WEEKLY NEWS ROUNDUP: ABBA RETURNS AFTER 40 YEARS, US WAR IN AFGHANISTAN ENDS, KANYE DROPS DONDA & MORE

7 BLACK MEN WRONGLY EXECUTED FOR ALLEGED RAPE ARE PARDONED 70 YEARS LATER
7 young black men referred to as ‘The Martinsville Seven’ who were condemned as guilty by an all-white jury in 1949 have been officially pardoned 70 years after their wrongful execution. Virginia’s Democratic governor Ralph Northam announced his plans to pardon all those convicted after an appeals court found that none of the men had been afforded the right to due process. 

CRISTIANO RONALDO OFFICIALLY RETURNS TO MANCHESTER UNITED
One of the world’s greatest footballers Cristiano Ronaldo has reached an agreement to return to the club that first signed him at the age of 17. Last Sunday, Manchester United signed a £12.9m deal to purchase Ronaldo from his former club Juventus after rumours began circling5 that the superstar may be headed to rival club Manchester City. Rather than see him play at City, United ownership made the move to bring Ronaldo back to the club he first started at. In Ronaldo’s first stint in Manchester, he scored 118 goals in 292 games before departing the club for Real Madrid in 2009. Now all attention turns to this year’s Premier League race as United look ready to make a strong push for the title. 

THE US & BRITISH WAR IN AFGHANISTAN OFFICIALLY ENDS AS THE LAST TROOP LEAVES KABUL
On Tuesday, the 20-year long occupation of Afghanistan by US & British troops officially came to a close as the last remaining troops left Kabul airport aboard military aircraft. As the evening of the 31st of August came to a close and Biden’s evacuation deadline came and passed, Major General Chris Donahue boarded a military cargo vessel as the last soldier in Afghanistan, ending the longest war in American military history. The announcement was met with mixed responses as the joys felt at the return of armed forces were muffled by fears of an uncertain future for remaining western and Afghan civilians now living under Taliban rule.    

TERRORIST ATTACK ROCKS THE CITY OF AUCKLAND IN NEW ZEALAND
This morning, New Zealand police have confirmed that they have shot dead an ‘extremist’ inspired by Islamic State after he stabbed and injured at least 6 people at a supermarket in Auckland. The attack unfolded this morning at LynnMall in the city centre of Auckland as a man known to police as a potential threat entered the supermarket with a knife and began attacking innocent civilians. In a statement made by New Zealand PM Jacinda Ardern, it became clear that the attacker was being closely monitored by police, stating “ The attacker was a Sri Lankan national who had been in New Zealand for 10 years and had been a “person of interest” for about five years”. Police Commissioner Andrew Coster added, “We were doing absolutely everything possible to monitor him and indeed the fact that we were able to intervene so quickly, in roughly 60 seconds, shows just how close we were watching him”.

OUTKAST RELEASES ‘ATLINES’ MERCH TO CELEBRATE THE ALBUMS 25TH ANNIVERSARY
After announcing the release of the upcoming ATlines Video Games, OutKast has teased a new line of apparel including a bespoke Bomber Jacket to compliment the release. Both the video game and the apparel collection are being made to commemorate the 1996 release of the groups iconic breakout album ATLiens. Now they plan to drop an expanded version of the original album including unheard tracks, The apparel collection comprises slides, bucket hats, hoodies and of course their signature letterman jacket.