Here’s What Happened Around The World In September 2023
Take a look back at some of the biggest stories that you may have missed in September 2023.
Take a look back at some of the biggest stories that you may have missed in September 2023.
1. Over 5,000 people have been killed and entire neighborhoods swept to sea in Libya’s most disastrous flood
Catastrophic flooding has ravaged Libya and killed at least 5,000 people following torrential downpour caused by Storm Daniel, which struck the country’s East coast on Sunday, Sep. 10.
The staggering death toll resulted from the collapse of two dams and four bridges, according to the BBC.
Most victims either died from drowning or collapsed structures as ruthless currents engulfed neighborhoods in whole and swept residents into the Mediterranean Sea.
Meanwhile, an estimated 10,000 Libyans are currently missing, according to The International Red Cross.
Neighboring countries such as Turkey and the United Arab Emirates have dispatched rescue teams to assist Libya’s affected zones.
2. Mexico decriminalized abortion
Mexico’s Supreme Court has decriminalized abortion, becoming the latest country to do so in Latin America.
12 out of 32 states in Mexico have decriminalized abortion, but the Supreme Court decriminalized it across the whole country Wednesday Sep. 6.
In its ruling, the high court found that Mexico’s laws making abortion a crime are unconstitutional because they violate the rights of women and girls.
It ordered abortion be removed from the penal code, meaning that federal public health institutions will be required to offer abortion to anyone who requests it.
The move comes two years after the Supreme Court voted in 2021 to strike down a law in the northern state of Coahuila that criminalized abortion, finding it unconstitutional.
3. Multiple girls were gang raped in two separate cases in Italy and people are demanding justice
Furious Italians took to the streets to show solidarity and demand justice after two separate cases of gang rape against teenage girls came to light in July.
In one case, a 19-year-old woman was allegedly gang-raped by seven men aged between 18 and 22 in Palermo, Sicily, in July.
The seven men, including a minor who later turned 18, have since been arrested and an investigation is ongoing.
In the other case, two girl cousins, aged 10 and 12, were allegedly repeatedly raped by a group of six teen boys, aged between 11 and 19, over several months.
The girls have since been moved to a foster home, and an investigation is ongoing.
Italy’s far-right, first woman prime minister Giorgia Meloni paid a visit to Caviano on Thursday Aug. 31, when she called the crime “barbaric” but did not speak about the incident from a women’s rights perspective.
She also did not address comments made by her partner, Andrea Giambruno, a TV presenter, that blamed the 19-year-old woman victim in the Palermo case.
4. A magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck Morocco and more than 2,000 people are dead
More than 2,000 people have been killed and another more than 2,000 people have been injured after a powerful earthquake struck Morocco on Friday Sep. 8.
The 6.8 magnitude earthquake struck at 11:11 pm local time in the High Atlas Mountains, southwest of Marrakesh, a popular tourist destination.
Authorities said the quake was the biggest to hit the area in more than 100 years. It was felt as far as Spain and Algeria.
Authorities said most of the casualties had been in the mountainous areas, and at least 1,400 of the injured are in critical condition.
Some of the buildings in Marrakesh’s old city, which is a UNESCO World Heritage site, collapsed, including the minaret of a mosque and various parts of the old city’s famous historical wall.
5. Spain’s football president has finally resigned after he forcibly kissed a woman player
Luis Rubiales, the president of Spain’s football federation, has finally announced he will resign after sparking an uproar when he forcibly kissed a woman player on the lips following the country’s Women’s World Cup win in August.
Rubiales caused a public uproar when he kissed Spanish woman player Jennifer Hermoso on the lips without her consent at the medal ceremony after the team’s World Cup win on Aug. 20.
In a video, Rubiales can be seen hugging soccer player, Jennifer Hermoso, before grabbing her head and kissing her on the lips.
His actions caused an uproar, with women taking to the streets in support of Hermoso, who said she had not consented to the kiss.
Despite mounting calls for him to resign, Rubiales had initially refused, calling the kiss “spontaneous, mutual, euphoric and consented” at a press conference, where he said he was the victim of a “witch hunt” by “false feminists”, according to AP.
A day later, FIFA suspended Rubiales for 90 days and opened disciplinary proceedings against him.
