Headlines:
- America Abandons the Kurds Again
- US-China Trade War Escalates
- Abrar Fahad: Killing of Bangladesh Student Triggers Protests
America Abandons the Kurds Again
The Kurds of northern Syria probably hold the world record for being stabbed in the back the most than anyone else in the same theatre than anyone else in history. In an announcement on Sunday 6th October, the White House Press Secretary released a statement that said, “Today, President Donald J. Trump spoke with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey by telephone. Turkey will soon be moving forward with its long-planned operation in Northern Syria. The United States Armed Forces will not support or be involved in that operation, and the United States forces, having defeated the ISIS territorial ‘Caliphate,’ will no longer be in the immediate area.” The US under Trump is not consistently pulling out of agreements and become an unreliable partner. A lesson the Kurds have not learnt after nearly a century of siding with colonial powers, who always sold them out.
US-China Trade War Escalates
The US-China trade war took another turn this week as the US Commerce Department added 28 Chinese entities to its Entity List over human rights abuses in the Xinjiang Region. The list of companies includes producers of surveillance cameras, such as Dahua and Hikvision, and artificial intelligence startups. Although the US Commerce Department’s announcement has yet to affect trade talks, China will likely push back against the blacklisting in upcoming negotiations with the US. Beijing could also move forward with its own list of US companies that could affect US business ties to China.
Abrar Fahad: Killing of Bangladesh Student Triggers Protests
Students across Bangladesh are protesting after an undergraduate was beaten to death at one of the country’s most prestigious universities. The body of Abrar Fahad, 21, was found in a dormitory, days after he posted comments criticising the government. Several members of the student wing of the governing Awami League have been detained in connection with the death. The Bangladesh Chhatra League (BCL), the student wing of the Awami League, has been widely accused of using torture and extortion against students. On Monday, students in Dhaka and other cities staged street protests, chanting slogans and blocking roads. Protests continued on Tuesday with students at Buet demanding the death penalty for those found guilty of the killing. Former students and members of the teaching staff also joined the demonstration on the Buet campus. “This is totally unacceptable that a student will die from torture in a residential hall,” said AKM Masud, president of the Buet Teachers’ Association, according to Bangladeshi site bdnews24.com. “Abrar Fahad’s death has proved the authorities’ complete failure to ensure the safety of students.” The Awami league has for long run Bangladesh as a fascist state where all criticism is not tolerated, even after they have run the country into the ground.