DES ABEND NEWS

The National League, the top two tiers of English non-league football, has announced that it is changing its laws on clubs streaming and posting match highlights. The change allows clubs to post match highlights immediately after BT Sport’s highlights show on a Saturday evening, instead of the 48-hour ban previously in place. Photo: The National League By: Sam Feierabend This move is crucial for clubs in the system as match highlights allow fans who are unable to attend the game, or casual football fans in general, to keep up to date on what has been happening with the club of their choice. Volunteers put in endless hours to provide high-quality media coverage for their clubs, and the ban in place previously delayed views, potentially losing clients who either forget the game has happened or are more eager to see more recent game footage if one had taken place in the meantime. BT Sport originally gained the exclusive rights to broadcast The National League in 2013, with one game ea...

  Despite Russia putting on a united front in the invasion of Ukraine, it’s failing to maintain any stronghold as the country falls apart at home. Over the past couple of weeks, Ukrainian forces have advanced rapidly on their aggressors and recaptured territory in Luhansk, a Russian-occupied region of Ukraine. Credit: The Guardian.   By: Derry Salter.  Since Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February, thousands of lives have been lost, areas destroyed, and cities seized. However, September has brought a month of hope for Ukraine as the country has driven Russian forces back and retaken more than 3,088 square miles of land. But, Russia remains in hold of around 1/5 of the country.   The cities of Izyum and Kupiansk, both key supply hubs for Russian forces, were allegedly retaken and show the counter-attack on the rise. Russia claims that the fall of these two cities back into the hands of Ukraine was strategic and gave them a chance to regroup.  This glimmer of ...

Italians headed to the polls over the weekend with a simple question being whispered across Europe: Will Italy be   heading far-right for the first time since the Second World War? Photo: The Toronto Star. By: Sam Feierabend. The name on everyone’s lips is Giorgia Meloni, leader of the far-right Brothers of Italy party who is aiming to become the country’s first female prime minister. Her party is running allied to two other parties that are right leaning. She has gained public attention for some of her views, including speaking out against the ‘LGBT lobby’ and campaigning for a naval blockade of Libya to halt migration to the country. Despite her softening her image in recent months, she still embraces the slogan, ‘God, fatherland and family’ which was adopted by Benito Mussolini’s fascist party of the 1920s and 1930s. The surge in popularity in more extreme parties, especially in Italy is driven by public unrest over everyday matters. Despite Italy’s economy showing re...

Violent crime has dominated Haiti for over a year since the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in July 2021. His successor acting President Ariel Henry has been criticised by his people for doing very little to combat Haiti’s criminal gangs. Between January to May this year, at least 780 people have been killed in the country.   Credit: BBC News. By: Derry Salter. On 29 April, gang members seized a Dominican diplomat, Carlos Guillén, whilst he was at the Dominican embassy in Port-au-Prince. The Dominican Republic urged Haiti to do everything possible to ensure the safe release of its diplomat. Luckily, the diplomat was freed only four days later.   The 400 Mawozo gang was thought to be behind the kidnapping and are infamous for demanding high ransoms after kidnapping foreigners. In October 2021, the gang abducted 16 US citizens who were part of the NGO Christian Aid Ministries and demanded a ransom of $1 million each. The east of the country’s capital, the Croix-d...

An investigation by the Australian Football League (AFL) has begun against one of its’ most successful teams, following worrying allegations of racist treatment towards Indigenous players at the club. Photo: BBC News. By: Sam Feierabend. The AFL have described the claims as “extremely serious”, levelled at the team Hawthorn who are 13-times champions of the ‘Aussie Rules’ national league. The report has cited that club staff had separated players from their families, with one player even claiming that coaches urged him to have his partner’s pregnancy aborted. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) undertook an independent review, commissioned by Hawthorn themselves, and spoke to players (who were not named) about their experiences playing for the club. One player claimed that former head coach Alastair Clarkson and his assistant Chris Fagan told him to ‘kill his unborn kid’. Then he was allegedly told to remove his SIM card so there was no further contact between him and his...

Hundreds of South-East Asians are being held captive and forced to work in scam networks by human traffickers. Despite the world knowing the truth behind these dark telecom scams, it’s been over a month and nothing has been done. Credit: BBC News. By: Derry Salter. The trafficking ring came to light in mid August after a video went viral of dozens of Vietnamese people fleeing a casino in Cambodia, even jumping into a river to attempt to swim away. The scam is simple: people from South-East Asia get contacted via social media with the offer of paid work and accommodation in luxurious countries. The destination list boasts the likes of Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar and Laos but the true destination is much different. On arrival, the victims’ passports are taken and the people are trafficked to work in offices running illegal telemarketing scams. The workers are subjected to isolation and threats of violence to keep them entrapped. Experts believe that those targeted are most often yo...

A vaccine that can help cure and prevent malaria has been developed at the University of Oxford. It has been described by scientists as ‘world changing’. Photo: Forbes. By: Sam Feierabend. The team developing it expect the vaccine to be rolled out next year, after trials found that the jab is up to 80% effective against the disease. Crucially, the vaccine is very cheap to make, ensuring that countries that malaria affects most can afford a constant supply. Malaria has been one of the hardest diseases for humans to understand for hundreds of years, with the parasite spread by mosquitos constantly moving throughout the bloodstream making it incredibly difficult to target for immunisation. Even after advancements in nets and pesticides, malaria continues to ravage the world, there is around 229 million cases per year and 406,000 deaths estimated – 94% of all these from Africa. The trial took place on children and infants in Burkina Faso, one of the countries hardest hit by the disease...

