The Goings-On: Fall 2024 in the News

As we make our way further into the school year, the world around us continues to evolve in ways that impact us. Across the globe, significant stories have made headlines, yet some have been left in the dark. It is crucial to learn about both the popular and less talked-about developments in order to widen our understanding of today’s world.

As discussed last year in The Goings-On, the world’s most volatile conflict at the moment is the Israel-Hamas conflict. Over the course of about a year, around 1,200 Israelis and 42,000 Palestinians have died, and the conflict has now inflamed pre-existing tensions between other nations in the Middle East. Recently, Israel’s attacks have spread into Lebanon, specifically targeting Hezbollah, a political and paramilitary group that has a large influence over the nation. Hezbollah and Israel have had tensions since the 1980s, when Israel occupied part of Southern Lebanon during the Lebanese Civil War. They also went to war with each other in 2006. In recent months, they have had a number of skirmishes, which were then escalated by Israel’s strikes and pager attacks a few weeks ago, which involved them planting explosives inside Taiwan-made pagers, killing and injuring many.  Since then, Israel has begun a ground invasion of Southern Lebanon, and has killed Hezbollah’s leader, Hassan Nasrallah. So far, the death toll has pushed past the 2,000 mark in just two weeks. Additionally, Iran has fired missiles at Israel, which Iran’s leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has justified as retaliation for the killing of Hezbollah’s leader.

In the U.S., citizens have been gearing up for the upcoming election as Presidential candidates, Vice President Kamala Harris (Democratic Party) and former President Donald Trump (Republican Party), go head to head in one of the country’s closest elections. This comes after Joe Biden dropped out of the race over the summer, leaving Kamala Harris the spot of the Democratic Presidential Nominee. In her debate against Trump, Harris proved herself and came out as the winner. But recently during the Vice-Presidential Debate, Trump’s running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance was seen to have come out as the winner against Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, though not with as large of a margin as the second Presidential debate. Currently, polls put Harris at 48% and Trump at 46%, but with such a small gap, things can change at any point in the coming weeks.

Now onto other regions of the world: On October 3, the UK ceded sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, which is also the site of the UK-US Diego Garcia military base, to Mauritius, after over 200 years of British control. In the 1970s, it expelled thousands of the island's native people to make way for the air base, and after repeated British and American statements arguing that the natives shouldn’t be allowed back to their own islands, a UN resolution in 2019 stating that Britain should give up the islands finally set the wheels of progress in motion. 

In Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum has broken the glass ceiling for many women, becoming the nation's very first female president. In her inaugural speech, she emphasized her plans to continue improving the economy, healthcare, and safety of the nation, drawing on many of the same viewpoints as her predecessor, Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

In South Africa, an investigation is under way after 18 people were killed in a mass shooting in the small town of Lusikisiki, in the Eastern Cape. No arrests have been made, and no motives have been established. South Africa has a high murder rate, and a prevalent gun culture, where around 8% of the adult population own at least one, which makes shootings more common in some areas of the country.

Now finally, we have come to the end of the fifth edition (first for this school year) of The Goings-On. I hope you enjoyed this informational piece, and please make sure to continue your knowledge of current affairs through verifiable sources.

Works Cited

Adams, Paul. “The Week That Pushed the Middle East Closer to All-out War.” Bbc.com, BBC News, 4 Oct. 2024, www.bbc.com/news/articles/c0r89qwwx2lo. Accessed 4 Oct. 2024.

Adler, Nils, and Virginia Pietromarchi. “Live: More than 2,000 People Killed in Israeli Attacks on Lebanon: Ministry.” Al Jazeera, 4 Oct. 2024, www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/10/4/live-israeli-bombs-rain-down-on-lebanons-beirut-gaza-occupied-west-bank. Accessed 4 Oct. 2024.

Aikman, Ian, and Caroline Hawley. “Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei Defends Strikes on Israel in Tehran Speech.” Bbc.com, BBC News, 4 Oct. 2024, www.bbc.com/news/articles/c04pvp5qr6no. Accessed 4 Oct. 2024.

“Israel-Hezbollah Conflict in Maps: Tracking the Violence in Lebanon.” Bbc.com, BBC News, 4 Oct. 2024, www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9vp7dg3ml1o. Accessed 4 Oct. 2024.

Nesta Kupemba, Danai. “South Africa’s Deadly Love Affair with Guns.” Www.bbc.com, 23 Mar. 2024, www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-68576440. Accessed 4 Oct. 2024.

Smout, Alistair, et al. “UK Cedes Chagos Island Sovereignty to Mauritius, Retains Diego Garcia Airbase.” Reuters, 3 Oct. 2024, www.reuters.com/world/britain-agrees-chagos-island-sovereignty-deal-with-mauritius-2024-10-03/. Accessed 4 Oct. 2024.

“US Election Polls 2024: Who Is Ahead - Harris or Trump?” Bbc.com, BBC News, 9 Sept. 2024, www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj4x71znwxdo. Accessed 4 Oct. 2024.

“What Is Hezbollah in Lebanon and Will It Go to War with Israel?” Www.bbc.com, 3 Nov. 2023, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67307858. Accessed 4 Oct. 2024.