45 Important Things From Around The World Americans Might Have Missed In 2018

So. Much. Happened. This. Year.

By Kassy Cho and Rachael Krishna and Rose Troup Buchanan and Ryan Broderick

Kassy Cho BuzzFeed News Reporter

Rachael Krishna BuzzFeed News Reporter

Rose Troup Buchanan BuzzFeed News Reporter

Ryan Broderick BuzzFeed News Reporter

Posted on December 21, 2018, at 10:15 a.m. ET

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1. A North Korean leader crossed the border into South Korea for the first time since 1958.

2. Shortly afterward, a number of Korean families who had been separated by the border were reunited for the first time in 68 years.

3. Ethiopia and Eritrea agreed to a ceasefire. The landmark agreement brought peace for the first time in 22 years, also leading to families being reunited.

4. All 12 boys in the Thai soccer team and their coach were rescued from a flooded cave after almost three weeks, no thanks to Elon Musk.

5. Prince Harry married Meghan Markle in a ceremony watched by millions of people.

6. Canada legalized weed.

7. Nadia Murad, an Iraqi Yazidi who survived being tortured and raped by ISIS militants, and Denis Mukwege, a gynecologist working with survivors of war rape, won the Nobel Peace Prize.

8. Iceland made it illegal to pay women less than men.

9. Ireland voted to repeal its ban on abortion.

10. The parliament in Queensland, Australia, also voted to legalize abortion.

11. India's Supreme Court struck down a 157-year-old colonial law that criminalized gay sex.

12. A contestant on Vietnam’s version of The Bachelor declared her love for another contestant during the rose ceremony, and they ended up together.

13. A group of activists secretly took rainbow flag photos around Russia during the World Cup to protest the country’s aggressive anti-LGBT laws.

14. El Salvador freed a woman who had been jailed for giving birth to her rapist’s baby in a toilet.

15. Kenyan director Wanuri Kahiu won a legal battle against the Kenyan government over the censorship of her film about a love story between women.

16. New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern became the first world leader to attend the United Nations General Assembly meeting with their baby.

17. In Saudi Arabia, a group of women got the right to drive following a long-running campaign by activists.

18. Ethiopia’s new prime minister appointed the country’s first woman president and filled half of his Cabinet with women.

19. A Swedish student delayed a flight to stop a man getting deported.

20. Photographer Parisa Pourtaherian came up with a brilliant way to cover a game in Iran, where women are not allowed in football stadiums.

21. Japanese Princess Ayako gave up her royal status to marry a commoner.

22. In more very important news from Japan, two cats kept trying to sneak into a museum, going viral each time.

23. A dog in Spain tried to do CPR on his human.

24. A viral Japanese otter got its own mascot, who does extreme sports on Twitter.

25. A cat crashed a catwalk in Istanbul.

26. Russia hosted the FIFA World Cup, producing many wonderful moments of kindness between fans.

27. South Korea hosted the Winter Olympics and gave us some great moments.

28. A single dad in Thailand wore a dress to a Mother’s Day event so his sons wouldn’t feel left out.

29. Staff at a Brazilian hospital went viral after they were recorded dancing for dialysis patients.

30. This guy in Germany shared the photos of his and his dad’s annual log ride tradition.

31. Nuns in Mexico worked to save endangered salamanders.

32. A Taiwanese granddad came up with an elaborate setup to ~catch them all~.

33. Brexit got even more confusing.

34. The Yellow Vests took over France.

35. A drag queen spoke out against the “Donald Trump of Brazil.”

36. Women in Argentina held an incredibly huge abortion protest.

37. A 101-year-old woman had the most amazing reaction when she found out that Angela Merkel wasn’t Emmanuel Macron’s wife but actually the chancellor of Germany.

38. BTS became the first K-pop group to ever speak at the United Nations.

39. Japan’s top medical university decreased women applicants’ test scores.

40. France passed a new law against street harassment.

41. Venice was flooded. Like, really flooded.

42. Police in the UK spent days hunting a thief who looks like Ross from Friends, leading actor David Schwimmer to share his alibi.

43. Starbucks opened its first store run entirely by senior citizens in Mexico City.

44. A Banksy painting self-destructed after being sold for $1.3 million.

45. And, of course, Trump baby.

Follow @world on Instagram for more stories like this.

Kassy Cho is a reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in London.

Contact Kassy Cho at kassy.cho@buzzfeed.com.

