Russia, Ukraine war2

International Headlines, 2023,

From the smouldering war in Ukraine to the new one in Gaza, the world was gripped by conflict in the year 2023

NKRUMAH BANKONG-OBI/Lafia

All the wars that started or continued in 2023 had international dimensions, raising the fears that a third World War maybe afoot. The Russian war on Ukraine which started on February 24, 2022 has intensified, as the Kremlin seeks to expand its frontiers, sack the government of Volodymir Zelensky in Kyiv and annex bring back Ukraine into the old Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, USSR orbit. President Putin’s strategy has been to target power installations, living areas and cut-off far-flung territories from Kyiv. But a resolute Zelensky has led Ukraine to resist all attempts to capture his country. While territories like Donbass, Luhansk, Donetsk remain under Russian country and in a State of war since 2014 invasion, the current war has been waged largely in Kyiv, Kherson, Kharkiv, Mariupol etc.

Support has come for Ukraine from member-states of the North Atlantic Treaty organisation, NATO with the United States leading the pack in the war-time military packages delivered to Ukraine.  As the war continues, the world is constantly on the edge over the potential impact to the nuclear-power facilities in Chernobyl and Zaporizhzia.

In Africa, the Sudan began to hug global headlines when opposing factions in the country’s security architecture began to a full-blown war on April 15 while the Ramadan or month-long fasting was being observed across the Muslim world. Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF commanded by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan andits rival, Rapid Support Forces (RSF) a paramilitary organisation led byMohammed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, a former deputy chairman of the country’s military transitional council.

The war has resulted in thousands of deaths and hundreds of thousands of refugees spread across the East African region. The world appears to have moved on from the local war even though it has a lot of international dimension. The RSF is believed to be a proxy of the Russian quest for control in the region. In spite of the death of the founder of the Wagner, Pavel Prigozhinmercenary, who was believed to provide the RSF cash and military ware, the war has continued unabated.

And then on June 20, the chief executive officer of OceanGate Expeditions, Stockton Rush and four others were onboard a submersible capsule which disappeared as it tried to reach scene of the sunken Titanic. The mishap drew global attention as it brought to focus the dangers associated with researching the exact cause of the crash of the Titanic centuries ago. Other passengers in the vessel included; British billionaire, Hamish Harding, French diver, Paul Henry Nargeolet, frontline Pakistani businessman, Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman.

Of all events, it was the events of October 7 that drew the attention of the world most. On that day, during the Supernova must festival, members of Palestinian militia group, Hamas which controls the government of Gaza took hold of southern, and massacred, raped and maimed people including taking over 260 people hostage. Hundreds of people have now been known to have died from the attack

Mahmood Abbas and Netanyahu

The following day, after meeting with war-time cabinet, Israel declared a full-scale war on Hamas. The Israel Defence Forces began operations on the Gaza Strip. As at the time of filing this report, 21,000 people are reportedly dead and 55, 000 others injured in the Strip. Majority of those affected are believed to be children and women.

The Israel-Hamas war has reawakened international embers in the Middle east. The Houthi attacks on international shipping vessels and Iranian heighten attacks on the Red Sea, in revenge of its revolutionary Forces commander who was killed in Syria,a continue to pedal hard on the escalating the conflict. While Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to exterminate Hamas, the U.S government believe that IDP needs to rejig strategy so as not to lose global and local support for the toppling of the militia.

Other minor global events included the return of David Cameron, former British Prime Minister as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs in the government Rishi Sunak.

And then in December 18, the Vatican through its Dicastery for the Propagation of the Faith issued the “Fiducia Supplicans” or On the Pastoral Meaning of Blessings, permitted priests to bless people in same sex marriage or what the arcane religious organisation calls “people in irregular relationships.” That sparked disagreements on the propriety or otherwise of the news advisory. The Francis, the pontiff who leads the world’s 1.4billion Catholics has not had his authority questioned as it happened now since he was elected as Pope in 2013