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.

By John Underhill American companies have found it much more difficult to freely conduct business in Europe as compared to the U.S. Google is a prime example of this phenomena. The European Commission, which is the EU’s Antitrust regulator, has aggressively pursued Google with large fines and penalties that strike at the core of its business.

By Brittany Dierken Barack Obama’s single most important foreign policy achievement is now being ripped apart by President Donald Trump. President Trump threatens to pull the U.S. out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (referred to as the Iran nuclear deal) by stating that this nuclear deal is “one of the worst and most one-sided transactions the U.S. has ever entered into.” In a speech on Friday, President Trump accused Iran for violating the terms of the deal by sponsoring terrorism and proposed new sanctions.

By Gerald Bannon In 2012, just before the Olympics arrived in London, England, Uber received a private-hire license to run its ride-hailing operation in and around the city. In the five years since, to say that Uber has faced its fair share of controversy would be an understatement. From strict regulations telling drivers where they can and cannot pick up passengers to disputes with black-cab drivers claiming that Uber is hurting their business, the company has spent the better part of its time in London proving to regulators why its license should not be revoked. Unfortunately, just days ago Uber lost this battle as Transport for London (TfL, the main…

By Zachary Perdek The Rohignya have been described as “the world’s most persecuted minority.” They are an ethic group of about 1.1 million who have lived in Myanmar for centuries. They speak a distinct dialect, are majority Muslim, are not considered citizens, and are not recognized as one of the 135 official ethnic groups of Myanmar. On September 11, 2017 the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said that the current situation of the Rohingya in Myanmar, “seems a textbook example of ethnic cleansing,” and the actions of the Myanma government are “without regard for the basic principles of international law.” So, how did we get here, what textbook…

By Sean Assad In response to the prospect of increased economic sanctions from the US, Russia has ordered the US to cut their diplomatic staff by 755. In addition, Russia has said that it will block access to two American diplomatic properties: a warehouse in Moscow and a bucolic picnic ground along the Moscow River. If this sounds somewhat familiar, it is as the US had seized two of Russia’s diplomatic properties in the US last year and 35 Russian diplomats to leave the US. Although, a big difference is that the properties the US seized were used for intelligence gathering, while the properties Russia is threatening to seize are merely…

By Sean Assad The South China Sea is an important and strategic area as well as one of the most tense areas of the world. It sees $5 trillion in shipborne trade every year, and also has major fishing and energy resources. China claims most of this territory despite parts of the the sea being claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam, which has led to intense territorial disputes. These disputes garnered intense international attention in 2016 when the a decision was made in the Philippines’ 2013 case against China by the Hague-based Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA). China had claimed historic rights to the territory but they were only valid if they accorded with…