DES ABEND NEWS

Turkey has begun 'retaliation' missile strikes in Northern Syria and Iraq, after a bomb attack in Istanbul last week killed six people.  Credit: anews.com.  By: Sam Feierabend. The target for the bombings has been against Kurdish militant bases and have killed 11 civilians, including a journalist say the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). The SDF are led by militants from Kurdistan, the long-debated region that covers Northern Iraq and Syria. Kurdish people have long been targeted by others, including ISIS and Al-Assad's Syrian army.  Despite claiming no responsibility, the SDF have seemingly been the target for Turkish counter strikes which have been carried out as retaliation. Last Sunday (13 November), a bomb set off in central Istanbul killed six people and injured another 80. The Turkish ministry of defence has called this offensive Operation Claw Sword, which is claimed to only be targeting terrorist organisations and structures belonging to terrorists. ...

  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 ...

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...

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...

Ukraine has been the focal point of the world’s attention for six months since being invaded by Russia. Whilst the conflict is still ongoing, President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced that on 23 August, the country’s Day of the National Flag, domestic football will restart in Ukraine. Credit: Getty Images. By: Sam Feierabend.  This may seem an odd step to take, considering the country is still crippled by fighting and conflict, yet this has subsided since initial attacks. Russian advancements have stalled and Ukraine are in the process of launching counter-attacks in the southern region of the country in an attempt to regain territory lost in initial stages of fighting. The return of football to the country has been described as ‘a big step’ by head of the Ukrainian FA, Andriy Pavleko, and ‘a sign to the world that Ukraine can and will win’. The Ukrainian Premier League was officially halted in April this year and subsequently suspended. Many teams have been forced to reloc...