Got a confidential tip? Submit it here.
Rachael Krishna is a reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in London.

Contact Rachael Krishna at rachael.krishna@buzzfeed.com.
Rose Troup Buchanan is a reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in London.

Contact Rose Troup Buchanan at Rose.Buchanan@BuzzFeed.com.
Ryan Broderick is a senior reporter for BuzzFeed News and is based in New York City.

Contact Ryan Broderick at ryan@buzzfeed.com.

Follow @world on Instagram for more stories like this.

1. A North Korean leader crossed the border into South Korea for the first time since 1958.

2. Shortly afterward, a number of Korean families who had been separated by the border were reunited for the first time in 68 years.

3. Ethiopia and Eritrea agreed to a ceasefire. The landmark agreement brought peace for the first time in 22 years, also leading to families being reunited.

4. All 12 boys in the Thai soccer team and their coach were rescued from a flooded cave after almost three weeks, no thanks to Elon Musk.

5. Prince Harry married Meghan Markle in a ceremony watched by millions of people.

6. Canada legalized weed.

7. Nadia Murad, an Iraqi Yazidi who survived being tortured and raped by ISIS militants, and Denis Mukwege, a gynecologist working with survivors of war rape, won the Nobel Peace Prize.

8. Iceland made it illegal to pay women less than men.

9. Ireland voted to repeal its ban on abortion.

10. The parliament in Queensland, Australia, also voted to legalize abortion.

11. India's Supreme Court struck down a 157-year-old colonial law that criminalized gay sex.

12. A contestant on Vietnam’s version of The Bachelor declared her love for another contestant during the rose ceremony, and they ended up together.

13. A group of activists secretly took rainbow flag photos around Russia during the World Cup to protest the country’s aggressive anti-LGBT laws.

14. El Salvador freed a woman who had been jailed for giving birth to her rapist’s baby in a toilet.

15. Kenyan director Wanuri Kahiu won a legal battle against the Kenyan government over the censorship of her film about a love story between women.

16. New Zealand’s prime minister Jacinda Ardern became the first world leader to attend the United Nations General Assembly meeting with their baby.

17. In Saudi Arabia, a group of women got the right to drive following a long-running campaign by activists.

18. Ethiopia’s new prime minister appointed the country’s first woman president and filled half of his Cabinet with women.

19. A Swedish student delayed a flight to stop a man getting deported.

20. Photographer Parisa Pourtaherian came up with a brilliant way to cover a game in Iran, where women are not allowed in football stadiums.

21. Japanese Princess Ayako gave up her royal status to marry a commoner.

22. In more very important news from Japan, two cats kept trying to sneak into a museum, going viral each time.

23. A dog in Spain tried to do CPR on his human.

24. A viral Japanese otter got its own mascot, who does extreme sports on Twitter.

25. A cat crashed a catwalk in Istanbul.

26. Russia hosted the FIFA World Cup, producing many wonderful moments of kindness between fans.

27. South Korea hosted the Winter Olympics and gave us some great moments.

28. A single dad in Thailand wore a dress to a Mother’s Day event so his sons wouldn’t feel left out.

29. Staff at a Brazilian hospital went viral after they were recorded dancing for dialysis patients.

30. This guy in Germany shared the photos of his and his dad’s annual log ride tradition.

31. Nuns in Mexico worked to save endangered salamanders.

32. A Taiwanese granddad came up with an elaborate setup to ~catch them all~.

33. Brexit got even more confusing.

34. The Yellow Vests took over France.

35. A drag queen spoke out against the “Donald Trump of Brazil.”

36. Women in Argentina held an incredibly huge abortion protest.

37. A 101-year-old woman had the most amazing reaction when she found out that Angela Merkel wasn’t Emmanuel Macron’s wife but actually the chancellor of Germany.

38. BTS became the first K-pop group to ever speak at the United Nations.

39. Japan’s top medical university decreased women applicants’ test scores.

40. France passed a new law against street harassment.

41. Venice was flooded. Like, really flooded.

42. Police in the UK spent days hunting a thief who looks like Ross from Friends, leading actor David Schwimmer to share his alibi.

43. Starbucks opened its first store run entirely by senior citizens in Mexico City.

44. A Banksy painting self-destructed after being sold for $1.3 million.

45. And, of course, Trump baby.

Follow @world on Instagram for more stories like this.

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