By Charlie Ryu, Staff Member In 2017, Amazon had a great year; it announced the opening of a second headquarters, inviting numerous biddings from many city governments and officials[1], bought Whole Foods for approximately $14 billion[2], and its stock price grew by 56%[3].[4] However, despite having such a successful year, Amazon paid zero in federal…
Continue ReadingBy Lindsey Schwalbach, Staff Member In the last twenty years a number of prominent sovereigns have defaulted, including most notably Argentina in 2001-2002 and 2014[1], Greece in 2012[2] and 2014[3], and Venezuela[4] and Puerto Rico[5] in 2017. Argentina is obviously no stranger to the sovereign debt restructuring process.[6] Since the year 2000, Argentina has defaulted…
Continue ReadingBy Caroline Sell, Staff Member This October 2018, world leaders and stakeholders gathered to reaffirm the principles of the Declaration of Alma-Ata through the Astana Declaration on Primary Health Care.[1] Led by a partnership between the World Health Organization (WHO), under the direction of Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and the United Nations Children’s Fund…
Continue ReadingBy Sam Horowitz, Staff Member On October 17, 2018, the Cannabis Act came into effect in Canada and recreational marijuana became legal.[1] Canada became the second country in the world—after Uruguay—and the only country in the G20 to legalize the drug.[2] Half a century and hundreds of billions of dollars into the war on drugs,[3]…
Continue ReadingBy Cindy Shi, Staff Member On October 2, 2018, Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist who wrote for The Washington Post entered the Saudi Arabia consulate in Istanbul and was never seen again.[1] He was trying to obtain documents to marry his fiancée, Hatice Cengiz.[2] Turkey alleges that Khashoggi was killed in the consulate, while Saudi Arabia…
Continue ReadingBy Will O’Connor, Staff Member Since abandoning the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action-also known as the Iran nuclear agreement-the Trump administration has pursued an implicit policy of encouraging regime change in Iran.[1] The administration demanded that Iran abandon much of that nation’s foreign policy before the United States will lift sanctions.[2] The Trump administration’s…
Continue ReadingJohn Robinson, Staff Member On January 10, 2018, the United States Bureau of Consular Affairs implemented a new system for issuing travel advisories and travel alerts.[1] The new scheme replaces a system that has been in place for nearly forty years.[2] The Department of State began issuing travel information in the form of notices, bulletins,…
Continue ReadingBy Lauren Graff, Staff Member While 70 years have passed since the end of WWII, heirs of persecuted victims of Nazi Germany are still litigating for the return of their property, and several recent claims have required naming foreign states as defendants.[1] It is vital these claimants be given every opportunity for justice. That is…
Continue ReadingBy Jiang Bian, Staff Member On May 14, 2017, President Xi Jinping of China outlined plans to fund China’s One Belt, One Road (OBOR) initiative.[1] OBOR’s official name is “The Silk Road Economic Belt (“Belt”) and the 21st-century Maritime Silk Road (“Road”),”[2] and it is a global project seeking to coordinate trade routes on both…
Continue ReadingBy Sean Choi, Staff Member On February 5, 2018, the South Korea Appeals Court reversed the lower court’s decision, letting the heir of Samsung, Jay Y. Lee, walk free out of jail.[1] The decision frustrates many South Koreans who believed that putting one of the most powerful businessman in jail would be an important milestone…
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