Here’s What Happened Around The World In November 2024
Here’s what happened around the world in November 2024
1. New Zealand’s youngest Māori MP led a haka in parliament and tore up a bill to roll back Indigenous rights
Māori lawmakers disrupted New Zealand’s parliament and performed a haka – a traditional Māori war dance and chant – to protest a controversial bill that would change the Treaty of Waitangi.
This treaty, signed in 1840, is a foundational document between the British Crown and more than 500 Māori leaders, promising Indigenous Māori people rights over their land and culture in return for British governance.
The new bill, proposed by the ACT New Zealand party, a junior partner in the country's center-right coalition government, suggests that these rights should extend to all New Zealanders.
Many Māori, who represent about 20% of the country’s population, fear this would weaken their historic rights.
On Thursday, Nov. 14, just as the MPs were about to vote on the bill, the country’s youngest MP, 22-year-old Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, from the Te Pāti Māori party, began a haka in protest.
She also tore up a copy of the bill as she began to chant the haka, drawing support from her party members, opposition lawmakers and spectators in the public gallery, who all joined in the haka, according to the Time.
2. This Iranian woman student stripped to her underwear to protest “morality” police harassing her over her hijab
An Iranian woman student stripped down to her underwear at a university in Iran on Saturday, Nov. 2, to protest against the “morality” police harassing her for not wearing the hijab “properly”.
A video shared on social media showed a woman student sitting and walking in her underwear at the campus of Tehran's Islamic Azad University.
A student group on Telegram, Amir Kabir Newsletter, reported that the student acted in protest after being harassed and assaulted for not wearing a headscarf, adding that the security forces had torn her clothes, according to Iran International news agency.
The Amir Kabir Newsletter also reported that the student was subjected to severe physical assault during her arrest, her head struck either a car door or a pillar, which caused heavy bleeding.
3. Hong Kong jailed 45 pro-democracy activists for trying to take part in the 2020 election
Hong Kong has jailed 45 pro-democracy activists between four and 10 years for trying to take part in the election in 2020.
They are part of 47 activists and lawmakers who were trying to select pro-democracy candidates to take part in the legislative election in July 2020.
They were arrested in January 2021 under the national security law for “conspiracy to commit subversion” or trying to overthrow the government, and detained for more than three years.
On Tuesday, Nov. 19, the court found the activists “were trying to paralyse Hong Kong’s government” and handed out four to 10 year jail sentences.
4. In a lightning offensive, Syrian rebels seized control of most of Aleppo city from the regime
Syrian rebels have taken control of most of Aleppo, the country’s second largest city, from the regime in a lightning offensive.
President Bashar Al-Assad’s regime has been in a civil war with rebels since 2011.
Aleppo has been controlled by the regime since 2016, but on Nov. 27, rebels launched a surprise offensive from the northwest.
Led by islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), they reached Aleppo in just three days.
Syria and its ally Russia then launched airstrikes on Aleppo to try stop the offensive, but rebels reportedly faced little resistance on the ground.
As of Nov. 30, HTS and allied factions had seized most of Aleppo.
The shock attack was the biggest challenge to Assad's regime in years.
5. Young people in Botswana voted out the 58-year ruling party and elected a human rights lawyer to lead
People in Botswana have voted out the ruling party that had been in power for nearly 60 years and elected a human rights lawyer as its president.
The Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) had ruled the country for 58 years since Botswana gained independence from Britain in 1966.
But on Wednesday Oct. 30, the opposition party, the Umbrella for Democratic Change (UDC), obtained a majority of seats in the general election, gaining 26 seats in parliament, while the BDP obtained only three seats, according to local news.
The leader of the UDC, 54-year-old human rights lawyer and Harvard Law school graduate Duma Boko, is set to become the new president.
6. Colombia finally passed a law to ban child marriage
Colombia has finally passed a law to ban child marriage.
A loophole in the law had allowed children aged 14 and older to marry as long as they had their parent’s consent.
As a result, about 23% of girls were married before they are 18.
But on Wednesday Nov. 13, lawmakers approved a bill to ban children under 18 from getting married.
7. Rich countries agreed on a deal of $300 billion per year to fight climate change, short of $1 trillion needed
COP29 climate negotiations held in Baku, Azerbaijan, finally concluded 33 hours late with a significant but controversial climate finance deal.
The deal was reached on Sunday, Nov. 24, a day after the talks were supposed to end. It stipulates that developed, richer nations will provide US$300 billion annually by 2035 to assist developing countries in coping with climate change impacts and transitioning to renewable energy sources.
While the new deal triples the previous commitment of US$100 billion per year, it has been met with skepticism and criticism regarding its sufficiency and urgency.
Many representatives from developing nations have labeled this figure as grossly inadequate, arguing it falls far short of the estimated US$1.3 trillion needed to efficiently tackle the impacts of climate change and support sustainable development.
8. Australia became the first country in the world to ban social media for children under 16
Australia has become the first country in the world to ban children under 16 from using social media.
The move comes after the government expressed concerns about how social media negatively affects children's mental and physical health.
The law, passed on Wednesday, Nov. 28, requires social media companies like TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and X to take "reasonable steps" to prevent children under 16 from creating accounts.
However, apps for messaging, online gaming and educational services are not affected by the ban.
The new law will not punish children or parents who break the rules and instead place the responsibility on social media companies.
If social media companies fail to comply with the rules, they could face large fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars (US$32 million).
9. This Irish woman sued MMA fighter Conor McGregor for raping and beating her and won
A 35-year-old Irish woman named Nikita Hand has gained significant attention after she sued MMA fighter Conor McGregor for raping and beating her and won.
Hand said McGregor raped her in a hotel in Dublin on Dec. 9, 2018 after a Christmas party where Hand and a friend were picked up by McGregor, who shared cocaine with them during the ride to the hotel, according to AP.
Hand testified that she repeatedly told McGregor she did not want to have sex and that she was on her period.
However, he allegedly restrained her on the bed, placed her in a chokehold and threatened her life during the assault.
The trial ended in November 2024, and the jury concluded that McGregor was liable for assault and awarded Hand approximately US$257,000 in damages, affirming the sexual assault.
10. People in Georgia held huge protests after the government suspended talks to join the EU
People in Georgia are holding mass protests after the government suspended talks to join the EU until 2028.
The protest has been ongoing for four days as of Dec. 2, with police violently cracking down on protesters with water cannons and tear gas and arresting at least 220 people.
On Nov. 28, Georgia’s prime minister said it will pause EU talks until 2028.
This comes after the EU rejected the country's election results from October, when Georgian Dream, the pro-Russia ruling party, won for the fourth time in a row.
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