President Nicolás Maduro has faced sustained protests in the last few weeks because of both economic and political turmoil. Venezuela has been embroiled in political and economic turmoil over the past year. This situation was heightened by a recent decision by the Venezuelan Supreme Court to effectively nullify the National Assembly and take on the […]
Author: Sophie Khan
Stuck in Limbo: Asylum Seekers in Nauru Unsure of Their Fate Under President Trump
Nauru, the world’s smallest republic which lies about 1800 miles off the coast of Australia, has recently been in the spotlight because of President Donald Trump’s and Australian Prime Minister’s Malcolm Turnbull’s well-publicized phone call. The week after Trump issued his executive order, which banned travel by non-citizens from 7 Muslim majority countries and all […]
Kashmir: One of the World’s Longest Ongoing Conflicts Re-Ignited in 2016
Since July, tensions between India and Pakistan have flared up over the disputed region of Kashmir. While tensions never fully go away, given that there have been three wars over the region, this bout has lasted longer and been more deadly than other recent incidents. The most recent clash saw 7 Pakistani soldiers killed, the […]
CETA and the fate of free trade: Why the EU and Canada’s new deal changes how trade agreements are negotiated for good
After a tumultuous few months, the European Union and Canada finally signed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) last Sunday. CETA is the first agreement of its kind that the EU has signed with a G7 country. The agreement required the approval of all 42 national and regional governments in the EU, which is […]
“Buyer’s Remorse”: Will Congress Regret Overriding President Obama’s Veto on Saudi Arabia Bill?
On Wednesday, Congress overrode President Obama’s veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JUSTA), the first veto override of Obama’s presidency. The vote in the Senate was 97-1 in favor (with only retiring Minority Leader Harry Reid voting against it) and 348-77 in favor in the House, well surpassing the ⅔ votes needed. […]
The State of Affairs in Congress: In the Era of Hyperpolarization, Embrace Bipartisanship or Fail
As the 2016 US primary season nears its end, so too does the current session of Congress. Both houses will be off for half of July for the Democratic and Republican conventions, as well as for most of August and October. A RealClearPolitics average of congressional approval polls from the last month shows only 14.5% of […]
Criminal Justice Reform: A Rare Area of Bipartisan Consensus
In the past few years, there has been a repudiation of the tough-on-crime era of the 1990s by both sides of the aisle. There is a belief that too many low-level offenders, particularly drug offenders, have been locked up for too long, and the government is literally paying the price for it. In 2010, the […]
The Race to Turn the Senate Blue: The Top Senate Contests in the 2016 Election
Though the presidential race has taken up much of the electoral coverage thus far, there are also many close U.S. Senate seats up for grabs that could tilt the Senate in the Democrats favor. Democrats are even hoping the House of Representatives comes into play if there is backlash against Trump and the Republican Party, […]
The Greg Hardy Case: A Symptom of a Bigger Problem in Macho Culture
Greg Hardy, the embattled defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys, has become another glaring symbol of the National Football League’s (NFL) failures to effectively combat domestic violence by its own players. Originally, Hardy was convicted of domestic violence against his ex-girlfriend, Nicole Holder, but he appealed the decision, and the case was dropped after Holder did […]
Hindu Nationalist Violence Increasing in India
In India, there has been a rise in violence against Muslims who have been accused of eating and selling beef. Some Hindus are saying that it is their duty to defend their religious values which state that cows are sacred. Hindus comprise 79.8% of the total population of 1.25 billion Indians while Muslims make up […]