This roundup summarises the most important news stories around the world in the last month (January 2024).

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Approximately 46 per cent of the world’s population are expected to participate in elections this year, and some kicked off this month. The Pakistani prime minister secured a fourth term, in an election boycotted by the main opposition party. In Taiwan, the ruling party won a historic third consecutive presidency, which is likely to deal a blow to China’s hopes for a “peaceful reunification.” And in Guatemala, despite a delay, the new anti-graft president was sworn in.

Ahead of elections later this year, Indian prime minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a Hindu temple in the city of Ayodhya, on a site believed by Hindus to be the birthplace of the deity Ram. A previous mosque on the site was destroyed by Hindu activists in 1992 and led to deadly nationwide religious riots, but the country’s supreme court in 2019 ruled in favour of the new Hindu temple on the site and nearby land for a new mosque construction.

Relatedly, South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung was stabbed in the neck by an unidentified man with unclear motives during a public appearance in Busan. He survived the attack. A second politician was attacked with a blunt object in Seoul, two weeks later. Separately, the Danish queen stepped down, paving the way for her son to ascend to the throne.

Japan’s annus horribilis

It’s only January, but it’s potentially shaping up to be annus horribilis for the country. First, it was struck by a 7.6-magnitude earthquake on New Year’s Day. Next, a passenger plane collided with a Japanese Coast Guard aircraft – which was scheduled for an earthquake relief mission – resulting in the death of five crew members on the latter aircraft. On the third day of the year, multiple train passengers were stabbed in Tokyo.

On a brighter note, it also became the fifth country to land on the moon.

European agricultural protests

German farmers protested for weeks over government plans to end several farming subsidies. In France, president Emmanuel Macron named the country’s youngest and first openly gay prime minister, and the country’s farmer protests are top of his agenda. French farmers, aggrieved by numerous grievances – from cheap foreign competition, diesel tax breaks to agricultural subsidy payments – demanded government action and moved towards Paris.

Geopolitical hotspots

In the first killing – and alleged Israeli assassination – of a Hamas leader outside the Palestinian territories since the start of Israel’s invasion of Gaza, West Bank political leader Saleh al-Arouri was killed in an explosion outside Beirut, Lebanon. In Israel, as its supreme court struck down a law which would have limited the judiciary’s powers, the International Court of Justice heard a genocide case brought by South Africa against Israel. Preliminarily, the court did not order a ceasefire but ordered Israel to take “all measures in its power” to prevent a genocide in Gaza.

Also in the Middle East, at an Iranian commemoration for a former top general, a pair of bomb explosions by the Islamic State killed at least 100 people.

In Russia, a military transport plane carrying 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war en route to a planned prisoner swap crashed. And Turkey approved Sweden’s membership into NATO, leaving Hungary as the final member needed for approval.

Finally, in other news, Cameroon initiated the world’s first routine malaria vaccine programme for children, in response to a recent resurgence of the disease.