It is a persistent question that is asked by economists and public policy officials – how can a society give sufficient opportunities to its most disadvantaged so that they may break through economic barriers and rise up the income ladder? This problem is a central point of reference for those
Myanmar has decided to ban a United Nations Human Rights Special Investigator from visiting the nation in the wake of the ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya Muslim minority group. Yanghee Lee, the Special Investigator who sought to gain access to the nation, wanted to prepare a report on human rights
As World War I was about to commence, Winston Churchill directed the Royal Navy to use oil rather than coal. He based his reasoning upon the contention that energy security was a matter of national strategy. By this, he meant that his country could not rely upon one source of
Last week, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees acknowledged that rising violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has caused 7,000 people to flee to Burundi and 1,200 people to flee to Tanzania. It appears that these individuals decided to escape the area because of fear of forced
The Oxfam Report Oxfam released a report just before the commencement of the World Economic Forum in Davos, which indicates that wealth inequality within India has skyrocketed over the previous decade. For instance, in 2017 alone, the top 1% of the population within India attained 73% of the total wealth
China has set up three international courts to manage disputes pertaining to its multi-billion dollar Belt and Road Initiative. They will be located in Beijing, Xi’an, and Shenzhen. While Beijing will oversee general cases, the Xi’an court will consider cases related to the Silk Road. The Shenzhen court in South
Angela Merkel’s continued hold on the Chancellorship of Germany will depend on whether she can skilfully pull together disparate political groups in order to re-create the coalition between her conservatives and the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SDP) – one that governed the nation from 2013 to 2017. If she
On Monday, former US President Bill Clinton wrote in the New York Times that the ‘inclusive nationalism’ which governs the American cultural identity is being slowly replaced by a “tribalism” that emphasizes what divides people of his country rather than what unites them. In his article, he stated that the
Hirofumi Yoshimura, the Mayor of Japanese city Osaka, decided last week to cut the six-decade tie of his city with San Francisco after the latter city erected a monument in St. Mary’s Square to recognize ‘comfort women,’ namely those women who were enslaved and forced to work in brothels in
The Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi has stated that his government will not hold discussions with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in relation to the referendum on Kurdistan independence from Northern Iraq because he views it as unconstitutional. He has also expressed a willingness to impose punitive measures on the
