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  picture source: http://www.mexiconewsnetwork.com/news/mexico-new-eu-trade-deal/ Mexico and the European Union reached an agreement on April 21st, 2018to escalate the terms of their Free Trade Agreement, which was originally signed nearly two decades ago. As the United States decides to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and impose high tariffs on imported steel and aluminum

From May 1, 2018, citizens from 59 countries around the world can visit Hainan, the second largest island in China, without having a visa for as long as 30 days. This policy reflects the Chinese Government’s April 14, 2017 guideline to deepen reform, open up, and encourage the Hainan Province to be the “free trade

  Evidence shows that expanding access to credit can produce significant benefits for borrowers—from job retention to higher incomes, according to the Economic Growth Center. Recent years have seen an unprecedented growth in access to formal credit for individuals at the base of the pyramid. In some countries, this rapid growth has outpaced the financial

The Damascus sky lights up with surface-to-air missiles as a U.S.-led attack targeted different parts of the Syrian capital early Saturday, April 14, 2018. Hassan Ammar / AP On April 14th, Trump wrote on Twitter: “A perfectly executed strike last night. Thank you to France and the United Kingdom for their wisdom and the power of

Recently, a documentary film called The China Hustle thoroughly described how some Chinese companies deceived U.S investors through Reverse Takeover. Meanwhile, Alibaba, the Chinese e-commerce giant, claimed the title of the largest global IPO ever, surpassing the Agricultural Bank of China’s IPO offer by almost 3 billion dollars (Forbes.com). Therefore, it is critical to understand

Women’s access to and control over land and other productive resources are a cornerstone in ensuring their right to equality and an adequate standard of living. Current policy debates in developing countries have acknowledged that women have different needs from men, and that in many societies there are specific challenges that limit women’s access to

Source: Aljazeera (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/africa/2013/10/un-finds-widespread-torture-libya-jails-2013101222039997454.html) The Arab Spring captured the imagination of Western Media as well as young Arabs around the world. It created massive expectations thanks to the successive rising of hundreds of thousands of protestors ranging from Egypt to Syria. Nevertheless, after several years from the beginning of the movement in December of 2010 in

Source: Washington Post (https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/the-caravan-of-migrants-thats-alarmed-president-trump-has-now-stalled/2018/04/03/534b01c2-36aa-11e8-af3c-2123715f78df_story.html?utm_term=.0968a35197d9) In these past few days, the issue of border security has gained relevance in the news cycle in the United States. Primarily, because of the US President tweeting about his policy proposal to mobilize US troops to the US Southern Border until a border wall is built. The justification for this

Photo Source: Al Jazeera   Despite progress around humanitarian intervention and the improved living conditions of refugee camps around the world, many refugees continue to face limited access to social and economic opportunities to integrate into a new country and live prosperous lives. Evidence from Consultative Group to Assist the Poor’s (CGAP) working paper on

According to a related set of figures compiled by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) from 1995 to the end of 2007, offshore banks, on average, were receiving little more than 47% of total cross-border deposits and little more than 43% of all cross-border loans from other tax havens. Though these figures do not distinguish

© Photo Illustration: Shutterstock/CNN On March 22nd, the U.S. Trade Representative’s office released the U.S. Section 301 investigation report. Trump signed a trade memorandum to impose heavy tariffs on about 1,300 categories of Chinese goods, the total value of which is approximately 60 billion U.S. dollars. The memo also includes restrictions on Chinese companies from

  In 2008, the world was experiencing the largest and most destructive financial crisis since the Great Depression. This financial crisis was triggered by the bursting of the housing market bubble in the United States which caused serious consequences both in the US and around the world. The aftermath of the financial crisis included the

Taking place each year on March 22nd, World Water Day is a unique opportunity for the international community to focus on the vital importance of water and to commit to taking collective action to ensure its conservation for future generations. This year marks the beginning of the United Nations’ (UN) “Decade of Action” for water.

Source: Fox News (http://www.foxnews.com/world/2018/03/17/latest-russia-says-30000-flea-besieged-east-ghouta.html) It has been around 8 years since the Syrian Civil War started. It has become a conflict of global proportions as global superpowers have been involved in the fighting. In fact, a report by the United Nations released a few weeks ago showed how both Russia and the United States committed

PHOTO: Mr Putin’s victory will extend his total time in office to nearly a quarter of a century. (AP: Pavel Golovkin) The Russian presidential election ended at 8 pm local time on March 18th. Among the 80 percent of the votes that have been counted, 76.1 percent are for President Putin’s. This win puts him

Photo Source: New York Times.   Stephen Hawking passed away on March 14, 2018 at the age of 76. He was a physicist and best-selling author who did not allow his physical limitations to hinder his quest to answer some of the universe’s most pressing questions. In addition to having a brilliant mind, Hawking’s computer-generated