Mississippi’s capital, Jackson, is the latest victim of environmental racism, with over 150,000 residents left without safe drinking water. The government’s continuous failures means that there is little to be done to put an end to this catastrophe. Credit: BBC. By: Derry Salter. There is no drinking water in Jackson, but the residents continue to receive water bills. There is no investment in infrastructure, so the residents are forced to become beneficiaries of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program just to afford to buy clean bottled water. There is no care for the residents, so children are receiving online schooling because the schools can’t ensure safe running water. With numerous residents going at least 18 months without running water, Jackson is a city in crisis. The population of Jackson is more than 80% Black and the city has been drained of resources by the White Republican leaders for many years. Wealthy White people began fleeing Jackson in the late 70s after t...

A third of Pakistan is underwater. Citizens remain homeless, sitting on beds outside worn tents in flooded streets strewn with litter. Pools of dirty flood water have collected and are slowing down any drainage. Credit: Sky News. By: Derry Salter. On Friday 26 August, the National Disaster Management Authority said that more than 900 people have been killed since June – 34 of which were in the 24 hours prior. Just two and a half weeks later, and the death toll has surpassed 1,300. Sadly, one in three victims are said to be children.   The UN’s disaster relief agency Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has stated that at least 184,000 are in relief camps. On Friday 2 September, another 2,000 people were rescued from the floodwaters. The problem will not simply go away.   People in Southern Pakistan have been hit the hardest as surges of water continuing to flow down the Indus river threatening nearby communities. 1.2 million people in the Sindh provi...

After months of internal political battling, Liz Truss has seen off competition from Rishi Sunak to become the UK’s fourth Prime Minister in seven years. She takes control of a country crippled in economic crisis, divided in public opinion, and dragged into international conflict. Photo: chinaglobalsouth.com. By: Sam Feierabend. Truss’ promotion from Foreign Secretary to the hotseat in Number 10 Downing Street is the culmination of a political career that surprisingly saw her start as President of the Oxford University Liberal Democrats. Her values would stand close to that of the ‘liberals’ even after defecting to the Conservative Party in 1996. Her work and ideas focus on rigorous academic standards in all schools, including writing for a liberal think tank arguing for an end to bias against serious subjects in schools so social mobility can be improved, while also supporting the legalisation of cannabis and the abolition of the monarchy – some may describe as radical policies. She...

The ongoing cost of living crisis has started to trickle down to the lower reaches of the footballing pyramid. Some clubs are being pushed to the brink of their finances, while others are searching for solutions to cut costs to run day to day activities. Photo: jooin.com.  By: Sam Feierabend. Britain’s energy regulator in the past weeks has announced price hikes to bills in the coming months, but unlike domestic consumers, there is no price cap on businesses like pubs or football clubs. This means sky-high prices for places that have not got the financial turnover to sustainably last them for the future. One pub was seen on social media sharing their energy bill forecast for the next 12 months as £64,000; an increase from £6,000. For football clubs, especially those at the lower end of the professional game, costs are piling up, and with the cold winter months setting in, using heat and light is crucial to the everyday running of the clubs. This can be coupled with the fact tha...

Last week saw a major step forward in ensuring the wellbeing and safety of women requiring access to abortion services. On 30 August, at-home early medical abortions were made permanent for women (and other non-female identifying pregnant people) in England and Wales. Credit: The Guardian. By: Derry Salter. This new legislation will allow women to access pills via a teleconsultation and the pills will be taken from home for gestation of up to nine weeks and six days. The move comes after all independent sector abortion clinics were reapproved to continue providing their services across England and Wales; these approvals remain valid until 31 July 2026. The government aim to publish safeguarding guidance for any under-18s wishing to access the early medical abortion, which will be published by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. The guidance shows that every young person should have access to early medical abortions and all clinics will look after their holistic and saf...

The former leader of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, has died aged 91 after a battle with a longstanding illness. He is hailed for his efforts to end the Cold War peacefully. Photo: rbth.com. By: Sam Feierabend. Gorbachev, revered by the West and despised by the East, was famously instrumental in the collapse of the Berlin Wall, symbolising the end of political tensions that had built up from the Second World War. He is regarded by many as one of the most influential politicians of the 20 th century and even won a Nobel Prize for peace in 1990 for his efforts at ending the Cold War. After graduating from Moscow State University in 1955, Mikhail Gorbachev quickly rose through the ranks of the Communist Party, becoming leader of the Young Communist League by 1961. He was part of a new generation of party activists who were becoming frustrated by ageing leadership. In 1980, Gorbachev was appointed as a full member of the Politburo, the principal policy making committee of the Co...

In July, a friendly faced appeared near Norway’s Capital city in the Oslo Fjord – a 600kg walrus. Locals affectionately named the walrus Freya and she quickly shot to fame with videos of her struggling to scramble on boats. Credit: Koninklijke Marine. By: Derry Salter. Freya began her journey in the Arctic, gracing Europe with her large presence before resting in Norway. Large crowds gathered on the waters edge within touching distance. However, soon after, the media reported Freya chasing a woman into the water. Another report saw a kayaker’s ‘scary encounter’ with the animal when she approached his vessel.   Yet on 14 August, the mammal was killed by the government. In less than a month, her celebrity status declined and she was painted as a danger to the public. Erik Born, a senior scientist at the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources said: ‘Walruses are unpredictable in their behaviour and are perfectly well able to catch a seal between their front flippers and stab...