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Thirteen-year-long Syrian Civil War ends with rebel capture of Damascus
by Kushagra Kumar
(Syrian maps included)
Syria is a diverse country with many different ethnicities, causing conflict and instability in the country for decades. Now, one of these horrible conflicts is finally over after a brutal 13 years.
The Arab Spring
In the early 2010s, many revolts in the Arab world took place in many different countries, toppling the government and creating democracies. Some countries where this happened include Tunisia (where the Arab Spring began), Egypt, and Libya, while the president of Yemen gave power to the rebels himself. However, Bahraini and Syrian leaders did not lose their power. Police in Bahrain famously destroyed a roundabout made of pearls while keeping down the rebellions.
In fact, in Syria, President Bashar al-Assad started to use military force to keep down the rebellions, sparking a bloody civil war.
Civil War
Instability started with the use of military forces against rebels in Syria. This escalated into a war in mid-2012. Other countries tried to get Syria to stop the conflict, but by 2018 the government had taken back control of almost all of the areas the rebels had command over.
Many were forced to leave the country as refugees. Most refugees ended up going to Türkiye (Turkey) and some even went to Europe and the US.
Rebellion in 2024
Russia supported the Syrian government, which was led by President Assad, with equipment and fighter jets. After the conflict in Ukraine, Russia was more focused on the fighting there instead of in Syria.
Recently (Nov. & Dec. 2024), this gave a particular rebel group, Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, or HTS, a chance to end the war. They fought Syrian forces in the large, old, and famous northern city of Aleppo and took control of it. After this they went south to the cities of Hama and Homs, which they gradually took.
By now, they had captured a lot of major cities and are very close to Damascus, the Syrian capital (fun fact: Damascus is one of the world's oldest cities). After more fighting, Damascus fell on Sunday, December 8th, and President Assad fled, ending the war.
Here are some maps of the many areas of Syria, controlled by many different entities, including Syria itself, rebel groups, the Kurds, Türkiye, and the US.
1st one: MAP OF SYRIA, 2013
2nd one: MAP OF SYRIA, 2016
3rd one: MAP OF SYRIA, 2024
(Maps Source: Wikipedia.org)
(Source [for only some information]: Kids.Britannica.com)
KEY:
White: Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham forces (the ones who ended the war)
Light green in south: US-backed rebels, US
Pink: Southern Operations Room (more rebels)
Light green in north: Syrian Interim Government, Türkiye military
Grey: No one controls (Terra nullius)
Blue: Israel military
Red: Syrian government (no longer exists)
Light grey bars (2024 map only) and dark grey shaded: Islamic State
Some fun facts:
Trump is the second person to have two non-consecutive presidential terms, after Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th president.
He is also the only president who had never had any political or military experience prior to the 2016 presidential election.
Trump will be the oldest president in history, being a few months older than Biden was when he won in 2020, when he will be sworn in on January 20th.
If Harris had won, she would have been the first Asian-American and first woman (as well as the first Asian-American woman) to be a US president.
Harris was the 32nd Attorney General of California before being a California senator and the 49th US vice president.
2024 ELECTORAL COLLEGE MAP
Top one: (as of 11/6/2024, 6:30pm)
Bottom one: (as of 12/11/2024, 2:00pm)
KEY:
Blue = Won by Democrats in both 2020 and 2024
Red = Won by Republicans in both 2020 and 2024
Shaded Dark Blue = Won by Democrats in 2024, but not in 2020
Shaded Dark Red = Won by Republicans in 2024, but not in 2020
Shaded Grey = Count not complete (Percentage means percent reported)
Roughly 2,000 years ago, Mount Vesuvius erupted, destroying the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Now a group of scientists is working to decode one of the great mysteries of that time – the scrolls of Herculaneum.
In 1752, workers digging in Herculaneum uncovered a home that had belonged to a rich person. Inside, under a layer of volcanic mud, workers discovered over 600 scrolls – the largest library of the ancient world. Most of the scrolls were made from papyrus – a paper-like material. The heat from the volcano had burned the scrolls so much that they looked like chunks of charcoal.
The scrolls were so fragile that just touching them could make them fall apart. So scientists have been looking for ways to read the scrolls without opening them.
