Here’s What Happened Around The World In October 2024
Here's what happened around the world in october 2024
1. Parts of Spain were hit by a year’s worth of rain in just eight hours and the videos look unreal
Heavy rain has struck Spain’s eastern region of Valencia, causing catastrophic floods that killed at least 95 people, making it the deadliest flood in decades.
On Tuesday Oct. 29, parts of Valencia were hit by torrential rain and hailstorms, with some regions recording a year’s worth of rain in just eight hours.
The southern region of Spain also received heavy downpour, but the impacts of the storm and floods were not as severe as that in the eastern region.
2. North Korea allegedly sent 3,000 soldiers to fight for Russia
North Korea has allegedly sent 3,000 soldiers to fight for Russia.
On Wednesday Oct. 23, the US national security spokesperson told reporters that evidence showed North Korea had moved troops to military training sites in eastern Russia between early to mid-October.
The US said it is uncertain whether North Korean soldiers will fight alongside the Russian military, but US officials said it is a “highly concerning probability”.
3. This Chinese runner got her period halfway through a marathon but kept running and finished the race
A Chinese woman runner has garnered significant attention on social media after she got her period half way through a marathon but kept going.
25-year-old Li Meizhen, who hails from Fujian in China, was competing in a marathon in Hebei province on Sep. 22, when she suddenly got her period during the 34th kilometer.
Videos showed Li continuing to run despite her thigh being covered with large amounts of menstrual blood.
She ultimately finished the 42-kilometer race.
4. This Indigenous Australian politician heckled King Charles in parliament, yelling “You’re not our king”
King Charles III was heckled by an Indigenous senator during his visit to Australia’s parliament. On Oct. 20, King Charles and his wife, Queen Camilla arrived in Australia for a five-day visit, marking the first time a British monarch had visited the country in more than a decade since Queen Elizabeth’s visit in 2011.
The day after his arrival, on Oct. 21, King Charles gave a speech to Australian lawmakers in the Great Hall of Parliament House in Canberra, addressing key issues, such as climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic.
As he concluded his speech, Lidia Thorpe, an independent Aboriginal senator, heckled him.
She approached the stage and shouted, “this is not your country” and "you committed genocide against our people”.
An emotional Thorpe, who is of DjabWurrung, Gunnai and Gunditjmara descent, also demanded the return of Indigenous lands and recognition of historical wrongs.
5. Two young women in Turkey were murdered within just half an hour of each other and people want justice
Two young women in Turkey were murdered within just half an hour of each other and people are demanding justice.
On Oct. 4, a 19-year-old man named Semih Çelik murdered his ex-girlfriend Ayşenur Halil and his former classmate İkbal Uzuner.
Not long after, at around 4pm, he met with Uzuner, who he murdered and then decapitated, throwing her head over the city walls in the Faith district in Istanbul.
A day after the murders, women and rights groups held a demonstration at Istanbul's city walls, protesting against the rising numbers of women being murdered and calling for justice.
6. The Sahara desert flooded for the first time in 50 years after heavy rainfall and it looks unreal
Parts of the Sahara desert in Morocco experienced flooding for the first time in decades due to heavy rainfall.
Heavy rain fell in dry and arid regions in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya between Sept. 7 and 8 after an “extratropical cyclone” traveled across the northwestern Sahara, according to NASA.
In Morocco, authorities said 10 centimeters (3.9 inches) of rain fell in a 24-hour period in Tagounite, a village south of the capital, Rabat.
Some areas reported rainfall surpassing their annual average of 25 centimeters 10 inches of rain within just two days, according to AP.
“It’s been 30 to 50 years since we’ve had this much rain in such a short space of time,” Morocco’s meteorology director said.
7. Ghana passed a law ensuring women hold 30% of decision-making roles in all public jobs
Ghana has passed a law to ensure women hold 30% of decision-making roles in all public jobs.
That number will then go up to 50% by 2030.
The law, which was first introduced in 1998 and finally passed after nearly 30 years on Sep. 19, will also ban gender-based discrimination, including verbal abuse, as well as stereotyping, discriminating or disqualifying candidates based on their gender.
8. K-pop singer Hanni from NewJeans gave an emotional testimony about being bullied at work to parliament
K-pop singer Hanni from NewJeans called for better treatment of idols at the South Korean parliament on Tuesday Oct. 15.
The 20-year-old Vietnamese-Australian artist gave her testimony to the environment and labor committee of South Korea’s national assembly, which had been holding hearings about workplace bullying and harassment.
During the hearing, she spoke of her own experience as a K-pop artist, recounting a time when a manager told other artists to “ignore her like you didn't see her”.
Currently, artists are not labeled as employees and are not protected by labor laws in South Korea.
"I understood from living in Korea that I have to be polite to older people and that's part of the culture –- but I think it's just disrespectful as a human being to not greet us, regardless of our professional status," she added.
She also shared other instances when she discovered HYBE employees insulting NewJeans in the company’s messaging app and the PR department downplaying their accomplishments.
9. And these Taiwanese people dressed up as cockroaches for Halloween and chased a garbage truck
A group of people in Taiwan have gone viral for their hilariously unconventional choice of a Halloween group costume – an intrusion of cockroaches.
The cockroaches appeared during the annual Halloween party in the capital, Taipei, on the evening of Saturday Oct. 26.
In a video that has since gained more than 1.8 million views on Threads, the people cockroaches were seen swarming a rubbish truck as it stopped on the side of the street, followed by two men dressed as flies, as well as a third person dressed as a box of cockroach repellent.
You Might Also Be Interested In
Isha Jain
Isha Jain
Kassy Cho
