would be 74 by the time he got out of prison in 2050, according to Reuters.
13. The Wagner Group leader who led the mutiny against Russia has been killed in a plane crash, Russian officials say
Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Group who led an armed mutiny against Russia’s military, has died in a plane crash, according to Russian officials.
Exactly two months ago, led by Prigozhin, the Wagner private military group, which had been fighting alongside Russia in its invasion of Ukraine, launched a brief armed rebellion.
The mutiny has been widely described as a hit to Putin’s strongman image and the biggest challenge to his 23-year rule.
Prigozhin had purportedly been traveling on a private jet from Moscow to Saint Petersburg on Wednesday Aug. 23 when the plane suddenly crashed.
All seven passengers and three crew members on board were killed, according to Russian aviation officials, who released a list of names including Prigozhin’s and Dmitri Utkin, Wagner’s top commander.
On Aug. 27, Russian authorities said they had officially confirmed Prigozhin’s death through a genetic analysis.
US officials have said both publicly and privately that they are increasingly certain that Putin had ordered Prigozhin’s death.
The Kremlin has denied any involvement with the crash.
14. These South Korean volleyball players went viral for breaking into a dance battle during a match and people loved it
South Korean volleyball player Lee Da-hyun has lit up the internet with a viral video showcasing her dance moves after scoring during a match.
The 22-year-old volleyball player competed at the All-Star Game in early February.
After scoring for her team, Lee started dancing to the TikTok hit “Ting Ting Tang Tang” from Vietnamese singer Hoang Thuy Linh to the audience’s cheers.
To everyone’s surprise, a player from the opposing team, Kim Yeon-koung, also known as the “Queen of Volleyball” and the former Captain of South Korea’s National Team, then responded with her own dance to the delight of the fans.
The dance video of Lee dancing took the internet by storm, with some videos receiving more than 10 million views.
15. 488 golden retrievers met up in Scotland and it looked like heaven on Earth
488 golden retrievers from all around the world gathered in Scotland for their five yearly meeting.
The golden retrievers met up at the ruins of Guisachan House – their ancestral home – in the Scottish Highlands.
There, they left their humans to the sidelines and took took part in a group photo to commemorate the anniversary of the creation of their breed in 1868.
This year’s gathering marked the 155th anniversary of the breed, which was first raised by a Scottish Lord at the site.
The Guishan Gathering this year was the sixth gathering of golden retrievers and also the biggest since it started in 2001.