On Friday Sep. 8, Spanish prosecutors opened an sexual assault case against Rubiales after Hermoso filed a formal complaint.
Finally on Sunday Sep. 10, in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, Rubiales wrote that he had tendered his resignation.
6. This Malaysian girl films herself dancing on the London subway and her confidence is truly inspiring
A young woman in London has taken TikTok by storm with her selfie videos of her dancing on the London subway.
22-year-old Sabrina Bahsoon, now widely known as Tube Girl, went viral for her first video in mid-August, which has gained over 7.8 million views.
In her videos, she films herself dancing and singing along to music while commuting on the London Tube while swirling the camera around.
Bahsoon – who was raised in Malaysia and moved to the UK to study law – said it all started with a “no” when she asked a passenger to help her film but was refused.
However, she was determined and decided to do it alone.
Bahsoon dances totally unbothered by other passengers and has quickly become an inspirational icon for TikTok users with her confidence and “delulu” attitude.
“I love dancing, I love music. To be honest the Tube itself is not the most glamorous place to spend your time. And because I spend so much time on it, music is my outlet,” Bahsoon told the BBC. “So honestly it’s just what I would do even if I wasn’t filming.”
#TubeGirl has now turned into a trend, as others were inspired to film their own version of the video on public transit.
7. This Indonesian woman was jailed for eating pork after reciting an Islamic prayer
An Indonesian woman TikToker has been sentenced to two years in prison for posting a TikTok video in which she recited an Islamic phrase before eating pork.
33-year-old Lina Lutfiawati, known as Lina Mukherjee on TikTok, was found guilty of “inciting hate” against religion and was fined 250 million rupiah (US$16,245).
In the video she posted in March, she said “Bismillah” – which means “in the name of god” – before eating crispy pork skin. Indonesia is one of the largest Muslim-majority countries, and eating pork is strictly prohibited in Islam.
The TikToker said she was traveling in Bali, the only place in Indonesia with a majority Hindu population, and she tried pork just out of curiosity.
The video gained millions of views, and many criticized her for “knowingly eating pork skin” as a Muslim. Many conservative groups across the country also called the video blasphemous.
Police charged Lutfiawati in May for disseminating hateful information, saying it was an act of hostility over ethnicity, religion and race, according to BBC.
8. A man grabbed this Spanish woman reporter’s butt while she was on live TV and people are furious
An incident where a Spanish journalist was groped by a man while she was reporting live on TV has prompted outrage in the country against gender violence.
Isa Balado was reporting on a store robbery in the capital, Madrid, for the Spanish news program ‘En boca de todos’, on Tuesday, Sep. 12, when a man approached her from behind and grabbed her butt.
The police have since detained the man, according to a post published on their social media.
Hundreds of people, including Spain’s equality minister Irene Montero, have expressed their support for Balado and condemned the man’s conduct on social media.
Under Spain’s new “only yes means yes law”, which passed on August 2022, street harassment that leads to humiliation, hostility or intimidation of a person will be penalized.
9. Iran jailed these two women journalists allegedly for reporting on the Mahsa Amini protests
A court in Iran has found two women journalists guilty of “conspiracy” and “collusion” and sentenced them to a month in prison, local media reported on Sunday Sep. 3.
Elnaz Mohammadi worked for the Iranian reformist news portal Ham-Mihan, while Negin Bagheri is also a women’s rights activist.
Their sentences come as Iran cracks down on journalists who reported on mass, anti-government protests that rocked the country following the death of Mahsa Amini.
Mohammadi and Bagheri were initially detained then later released in February and on trial for “collaborating with hostile foreign entities”, Mohammadi’s lawyer told Iran International.
The two were cleared of the charges on Sep. 3 but sentenced to a three-year partially suspended prison sentence, Mohammadi’s lawyer told Iran International.
This means that after serving a month in prison, the two will be released on probation for five years.
10. Irish gymnastics officials skipped this Black girl gymnast at a medal ceremony and people are furious
Gymnastics Ireland has issued a public apology after a video of one of its officials snubbing a black girl during a medal ceremony in 2022 went viral, sparking international outrage.
In March 2022, a video showed a judge ignoring the only Black girl in a line of young gymnasts during a medal ceremony at an event in Dublin.
