As GHS students, we often forget how fortunate we are to live without the daily fear for our lives. We get to wake up every day and walk into school happily (if not somewhat reluctantly), but rarely terrified. Many other cities, states, and countries can’t afford this luxury. It’s important for us to recognize this so as not to forget how lucky we are, and to understand what truly goes on in parts of the world outside of our bubble. Monthly World Updates, a new introduction to Raptor Report, is intended to provide everyone with some awareness of current events occurring around the globe in a compact and easy-to-comprehend manner. In the month of October, billions were faced with hurricanes, election tensions, significant deaths, and much more. While every nation is worthy of notice in some form or another, events in these five continents truly stood out this month in terms of World Updates.

AFRICA: While there is extreme polarization all across the world in terms of politics, in some places, disagreement is more violent than in others. The Mozambique presidential elections occurred on October 9th, with the country still anxiously awaiting results. Unlike the United States, elections in Mozambique are determined by popular vote. If no party has won by over 50%, the two leading parties compete in a runoff. According to John Elignon from The New York Times, “There is little doubt that Daniel Francisco Chapo, the candidate for the governing party, Frelimo, will prevail over the three other presidential contenders.” Along with Chapo, candidates Ossufo Momade (Renamo party), Lutero Simango (MDM party), and Venâncio Mondlane (Independent) are all vying for the position. Although it’s widely agreed upon that Momade and Simango have little chance at victory, Mondlane has been a shocking “X-factor” in the race. He has gained traction with young voters and several polls now expect him to stand a chance against Chapo. However, heavy allegations of voter fraud and threats of nationwide strikes have caused the election to be postponed. During this time of turmoil, two Mondlane political activists, a lawyer and a party official, “were fatally shot in their car following an election marred by allegations of fraud,” (Elignon) on October 19th. With a country in political crisis amidst reports of homicide, we will have to keep an eye out for the results of this damaging election.

ASIA: We are likely all well aware of the ongoing Israel-Palestinian crisis occurring for more than a year in the Middle East. In fact, October 7th marked exactly 365 days since the onslaught began in 2023. Despite strong divisiveness on the issue, vigils and protests all around the world came together in mourning for the more than 40,000 lives lost. This is not the only conflict Israel is involved in, however. On October 1st, Iran launched a ballistic missile attack into the territory after rising tensions between the two nations. About 180 missiles were shot down in under 24 hours, and according to journalist Gaya Gupta, “The attack was the culmination of a dizzying sequence of events [...] beginning with Israel launching an invasion into Lebanon to pursue Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia.” With Israel now fighting on three separate fronts, the region remains on edge. With the current Israel-U.S. alliance, our country could be facing potential repercussions along with the Middle East. In recent news that alarmed many, the leader of the terrorist organization Hamas was killed on October 16th. According to Gupta, “Yahya Sinwar, the powerful leader of Hamas and an architect of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, was killed in battle in Gaza, the Israeli military said.” This death, while considered a victory by U.S. Congressional officials, could once again cause incredible backlash and consequences felt all around the world.

EUROPE: On October 16th, fans all across the world mourned the loss of British singer Liam Payne, a former member of the hit band One Direction. 31-year-old Payne fell from the balcony of a hotel room in Argentia, survived by his son, Bear, and partner, Kate Cassidy. Other band members Styles, Horan, Malik, and Tomlinson have all released statements grieving the death of their former bandmate and friend, with many fans following suit. Despite Payne’s controversial character, his time in One Direction influenced the childhoods of millions, stimulating conversations about conflicted feelings of grief. On the evening of 

his death, “Fans gathered and sang One Direction hits outside the CasaSur Palermo Hotel in Buenos Aires,” where Payne had been staying.

NORTH AMERICA: The U.S. election is rapidly approaching, and by the time this issue of Raptor Report is published, we will likely know the results of the November 5th election. After Joe Biden withdrew from the presidential race in July, the party scrambled to produce another Democratic candidate to run against the Republicans' choice of former president Donald Trump. Kamala Harris was chosen as Biden’s successor, and the two candidates are now in a heated race. Registering to vote at this time is crucial, as young people have a chance to have their voices heard now more than ever. A questionnaire for the Headway Teen Election Challenge asked teenagers, “How confident are you that a vote can make a difference in the U.S. election?” A surprising 70% of respondents were at least somewhat confident a singular vote could make a difference, with a solid 20% replying with “extremely confident.” Youth representation in the polls is crucial to address problems requiring immediate attention for our generation and those to come. Not just in the presidential election, but local and state races as well, your vote alone could be pivotal to making a change. Along with the U.S. experiencing major political effects, the Southern U.S. has been faced with extreme weather crises in recent weeks. Beginning with Hurricane Helene racking up more than a dozen deaths, the consecutive Hurricane Milton has churned out over 40 tornadoes since its arrival on October 9th, making it the hurricane with the 13th-most tornadoes produced in the US since 1995—nearly 30 years.

SOUTH AMERICA: A revolutionary year has occurred for Mexico, with the country’s first-ever female and Jewish president taking office on October 1st. Claudia Sheinbaum, in her inauguration ceremony, stated “For the first time, we women have arrived to lead the destinies of our beautiful nation. And I say we arrived because I do not arrive alone. We all arrived.” In an interview with Tijuana resident Reséndiz Oropeza, “It’s something historic. It’s a joy that I cannot begin to describe.” This momentous occasion is sparking the pride of many women across the world, for the potential for a first woman president in one country means the potential for a first woman president in others. Despite Mexico’s successes, not all of South America is facing the same excitement. In more unfortunate news, all of Cuba was plunged into a power outage on October 18th, just after the Cuban government had announced emergency measures to reduce electricity usage. According to Francis Robles with the New York Times, “Cuban energy officials managed to get power back up briefly to some parts of the island on Friday night.” However, on the following Saturday morning, the country was plunged into darkness once again. Despite Cuba’s “prehistoric” dubbed power plants, the nation continues to rely on them. This has caused the power grid to fail, causing the island to enter a blackout. With Hurricane Oscar nearing at the time this article is being written and a not-yet-resolved power outage, Cubans are beginning to struggle as the crisis deepens.

By this article’s distribution on November 11th, many of these events will have found resolutions. Raptor Report challenges you to go through each circumstance mentioned above and determine which ones have updates to their predicaments and which ones are still ongoing. Feel free to email us at raptorreport@bsd7students.org or DM us on Instagram, @raptor.report, to send us feedback or suggestions for next month’s overview of Monthly World Updates. Don’t forget to stay informed!