By Amanda Tesarek On November 9, 2019, a group of lawyers huddled outside the Indian Supreme Court began to cheer, “Jai Shri Ram”[1] ; after a long legal battle, a unanimous verdict now declared a perennially-disputed 2.77-acre parcel of land in Ayodhya as the birthplace of the Hindu god Rama and ordered that a Hindu…
Continue ReadingBy Ryan Rainey On Nov. 8, a Brazilian judge ordered the release of former President Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva from a federal prison.[1] The order followed a decision from Brazil’s highest court to allow criminal defendants to avoid imprisonment while they await the outcome of their appeals.[2] Lula’s criminal case is still pending, and…
Continue ReadingBy Jenna Jonjua On Monday, November 4, 2019, the Trump administration served notice of U.S. withdrawal from the Paris Agreement to the United Nation.[1] In doing so, the U.S., only second in greenhouse gas emissions[2], begins the process of breaking from nearly every other country on the planet, a group accounting for 97 percent of…
Continue ReadingBy Elizabeth Frazier The Trump administration withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in May 2018, reimposing a sanctions regime on Iran in the months that followed.[1] In contrast to economic sanctions authorized by the UN Security Council under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, unilateral sanctions are implemented by a single state…
Continue ReadingBy: Jacky Arness In August of this year, President Donald Trump made an offer to purchase Greenland from Denmark.[1] Though the ensuing conduct of the President was, arguably, absurd,[2] this is not the first time that the United States has attempted to acquire the world’s largest island.[3] In fact, such offers have been made by…
Continue ReadingBy Scott May On September 11, 2019, Governor General Julie Payette dissolved the Canadian Parliament on the advice of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, initiating a six-week political sprint to the federal election on October 21, when Canadians from Québec to British Columbia will cast their ballots to decide which party – or coalition of parties…
Continue ReadingBy Lauren Russ In August, President Trump renewed fears of an attack on Birthright Citizenship when he confirmed at a press conference that he is “seriously” considering ending[1] the Constitutionally protected right to citizenship for individuals born in the United States. [2] While the President has not yet acted on these statements, his administration is…
Continue ReadingBy Brennan Lee Non-Lethal Weapons (NLW) “are explicitly designed and primarily employed so as to incapacitate personnel or materiel, while minimizing fatalities, permanent injury to personnel, and undesired damage to property and the environment.”[1] Despite the name, Non-Lethal Weapons do not include “any complete assurance against lethal effects of the weaponry. The effort is to…
Continue ReadingBy Andrew Mccarty, Staff Member On April 9, 2019, Israel held national congressional elections to determine the 120 new representatives of the 21st Knesset[1], and importantly, the next Prime Minister of Israel. National elections in Israel were originally scheduled for the end of 2019, but in late 2018 the previous Knesset was dissolved over a…
Continue ReadingBy Linfan (Derek) Zha Budha Ismail Jam and his family have fished at Tragadi bunder, a small harbor on the Gujarat, India, for generations.[1] In the nearby village of Navinal, Ranubha Jadeja and many other farmers use well-water to grow cotton, wheat, and other crops.[2] These fishermen and farmers all worked hard to scratch out…
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