The video recently went viral, gaining more than 50 million views on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Following the backlash, Gymnastics Ireland issued a statement on Friday Sep. 22 saying that it had received a complaint about the incident at the time and entered mediations with the family.
It said that it launched an investigation, and the official “accepted fully that what had happened had not been acceptable but stressed that it had not been intentional”.
It said that the official realized their mistake and ensured the girl was presented with her medal before she left.
The statement said the two parties reached a resolution in August 2023.
But the girl’s mother told the The Irish Independent the complaint had not been settled and they believe Gymnastics Ireland was covering for the official.
She said that the written apology they received was not genuine as it was addressed to “to whom it concerns”.
On Monday Sep. 25, Gymnastics Ireland issued a public apology, saying “What happened on the day should not have happened and for that we are deeply sorry,” it said.
“We know now we need to do more. We are committed to ensuring nothing like this will happen again,”
11. Brazil’s top court ruled to protect this Indigenous group’s right to their ancestral land
In a historic moment on Thursday Sep. 21, Brazil’s top court has ruled to protect this Indigenous group’s right to their ancestral land, setting a precedent for the country’s hundreds of Indigenous land claims.
In 2009, the Santa Catarina state, backed by tobacco farmers, ordered the Indigenous Xokleng people to leave their land.
The state government argued that Indigenous people could only claim their land if they proved that they were occupying the land when Brazil passed its constitution in 1988.
The Xokleng were then evicted in 2013 after they were unable to provide proof because they had been forced off their lands decades earlier.
But on Thursday Sep. 21, 9 out of 11 judges ruled that Indigenous lands are protected under the constitution even if they have not been legally defined – or demarcated.
Only two judges voted against the Indigenous people, and they had both been appointed by far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro, who attacked Indigenous rights during his rule.
The ruling now legally serves as a precedent for future Indigenous land recognition cases, including more than 300 similar cases that are currently pending.
12. Gabon’s military seized power in a coup after the president was re-elected for a third term
Gabon’s military seized power in a coup after the president was re-elected for a third term in a contested election.
The coup happened in the early morning of Wednesday Aug. 30, minutes after the country’s electoral commission announced that Ali Bongo Ondimba – known as Ali Bongo – had been re-elected for a third term with 64.27% of the vote.
Gunshots were heard in the capital of Libreville, and then the military appeared on TV, saying that it was annulling the results of the election, dissolving the government and closing the country’s borders until further notice.
It said it had placed 64-year-old Bongo and his eldest son, who is also his advisor, under house arrest and that they were with family and doctors.
The coup is the eighth military takeover in West and Central Africa since 2020, with the latest occurring in Niger just a month ago.
13. This 11-year-old girl in Peru who became pregnant with her rapist’s baby has been granted an abortion
An 11-year-old girl in Peru who became pregnant with her rapist’s baby has finally been allowed to have an abortion under international pressure.
The girl – publicly known as Mila – had allegedly been abused and repeatedly raped by her stepfather since she was seven years old, but her mother only reported the abuse to the police after she found out Mila was 13 weeks pregnant.
Police detained her stepfather, Lucas Pezo Amaringo, but he was quickly released on the grounds of insufficient evidence.
Authorities then moved Mila, her three siblings, and her mother – who was also abused by the stepfather –to different shelters and did not provide Mila with access to an abortion.
On Aug. 3, several hospitals denied Mila one because abortion is only allowed in Peru when a woman’s life may be in danger.
On Aug. 12, after international pressure, Peruvian authorities finally granted Mila, who was 18 weeks pregnant, an abortion “to avoid serious or permanent damage to her physical and mental health”.
14. A court in Hong Kong ruled that the government must legally recognize same-sex partnerships
Hong Kong’s Court of Appeals has ruled that the government must provide a legal framework to recognize same-sex partnerships.
In Hong Kong, the constitution only recognizes “marriage” as being between between a man and a woman.
The move comes after Jimmy Sham, a pro-democracy activist, sued the government for not recognizing same-sex marriage.
Sham married his partner in the USA in 2013, but his marriage is not recognized in Hong Kong.
Sham, who is currently in prison under the national security law, argued that this is unconstitutional and brought the case forward in 2018.
On Sep. 6, the court ruled that the government must provide a legal framework to recognize same-sex partnerships as there are currently no options like civil unions.
