North Korea is facing a major food shortage. Although the country has struggled to feed its people for over two decades, following a famine that killed one million people, the situation has worsened: an estimated 11 million people—40% of the population—are currently malnourished, including one in five children whose growth is stunted due to chronic malnutrition. The notoriously secretive country publicly admitted that it lacks enough food to feed its people in a February memo authored by Kim Song, the North Korean ambassador to the United Nations. However, the announcement was met with skepticism and considered a ploy to reduce sanctions, as it was coincidentally announced ahead of President Trump’s…

By Sarah Everhart On March 15, 2019, fifty Muslims were killed and fifty more were injured when a gunman opened fire in two mosques in New Zealand. Six days later, New Zealand banned military-style semi-automatic weapons. On April. 1, 2019, New Zealand’s government introduced legislation that would ban most semi-automatic firearms. The bipartisan bill is expected to go into effect April 12, 2019. If the bill passes, New Zealand will have banned all military-style semi-automatic weapons and most semi-automatic firearms within four weeks of the mosque shootings. The debate for gun control in the US is one of the most controversial and heavily-debated topics. By some estimates, there have been…

By Ju-Juanna Perkins   The United States of America has a moral obligation to help West African countries to continue to develop. The Transatlantic Slave Trade took place from the 16th to the 19th century and in that time between 10 and 12 million African slaves were brought to the Americas. The majority of the slaves were taken from West Africa. Despite the fact that the transatlantic slave trade ended in the 19th century, the impact that it has had on West Africa has lasted until present day. For countries to thrive it requires that there are citizens there to help grow and maintain that country. However, when several millions of citizens are…

By Madison Kenyon On May 20, 2018, President Nicolás Maduro, the socialist party candidate, won a second term as president of Venezuela.  This second term began in January, and if it lasts, is supposed to be a six-year term.  However, President Maduro’s re-election is plagued by many accusations of fraudulent votes, resulting in many questioning his legitimacy as President of Venezuela. Formal opposition began in late January, when about 300,000 Venezuelan citizens met in the streets of Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, to denounce Mr. Maduro’s claim to the presidency.  Along with this, Juan Guaidó has stepped forward claiming the rights to the presidency.  Mr. Guaidó asserts that since the re-election…

By Zacharia Sonallah Last week, Freshman Congresswoman Ilhan Omar came under criticism from both Republicans and Democrats after she criticized the role of pro-Israel lobbyists in the United States discourse.  Omar responded to a Tweet critical of lawmakers in the U.S. who defend Israel with the phrase “It’s all about the Benjamins baby.” The line, popularized in a 1997 rap song by “Puff Daddy & The Family,” uses the term “Benjamins” to refer to hundred-dollar bills.  Omar’s comments received a wide array of reactions.  Some leaders accused Omar of anti-Semitism, while fellow lawmakers, such as congressmen Dan Kildee, Steny Hoyer and Rashida Tlaib all defended Omar against the accusation. Omar’s comment,…

By Delaney Moore During Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign, he promised his supporters that, if he won the election, he would “improve” border security by building a wall separating the U.S. and Mexico.  Countless times he insisted that Mexico would foot the bill for the wall, not the U.S.  Flash forward to January 2019; Mexico is not paying for the wall and the U.S. government is experiencing the longest shutdown in U.S. history. Beginning on December 22, 2018, the U.S. government has been partially shutdown due to Congress refusing to pass a spending bill that would allocate $5.7 billion to build Trump’s proposed wall.  Approximately 800,000 federal government employees have been…

By Chitra Dave There have been a series of developments in the ongoing feud between China and Canada. China has issued a travel warning to all of their citizens to warn of arbitrary detention at the request of a third-party country.[1]They have advised their citizens to be cautious of their actions and evaluate the risks before traveling to any Canadian province.[2]Canada has retaliated by issuing their own travel advisory against the Chinese. Canada cites arbitrary enforcement of Chinese criminal laws against non-Chinese nationals. Chinese-Canadian tensions reached a high in December 2018, with the arrest of Chinese national Meng Wanzhou, a HuaweiExecutivetrustee, in Canadaon espionage charges. On December 1, 2018, Meng…

By Lydia Parenteau Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. is a “global provider of information and communications technology infrastructure and smart devices”.[1]  The company was started 30 years ago in China.[2]  Huawei currently employs 180,000 people; is close to launching a 5G network; and earned 92.5 million dollars in 2017.[3]However, in the last few months Huawei has been involved in multiple international transgressions. Notably, Huawei’s chief financial officer, Meng Wanzhou, was arrested in Vancouver, Canada on December 1, 2018.[4]  The Canadian Government arrested Meng Wanzhou at the request of the U.S. Government.[5]  U.S. authorities allege that Huawei, to get around U.S. and European Union sanctions on Iran and Syria, created at least…

By Alexander Trunfio The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC for short) was founded in 1960 in order to coordinate and unify petroleum policies of the member countries, as well as to ensure the stabilization of the global oil market. The organization has had a profound impact on the global oil market since it was established, and many of its members have enjoyed the agreement, as it has given the member countries true sovereignty over their natural resources. However, not all members have been totally satisfied with the agreement. Qatar announced Monday that it would be pulling out of the agreement at the beginning of 2019. Qatar currently produces about…

By Nick Carter Brexit has been a rocky transition for the UK. The country has faced an abundance of issues in trying to move forward with the withdrawal since invoking Article 50 of the Treaty of the European Union (making its intention to withdraw from the EU official) in March 2017. The most recent cause for Brexit-related concern has been the uncertainty surrounding the status of Gibraltar (yes, Gibraltar) upon the UK’s exit from the EU. Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located right below Spain. Since it is classified as a UK dependent, it will go as the United Kingdom goes. Thus, it is slated to withdraw from the…