October 24, 2009 (Saturday)
- The International Day of Climate Action occurred worldwide in prelude to the United Nations Climate Change Conference of 2009, with over 5,400 actions to raise awareness of the assertion that 350 ppm is the maximum safe level of carbon dioxide in Earth's atmosphere, and call for mitigation of global warming before Earth reaches a climatological tipping point. (New York Times) (CNN)
- Ten corpses with gunshot wounds thought to belong to a kidnapped Colombian football team are located in Venezuela. (BBC) (Latin American Herald Tribune)
- Pakistan reports re-gaining control of Kotkai, South Waziristan, birthplace of Pakistani Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud and also the hometown of the Taliban's master trainer of suicide bombers, Qari Hussain, after a week of fierce fighting with the Taliban. (BBC)
- Morrissey, ex-frontman of The Smiths, is hospitalized after collapsing on stage while performing "This Charming Man" during his world tour. (BBC) (The Guardian) (Sky News)
- Rosanna Al-Yami, a female journalist in Saudi Arabia, is sentenced to sixty lashes and a two-year travel ban for her involvement in a controversial sex programme. (BBC) (CNN) (The New York Times) (Radio Netherlands Worldwide) (Reuters)
- Senior envoys from North Korea and the United States hold rare talks on North Korea's nuclear programme in New York City. (Channel News Asia) (Reuters)
- At least 15 people are killed after two trains collide in Al-Ayyat, near Cairo, Egypt. (BBC) (Al Jazeera)
- Less than a week after the release of GOAL aid workers Sharon Commins and Hilda Kawuki, the International Committee of the Red Cross confirms one of its French employees has been abducted in Darfur. (The Sydney Morning Herald)
- Burma's Prime Minister Thein Sein tells the 15th ASEAN summit his government is prepared to relax the house arrest on National League for Democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi. (Financial Times) (Bangkok Post)
- A magnitude 7.0 undersea earthquake strikes off the coast of eastern Indonesia. (Associated Press) (Jakarta Post)
- Thousands of people protest in London, England, demanding the withdrawal of British troops from Afghanistan. (BBC) (The Times) (AFP)
- The ruling National Movement for the Development of Society wins a controversial parliamentary election in Niger. (African Press Agency)[permanent dead link] (AFP)
- An assassination attempt on President of the Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov is averted. (RIA Novosti) (Bloomberg)