Brent Seales, a computer scientist at the University of Kentucky has been working on this for over 20 years.
Dr. Seales developed a method of using a CT (computed tomography) scanner to take 3D X-ray images of a papyrus scroll. Then he uses a computer program to “unroll” the scroll, and get pictures of what it looks like on the inside. In 2016, his team used this method to read a burned scroll found near the Dead Sea.
But the scrolls from Herculaneum are much harder. The ink is made from charcoal and water, and doesn’t show up well in CT scans. Still, Dr. Seales hoped to be able to find the writing on the scrolls by looking for places where the papyrus was rougher. He trained an AI program to look for these patterns.
(newsforkids.net)
Axolotls are famous for their ability to heal themselves. If an axolotl loses a leg, or even part of its heart, brain, or lungs, it can regrow them. Scientists have long been interested in how the axolotl does this. Some people think the information could help solve some human medical problems.
There are several different species of axolotls in Mexico. All of them are seriously endangered. The Mexican axolotl, which is the best-known, is only found naturally in Lake Xochimilco near Mexico City. This is not a big, open lake, but a collection of canals and smaller bodies of water.
Sadly, axolotls are in trouble. The number of axolotls in Xochimilco has dropped 99.5% in less than 20 years. Scientists used to find thousands of axolotls in a fairly small area. Now, they’re only finding dozens.
There are a number of reasons for the drop in axolotls. One is that the water in the canals has become more and more polluted. Another is that there are invasive fish in the lake which are eating the axolotl’s food, and even their babies.
Scientists at Mexico’s National Autonomous University (UNAM) have been working for years to try to protect the axolotls.
Last year, the UNAM scientists started a program they called “AdoptAxolotl”. They asked people to donate money to help pay for efforts to save the axolotl.
(newsforkids.net)
On Tuesday, Virgin Atlantic flew a large passenger jet from London to New York using 100% “Sustainable Aviation Fuel” (SAF). The flight was meant to show that it’s possible to fly using cleaner fuels, but experts disagree about the effects of SAF on the climate.
Airplane travel creates nearly 3% of the world’s greenhouse gases. That makes cutting pollution from flying an important part of the fight against the climate crisis. Airlines and plane makers are working hard to figure out ways to make their flights pollute less.
Tuesday’s flight was supposed to draw attention to these efforts. The Boeing 787 can carry hundreds of passengers. But for the test flight, the plane only held people from the companies involved, and some reporters. Still, the plane crossed the Atlantic Ocean with its engines powered by 100% sustainable fuel.
That’s a big deal. Normally, airplanes can use up to 50% SAF, and this is mixed with the kerosene that the planes usually use for fuel. Virgin Atlantic had to get special permission to use 100% SAF.
The fuel used on the flight was mainly made from used cooking oils and animal fats. A small part of the fuel was made from corn waste. Virgin Atlantic says that using SAF cut the flight’s pollution by 70%. SAF still pollutes when it’s burned, just like regular jet fuel. The difference is in how the fuels are made.
SAF is made from plants (and related animal products) that once absorbed carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air. When SAF burns, it just releases this same CO2 again. That’s different from jet fuel, which is made from oil pumped from underground, releasing CO2 that was deeply buried.
SAF may sound great, but it still has many problems. For one thing, SAF costs as much as five times as much as regular jet fuel. That helps explain why only one-tenth of 1% of the fuel airlines currently use is SAF. (That’s just one gallon – or liter – out of every thousand.)
Virgin Atlantic is hoping that its flight will encourage more companies to produce SAF and that this will bring the price down.
But even if the price of SAF drops, critics say there are still big problems with it. They say it’s easy to make small amounts of SAF out of plant waste. But to make as much SAF as the airlines really need would require farmers to grow plants for fuel instead of for eating. This could also lead to more forests being cut down for farmland.
Airlines like SAF because it can be used now in existing planes with no changes. They hope it will help quickly reduce airplane pollution until non-polluting fuels are developed.
Governments seem to agree that SAF is a step in the right direction. Both the United States and the European Union have set targets that will sharply increase the use of SAF in coming years. But airline companies have a long way to go to reach their goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050.