Source: CNN Money (http://money.cnn.com/2011/07/25/technology/solar-new-york/index.htm) This past week, the City of Tempe, in Arizona, has ruled to move toward using 100 percent renewable energy in its buildings and facilities. The City Council passed a measure highlighting the city’s commitment to become carbon neutral by 2050. This is the latest advance in the city’s tackling of climate

Photo：http://news.ifeng.com On March 8th, South Korean President Yu Yirong announced in Washington that Trump had accepted the request of Kim Jong-un to have a summit. President Trump also issued a tweet to confirm this statement, and state the summit will be held before May 2018. As soon as the news came out, it immediately raised

In South Korea, 14 percent of its 51 million people are expected to be 65 or older at the end of 2017, and this figure is expected to reach 40.1 percent by 2060. Unbelievably, 49.6 percent of the elderly in South Korea live in poverty, which is the highest among OECD countries. A survey conducted

Source: The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/mar/08/disabled-people-metoo-womens-movement-inclusion-diversity). A year after “A Day Without a Woman,” which saw women across the United States boycotting paid and unpaid labor to highlight the impact of women on society, people around the world responded to the call for a global women’s strike on International Women’s Day (IWD). The IWD organizers cite the

Source: The Daily Star (http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2018/Mar-06/440460-russia-us-air-strikes-caused-mass-civilian-deaths-in-syria-un.ashx) The Syrian Civil War captured the attention of the international community, and by implication of the media, since its beginning in 2012. The first wave of attention on the war focused on its similarity to other movements in what became known as the “Arab Spring,” a group of socio-political movements

For more than 20 years, Turkey and Armenia have lived with closed borders and no diplomatic relations. The tension between the two countries exists on the ground of disagreements on the Armenian Genocide and the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. Since the normalization processes of 2008-2009 and Football Diplomacy failed, no comprehensive intervention has been designed to

Photo: GETTY IMAGES Last week, President Trump said he would impose a 25 percent tariff, or tax, on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum, sparking a big sell-off in stocks. Trump announced the decision on the same day he met representatives of steel and aluminum enterprises in the White House. However, White

Maxim Marmur | AFP | Getty Images File photo shows Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) watching a launch,18 February 2004 at the Artic Cosmodrome in Plesetsk. Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered his 2018 State of the Union address to the Federal Assembly last Friday. The State of the Union address, which was also the 14th

© Cugianza84 | Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images   On February 25th, 2018, the Communist Party of China released a proposal that aims to revise China’s constitution. The proposal contains twenty-one articles, among which articles fourteen, five and twenty are the most important. First, article fourteen proposes to ease the restriction, which rules that the Chairman

This week, the Republic of Korea passed a law to reduce the standard work week in an effort to improve quality of life and boost employment. The bill, which cut the maximum weekly work hours from 68 to 52, will initially apply to large companies in July 2018, before it is rolled out to smaller

Freedom of media continues to face major problems in Armenia. Despite constitutional protection and certain legal guarantees, media outlets and journalists face threats and intimidation from political figures and police. Lack of protection and weak rule of law create an environment for self-censorship. Media outlets continue to be largely dependent on external financing and affiliated

Photo: RFA On the afternoon of February 14th, a fiery collision sank an Iranian tanker “Sangqi” from the Iranian National Tanker Company in the East China Sea. Under the raging fire is the tanker, which was carrying 136,000 tons of condensate oil. The contents of the taker entering the sea is very concerning when it

UNICEF intends to study refugees’ conditions in Jordan camps. (AFP/ File Photo) If you live in a peaceful country, it is sometimes hard to imagine, at this time, there is a generation of children who are still living with the fear of bombings, starvation and illness on the other side of the world. As the

© Otto333 | Dreamstime Stock Photos & Stock Free Images Beijing, the capital city of China with a population of over 20 million, has experienced not only a fast pace economic growth but also an alarming environmental problem, specifically air pollution. In the past decade, Beijingers found that smog days were exceptionally frequent, particularly in winter times. The

Many Americans will recognize brand jingles, talking geese and gecko mascots, red umbrellas, and NASCAR race-car drivers endorsing insurance brands. These insurance companies provide help to individuals and businesses to manage and mitigate risks. The traditional insurance market operates as a pooling of resources (through premiums) from its policyholders and pays affected policyholders who experience

Source: The New York Time (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/30/world/asia/rohingya-coxs-bazar-bangladesh-myanmar.html )The picture shows a young individual playing soccer in a Rohingya Refugee Camp in Bangladesh In 1982, the state of Myanmar stripped the Rohingya people of citizenship. The Rohingya are a Muslim ethnic minority in the Rakhine state, and 1982 marks the beginning of the crisis of the Rohingya

Presence of well-functioning road and communications infrastructure is the cornerstone of economic progress and an inclusive society. Since its independence in 1991, there has been an urgent need in Armenia to rehabilitate the poor road conditions and upgrade the road system inherited from Soviet Armenia to meet the current political realities of the country and

