A report released on International Women’s Day 2026 by the UN Secretary-General found that, globally, women hold only 64% of the legal rights of men, thereby exposing them to “discrimination, violence, and exclusion at every stage of their lives.” Six months later, on September 17, 2026, this year’s UN General Assembly published a joint report by UN Women and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs titled The Gender Snapshot 2026. The annual report tracks progress on “Sustainable Development Goals” (SDGs). SDGs, which include ending gender-based poverty, food insecurity, and violence against women, and promoting female education, leadership, and equal pay, are social and economic benchmarks. They are measured…

On Wednesday, May 20, when Detroit-bound Air France Flight 378 approached Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW), U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) denied it permission to land and redirected it to Montréal-Trudeau International Airport (YUL) in Canada. Their single error? They allowed a citizen of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo) to board the flight amidst a travel restriction from the U.S. The World Health Organization (WHO) advised that countries avoid closing their borders for international travel and trade on Ebola-infected regions and supported the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) insistence that international air travel was safe. Nevertheless, on May 17, the WHO declared a state of emergency…

Texas Oil tycoon, T. Boone Pickens, once said: “Oil is the blood of the economy, but it’s also the poison.” Oil is not merely a commodity, required to keep the lights on and cars moving, but it can be used as a geopolitical tool. The 1973 Middle Eastern oil embargo displayed the distinct power oil has over geopolitical considerations and actions. Oil like air, in the modern age, is a necessity for life which can be turned into a weapon. On February 28, 2026, the United States and Israel commenced a concentrated bombardment campaign against Iran. The conflict, now a regional war, has culminated in the destruction of US military facilities in the region and…

The use of film and video footage in modern international conflicts has become increasingly central to how international law identifies and prosecutes potential war crimes, and assesses other global conflicts. The intersection of film documentation and international conflict has strengthened with the globalization of social media and other filming resources in order to document events around the world. A recent example comes from the February 28, 2026 visual documentation of a U.S missile striking a military target adjacent to a school in Iran, killing over 160 civilians, many being children. Under the International Humanitarian Law, this has become a pivotal key for assessment by investigators and legal experts to see…

On April 7, 2026, President Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran after previously threatening to “send them back to the stone age” with overwhelming military force. The announcement appeared to mark a turning point and potential pathway toward de-escalation following weeks of intensifying conflict. The administration framed the agreement narrowly. Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for a cessation of U.S. military action, while both parties would engage in further negotiations in Pakistan for a broader resolution. However, the terms of the agreement were never clearly defined, and competing interpretations quickly emerged. Pakistan, which brokered the deal, along with Iranian officials, asserted that the U.S. had…

Since the release of GLP-1s on the public market, citizens from countries across the globe have flocked to what some medical professionals have called this new generation’s miracle drug. According to the Indiana University School of Medicine, prior research suggests that, in the United States alone, the use of GLP-1s have increased by fortyfold between 2017 and 2021. While it is true that the United States has the largest GLP-1 market in the world, data from the last few years shows that GLP-1s have become popular in other markets such as the United Kingdom, who is currently leading the European market with their rise in NHS Ozempic Prescriptions. Looking at…

America is looking to the stars more than ever before. And no, Rocky and Ryan Gosling from the new movie “Project Hail Mary” are not the reasons for it (as fun as Rocky seems to be having flying through and saving the stars). The reason is largely NASA’s Artemis II mission. Artemis II represents the first-time humans have orbited the Moon in over half a century and paves the way for potential crewed landing missions in the coming years. Artemis II also represents a check in the timeline of the so-called “New Space Race,” which has pitted the U.S. against other nations, such as Russia and China, tested the limits…

On February 28, 2026, a conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran arose after weeks of building tension. Since then, both parties have carried out strikes targeting military assets. This conflict has yet to be resolved, and its continuation is affecting global trade. The Middle East is a crucial location for many shipping routes and a key hub for energy production. Conflict within this area disrupts supply chains, energy markets, oil markets, and trade overall, negatively affecting the global economy by reshaping trade patterns. Specifically, the Strait of Hormuz in Iran is a crucial shipping route, with around 25% of the world’s oil and 20% of the world’s natural…

Mexico’s President Claudia Shienbaum Pardo and Secretary of Culture, Claudia Curiel de Icaza, alongside Mexican actress Salma Hayek Pinault unveiled the country’s plan to support the local Mexican film industry this past February. This plan is a modernization of the 1992 Film Plan as film producers have sought out fiscal support while filming in Mexican states. The ultimate goal of the plan is to attracting major film productions to Mexico, establishing Mexico as a benchmark in the Latin American film industry. The crown jewel of this plan is a thirty percent tax incentive promised to projects that are shot in Mexico. In order to qualify for the Mexican film tax…

Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz to international passage and trade, depriving the world of the movement of approximately a fifth of globally produced oil. Iranian attacks on commercial ships in the strait demonstrate the regime’s determination to broadly retaliate against the international community for the joint, American-Israeli attack, known as Operation Epic Fury, which began on February 28, 2026. Now, President Trump is not only calling on NATO allies to assist American military forces to keep the Strait of Hormuz open for business, but he’s making a rare call on China to assist as well. Closing the Strait is not simply a reactive, defensive countermeasure by an…