(newsforkids.net)
In 2024 NASA plans to send 4 astronauts on a journey to the south pole of the moon. The agency announced the mission that Artemis II will fly around the moon. It's crew including the first women and the first person of color on a moon mission, it also includes the first Canadian!
The goal of this mission is to land humans on the moon again in 2026, though it's a long way away the goal in mind is clear; NASA plans to build a permanent base on the moon. This is a historic moment because the last time astronauts even approached the moon was 1972, 52 years ago.
Could Mac Jones be the next G.O.A.T.?
By Brendan O'Shaughnessy
If you are a New England Patriots fan you were probably upset when Tom Brady left the team in March, 2020. What a horrible month! First everything shuts down, then Brady leaves? With Brady gone, the Patriots needed a quarterback. They signed QB Cam Newton from free agency, and he became their starter. He did not last long, though. Being New England’s first pick in the 2021 NFL Draft(15th overall), Mac Jones replaced him as their new starting QB. Newton was cut later that week. The question really is, will Mac Jones be as good as the legend, Tom Brady?
Experts think there might be a chance. ESPN NFL Draft expert Todd McShay is one of those.”(Mac Jones)reminds a little bit of Dan Marino or even Tom Brady in terms of, and I'm not saying the same skill level, but not very mobile but really good inside the pocket.” he once said on the show, “Keyshawn, JWill and Zubin”. Similarly, former Chicago Bears coach, Marc Trestman, also thinks there’s a chance. “He can produce and work within the structure that Tom Brady did,” Trestman said. Those experts say there's a chance, but what do the stats say?
In Mac Jones’ first five games as a starter in the NFL, he had a completion rate of around 75%. That’s just below the average for a QB, but for a rookie it’s pretty good, especially compared to Tom Brady. Brady only had around a 60% completion rate. Big difference. Mac definitely wins that one. In his NFL Combine, Mac Jones got a 4.83 second 40 yard dash. Brady got 5.30 seconds. The same thing happened with the vertical jump, Jones getting 32” and Brady getting 24.5”. As this evidence suggests, Mac Jones had a much better combine than Tom Brady.
Clearly, the stats and experts say there is a chance, but until Mac Jones wins 7 Super Bowls, 5 MVPS, throws for over 80,000 passing yards, over 600 TD’s, and has over 7,000 completions, Tom Brady is still better. Mac Jones has the skill to pass Brady, but only time will tell if he can pull it off.
News from around town and our area of Massachusetts.
By Isla Thomas
Have you ever felt the town was missing something? Well this might be what it was missing, Liberty Sweets. The new candy shop in town can be found by Abbotts. There is pick-in-mix, Jelly beans, squishamallows, giant lollypops, Nerds gummyclusters, soda, chocolate and more. When you walk inside you will be welcomed by their friendly staff and the aroma of delicious candy. Inside there is this sign made out of Jelly Beans and a class case of chocolate. This shop is the perfect fit in Lexington, It is filled with tasty candy to satisfy your sweet tooth.
By Anjali Raju
On December 4, 2024, I was at MIT as all of MIT gathered to launch the exciting "MIT HEALS" initiative, celebrating the rich history and promising future of health and life sciences research. MIT is creating the Health and Life Sciences Collaborative to drive high-impact solutions through interdisciplinary projects spanning engineering, science, AI, economics, business, policy, design, and the humanities. The collaborative will also strengthen partnerships between MIT, hospitals, and industry to fund research, share data, connect investors, and advance commercilization.
MIT is home to many nobel prize winners and I actually got to hear from one of them, Dr. Phillip Sharp. Other speakers included the Governor of Massechusetts, the President of MIT, and professors from science, engineering, AI, businness, economics, and policy. What an experience!
If you have any questions, email:
31stu058@lexingtonma.org
COMING SOON! All Country Flags Quiz
NOTE 1: Country is defined (in this quiz) as: all UN members, as well as Palestine, Kosovo, Taiwan, and Vatican City.
NOTE 2: Please enter your answers CAPITALIZED properly (Yes, it is text input)! Most common abbreviations will be taken (e.g. DRC for Democratic Republic of the Congo).
I've tried my best to include all the countries as well as all abbreviations and alternative names. If there is a mistake or suggestion, please contact The Diamond Times.
Gimkit link: IN PROGRESS
-Kushagra Kumar