World News Weekly - First Issue
Mexico’s First Female President; Israeli Attacks on Beirut; Alleged Chinese Spy Arrested in Germany; Worldwide General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
News is important. It is important to be informed on events—good and bad—occurring on our small, blue planet. This is one significant way we can develop a global mindset: simply care about things going on around the world and happening to other human beings.
However, sometimes breaking news is a little heavy, even depressing. So, for this recurring post, I will bring you three stories of breaking news—the good and the bad—and one that is unequivocally good news. That way we can develop our global mindset together and learn to see the good that exists alongside the less good (sometimes much less good).
I won’t do this intro every time, so next week, I will jump right into the stories. Here is this week’s lineup:
Israel has unleashed a heavy bombardment on Beirut, almost exactly one year after the events of October 7, 2023.
Mexico’s first ever female president, Claudia Sheinbaum, took office this week.
A woman was arrested in Germany for allegedly passing along arms exports information to China.
★ A worldwide General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints took place this weekend, with speakers from places like Brazil, Nigeria, and Japan.
Israeli Bombs Hit Beirut, Lebanon
On October 6, Israel unleashed a heavy bombardment against Beirut, Lebanon, seeking to expedite the fight against Hezbollah. Israel has been bombing the suburb of Dahiyeh—a suburb in Beirut that is considered to be a base for Hezbollah, but is also “home to thousands of ordinary Lebanese, Palestinian and Syrian refugees”—leading to the death of Hezbollah’s leader, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on September 27.
Lebanon said that Hashem Safieddine, a potential successor for Nasrallah within Hezbollah, has been out of contact since an attack on Friday that Israel allegedly launched targeting Safieddine.
The United Nations' refugee chief reacted to this new bombardment in Beirut by certifying that “there were ‘many instances’ where Israeli airstrikes had violated international law by hitting civilian infrastructure and killing civilians in Lebanon.”
The question is… what happens now? Where do we go from here to deescalate the conflict? Calls for a cease-fire have fallen on deaf ears. What’s next?
Mexico’s First Female President, Claudia Sheinbaum, Took Office This Week
President Claudia Sheinbaum, 62, took office on Tuesday, October 1, as Mexico’s first female president. President Sheinbalm has a Ph.D in Energy Engineering from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). Mexico has been an independent nation since September 16, 1810, and President Sheinbaum has just become the country’s first woman and Jewish person to become president in all that time.
Mr. López Obrador, President Sheinbaum’s predecessor and party associate, still seems to have some influence over the new president and the Morena Party, the political party to which both the previous and current president belong. Mr. Lopez Obrador’s political allies have even filled President Sheinbaum’s cabinet and important party positions; his son, known as Andy, was recently named to one of the most powerful positions in the party, the Secretary of Organization.
Now that Mexico has done it, do you think the U.S. will follow suit and elect our first female president? In what ways could Mexico’s election influence ours?
Woman Arrested in Germany Accused of Spying for China
A 38-year-old Chinese woman—currently living in Germany—has been arrested for supplying China with sensitive information on Germany’s weapons exports. The woman accused of this espionage worked at Leipzig/Halle Airport in eastern Germany. She has been accused specifically of passing along information about “flights, freight and passengers” related to arms exports, as well as information on employees of a German weapons manufacturer.
Germany is the #2 biggest donor of direct military aid to Ukraine in their fight against Russia, only behind the United States. Germany has become increasingly concerned with the number of active spies in Germany since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, as well as intelligence gathering by China, Russia’s neighbor and Germany’s largest trading partner.
How do you think cases like this impact global trust between nations, especially in terms of intelligence sharing and diplomacy? Let me know what you think!
Worldwide Religious Conference Takes Place with Speakers from Around the World
This worldwide General Conference occurs semi-annually—in April and in October—and is watched by millions of people every year, regardless of membership status in the Church. The conference this weekend was the Church’s 194th Semiannual General Conference, and held 5 sessions throughout the weekend.
Speakers included religious leaders from countries all over the world, such as Brazil, Nigeria, Japan, Chile, England, Mexico, Taiwan, and others. The speakers’ talks covered such topics as hope, peace, and even the building of additional Temples of the Church around the world. The 100-year old President of the Church, Russell M. Nelson, announced 17 new temples that will be built in various countries around the world: Uganda, Mexico, El Salvador, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Chile, Ireland, Italy, Nigeria, Mozambique, and several more throughout the United States.
What other happy news have you come across lately? Let’s put some good out into the world!
Thanks for the current events Garrett! I like the idea of sharing some positive news because it sometimes feels all negative.