By Courtney Griffin On Monday January 9th, the Trump administration announced its plan to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for nationals of El Salvador. This decision came just weeks after the white house announced the termination of TPS for Haitians. Combined, these decisions to terminate TPS could leave close to 300,000 immigrants- many of whom have lived in the US for over a decade without legal status.

By Sarah Shepp On January 2, 2018, South Korea invited North Korea to participate in the 2018 Winter Olympics that will be held in Pyeongchang, South Korea in February. South Korea has offered high-level talks with North Korea that are scheduled to take place on Tuesday, January 9th, to discuss North Korea’s possible participation in the Games. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stated that the two countries should “urgently meet to discuss the possibility” and South Korean President Moon Jae-in said this would be “a ground breaking chance” to improve relations between the two countries.

By Sarah Purtill To put it simply, Bitcoin is a currency that was created in 2009 by an unknown creator. The creator used the alias Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin is unlike other currencies in many ways. For instance, Bitcoin does not use banks. Bitcoin can be used to buy merchandise and/or services and it can be used anonymously. Because Bitcoin is not tied to any country or susceptible to regulations, international transactions are much simpler. Bitcoin also has no credit card fee.

By Morgan Hinckley Currently, the United States has an Embassy in the bustling city of Tel Aviv. President Donald Trump is debatably expected to announce in the next week or so, that the Embassy is to be moved to Jerusalem. He was adamant about this move during his campaign, but has delayed the official move in June in hopes of a peaceful resolution. If President Trump and his advisors were to move Israel’s embassy, an expected increase of tensions will rise between the Israelis and the Palestinians. While keeping this peace in mind, President Trump and his advisors have started outlining a long-term strategy to make the eventual move to…

By Trevor McDaniel For almost 40 years, Robert Mugabe was the leader of Zimbabwe, until early November when his military placed him under surveillance and he was forced to resign a few weeks later, allowing his recently-ousted Vice President to be sworn in as his successor. His departure can have deep consequences for the stability of Sub-Sahara Africa, in the same way that the removal of Saddam Hussein had deeply felt, and dire consequences for the Middle East. If we look back, Saddam Hussein was a deeply troubling man and leader, known for using chemical weapons against the Kurdish people in Northern Iraq. Despite this, he was a beacon of…

By Chris Battiloro Nuclear weapons are a prolific topic in current global discussions. A topic that is becoming increasingly relevant as political tensions increase throughout the world. Currently, there are nine countries known to possess nuclear weapons: China, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, France, India, Israel, Pakistan, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. While many politicians focus on advocating to eliminate nuclear proliferation, there are silent benefits to permitting countries to possess nuclear weapons.

By Charlotte Munday It is widely known that on June 1, 2017 the United States withdrew from the Paris Agreement. As of that time it joined Syria and Nicaragua as the only countries not party to the agreement. About a month ago Nicaragua stated that they would sign the agreement, and now Syria has followed Nicaragua’s path. The United States remains the only country not party to the Paris Agreement. So, where does this leave the U.S.?

By Quinn Cartelli The Louvre was built in the 12th century by King Philippe Augustus as a defensive fortress to protect his city, Paris, from invaders. Expansion of the city beyond its original borders prompted the King to make architectural changes to the Louvre. It thus became a home to the wealthiest and most powerful figures in French history. Notwithstanding a period of brief neglect, it would continue to serve as a symbol for the wealth, power, and extravagance of the monarchy for six hundred years before becoming the world renowned Musée de Louvre in 1793. The shift from a private home for the elite to a national museum, which the…

By Elizabeth Zimmer As of November 2017, the catastrophic Myanmar genocide has the potential to become the “most significant humanitarian catastrophe” since the Rwandan genocide in the 1990s. For members of the general public, this might come as a surprise. The victims of this catastrophe are known as the Rohingya. They are Indo-Aran people who are currently stateless but originate from Myanmar, a southeast Asia nation. The Rohingya people for decades have been experiencing suppression and aggressive government tactics that led many professionals in the humanitarian field to believe genocide was the likely conclusion. The suppression experienced by the Rohingya people includes the denial of citizenship to Myanmar, restricted movement,…

By Eugene Mok On Friday, October 27, 2017, the autonomous Generalitat of Catalonia officially announced its independence from Spain. The Catalan parliament voted in favor of secession, while the Spanish parliament directly opposed such decision by approving the Spanish Prime Minister’s request to invoke Article 155 of Spain’s constitution, which essentially allows the central government to dissolve the Catalan government and impose direct rule over the region.