A woman paces down the streets of Tehran, Iran’s capital, on Nov. 2, 2024, arms crossed, in the footage published by the Guardian. Dressed only in a purple bra and striped white and pink underwear, she’s both a rare spot of color in a sea of black and white, as well as an hourglass rapidly running out. She gazes up at the sky and breathes out: She knows what’s coming, but she doesn’t run. She merely sits down on the wide railing of a nearby staircase, hands folded in her lap, and waits.
Across the United States last month, people bore witness to the devastating effects of Hurricane Milton, from the flooding of Asheville, North Carolina to the destructive storm that hit Florida in the first few weeks of October. But the place hit the hardest may have been an island almost the size of Florida with almost half as many people just 90 miles from Key West: Cuba.
Thousands of people took to the streets in Bangkok, Thailand, on June 1, 2024, decked out in colorful makeup, brandishing rainbow flags and cheering their support for pride. But something was different this year. The crowd of activists was waiting with bated breath for an announcement over a quarter-century in the making that could change their lives: same-sex marriage would finally be legalized in their country. It would take four more months, until the end of September, when Thailand’s King Maha Vajiralongkorn gave his assent and made it official.