Chunyun, also referred to as the Spring Festival travel season or the Chunyun period, is a period of travel in China with extremely high traffic occurring around the time as the Chinese New Year. The period usually begins 15 days before Lunar New Year’s Day and lasts for about 40 days. The number of passenger-journeys

In 2010, according to a research conducted by Dr. Jenna R. Jambeck and her team, an estimated 275 million metric tons of plastic waste was generated in 192 coastal countries bordering the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, and the Mediterranean and Black Sea, and 4.8 to 12.7 million tons of that waste has made its

  Superplatforms, the “Platforms of Platforms” Experts have claimed that banks are decaying, but they have persisted over time. However, the entrance of new internet “superplatforms” into financial services may be the end for some traditional financial institutions.   Superplatforms are successful and regularly recognized on lists of the world’s most innovative and client-centered companies.

After the recent municipality brawl in the capital of Armenia where a female legislator was attacked by her male colleagues, the issues women face in Armenian politics have resurfaced. Since gaining independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, Armenia has made progress on ensuring gender equality. Yet, there are still major issues related to gender

Source: The Guardian (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5374501/Mass-exodus-thousands-Venezuelans-flee-country.html) The picture shows one of the bridges that connect Venezuela with Colombia.   In the last twenty years, the world has witnessed a significant flow of forced migration. The recurrence of natural disasters due to climate change has affected millions of people living in the Third World, seeing their livelihood shattered

Islamic Banks appeared in the late 1950s and the earliest ones were established in Pakistan and northern India. Islamic banking is banking or banking activity that is consistent with the principles of Sharia (Islamic law) and its practical application through the development of Islamic economics. As such, a more correct term for Islamic banking is

Photo: MSC / Kuhlmann The 54th annual Munich Security Conference (MSC) will be held from February 16th to 18th in Munich, Germany. Approximately 500 senior government officials from the United States, Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and Russia will participate in this meeting. According to the website, the conference agenda for the MSC 2018 will

In 2016, nearly 3 billion people – or half of the total population on our planet – watched the Rio de Janeiro summer Olympic Games. In the United States, 27.5 million people watched the opening ceremony, and audience rating peaked at 19 when the U.S team entered the field. Meanwhile, the International Olympic Committee reports

  The mobile money industry has had a fantastic decade. We have seen how one connected handset can transform the life of not just its owner, but also the lives of his or her family and broader community. A mere ten years after M-Pesa launched in Kenya, the mobile money industry now celebrates an impressive

Source: Brookings Institute (https://www.brookings.edu/opinions/the-state-of-democracy-in-latin-america/) Latin America has entered a period of significant political uncertainty. Starting last year in Honduras and Chile, between 2017 and 2019, fourteen of the eighteen countries in the region will go through major elections. This period of major political change in the region takes place in the context of major political

After the former US Federal Reserve chair, Janet Yellen, left office, Jerome Powell will be sworn in today. Since the nomination of Powell at the end of last year, what policy the Federal Reserve will adopt has been a subject of concern. The Federal Reserve is responsible for fulfilling the responsibilities of the U.S. Central

United Nations Headquarters in New York will host the 62nd Commission on the Status of Women (CSW62) from March 12th to 23rd; this year’s priority theme is “challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls.”  CSW62 has a review theme as well: “participation in and access of women

Note: Graph from the World Bank The MENA countries contribute around $3.3 trillion in GDP every year, which accounts for about 4.5% of the world’s total economy. Most of the population in the MENA region concentrate in middle-income countries, which are home to about 60% of the world’s oil and 45% of the world’s natural

On December 6, 2017 Russia’s incumbent president Vladimir Putin announced his intention to seek re-election once again. If Putin wins in April, 2018, he will serve another 6-year term as Russia’s president. Despite Russia’s economic challenges and international criticism of president’s crackdown on civil society, Putin has had consistently high approval rates among the electorate,

Last week, on January 17th, the Yonhap news agency reported that the North and South Koreans have agreed that the two national teams will march together at the Winter Olympics’ opening ceremony under the Korean peninsula flag. The two nation-states also decided to form a unified women’s hockey team. North Korea will send 30 Taekwondo

On Monday, the ruling African National Congress (ANC) rebuked President Jacob Zuma of South Africa by choosing Cyril Ramaphosa, an anti-apartheid protégé of Nelson Mandela and business tycoon as its new leader. With fierce rivalry in the race that exposed stark divisions in the party, Mr. Ramaphosa defeated cabinet minister Dlamini-Zuma, Mr. Zuma’s ex-wife, 2,440

For nearly two decades, Russia has been dealing with an HIV epidemic that has explosively grown in the past five years. Although it has gone unnoticed by the rest of the world until recently, reported cases of HIV have grown by an annual 10 percent since 2012. The crisis been exacerbated for three main reasons: