As current affairs focus our attention on our immediate surroundings, it can sometimes be difficult to see through the commotion around us to events unfolding further afield. From the innumerable incidents taking place near and far, here are some that caught our eye beyond the EU-focussed Brussels outlook.
Shooting in Thailand leaves the island grief-stricken
On Thursday 6 October, a policeman who had recently been fired from his job attacked a childcare facility in the Nong Bua Lamphu province armed with a gun and a knife. The gunman, Panya Kamrap, later shot himself after first killing 36 people, among them his family and 24 children.
The ex-police officer had been due to stand trial on Friday for the possession of methamphetamine, the offence that had led to Kamrap’s dismissal.
Four children survived the attack, although they suffered heavy wounds, Thailand's health minister said.
Venezuelans make perilous journey to the US
This year alone, over 150,000 Venezuelans have arrived at the United States border in the belief that the country can't turn them away.
Under an authoritarian government and crippling US sanctions, Venezuela has become economically broken and over 6.8 million citizens have left since 2015. According to the United Nations, most have left for other South American nations. Recently many have left the country for the United States.
The US stresses that it is not offering any special refuge for Venezuelans but the rumours remain rampant – especially via TikTok videos of those making the journey.
Thousands of Venezuelans are braving the treacherous and deadly journey through the Dairén Gap – a stretch of jungle over 100 kilometres long that connects the Americas – to reach a better life. But many do not make it.
North Korea shows its ballistic strength
North Korea made headlines after firing a missile over Japan for the first time in five years. On Thursday, the isolated dictatorship performed its 24th weapons test this year by firing what seemed to be two mid-range ballistic missiles over Japan.
Japan’s defence minister Yasukazu Hamada said that the second missile followed what appeared to be an “irregular trajectory". This is thought to be a way of making it harder to intercept the missiles as they change course midflight.
The North Korean launches came one day after the United States and South Korea fired four missiles off the east coast of South Korea in a drill.
Australia plans to tackle extinction
Australia has some of the highest rates of extinction in the world, largely due to natural disasters driven by climate change such as wildfires and heat waves.
In a bid to combat the loss, Australia has announced a conservation plan to protect much of its fauna and flora. The 10-year plan includes a commitment to safeguard 30% of the nation’s landmass.
The country also identified 110 endangered species and 20 habitats to be prioritised. The actions taken for these species will then be applied to other threatened species, the government explained.
Scientists and conservationists welcomed the ambitious aim to stop extinctions but highlighted shortcomings, stressing that the plan does not do enough to address key drivers of species extinction like climate change, habitat clearing and invasive species.
Nearly half of global terror victims are African
UNODC (UN Office on Drugs & Crime) chief Ghada Waly has said that there were around 3,500 victims of terrorist acts in sub-Saharan Africa last year, which is nearly half of those recorded worldwide.
Illegal exploitation of precious metals and minerals such as gold, silver and diamonds, is fuelling extremists, providing significant sources of income and benefitting the groups that control extraction and trafficking routes.
Speaking to UN ambassadors on 6 October Waly said that "criminal exploitation strips the people of Africa of a significant source of revenue. It robs the millions of people who depend on these natural resources for their livelihoods. And it fuels conflicts and exacerbates instability.”
She spoke of the need to strengthen the understanding and skills of criminal justice officials to work across agencies, share intelligence, and “bring down terrorist networks and those who fund them”.
