Opinion News Analysis by Farah Termos, Staff Writer

On the 16th of October, history middle-school teacher Samuel Paty was brutally beheaded by an 18-year-old terrorist in the suburbs of Paris – many of which called it an act of “Islamist” Terrorism. The killer, along with his accomplices, justified the murder by referring to Patys “use of caricatures that exclusively mocked the holy prophet”. More so, the terrorist attack sparked outrage within France, but mostly raised eyebrows on Macrons response to the attack. Is President Macron opting for secularism or is that just a cover-up for some internalized systematic Islamophobia in the country?

Opinion Analysis by Tala Karkanawi, Staff Writer

The US elections have historically played a critical role in the formation of multiple possible changes affecting the global arena across borders. With the US being one of the powerful leading countries of the world, who's hands the leadership lies in matters to a grand portion of us global citizens. With the COVID-19 pandemic on the rise, this has highlighted plenty of health policy issues that need to be tackled. President Donald Trump and his democratic rival Joe Biden have clearly placed themselves in different visions for the future of healthcare in the US. This is part 1 of the series Trump vs. Biden: Why Trump is the better option - on Healthcare.

Opinion Piece by Rhea Haddad, Staff Writer

The closure of consular services all around the world has led to a de facto suspension of the issuance of new visas and permits. Nonetheless, most countries continue to process applications, particularly for the acquisition of a permanent or long-term residence or renewals, while some countries only processing applications on an exceptional basis. However, immigration offices operate under restricted access to the public, in-person meetings, and interviews. Moreover, biometric appointments and medical checks are suspended, leading to delays in the processing. 

Policy Analysis by Dana El Khoury, Contributor

The measures taken by the European Union (EU) to keep this virus outside its borders were mostly in vain. The EU currently fosters over 3.2 million infected individuals and has recorded over 150,700 deaths as of October 8 (IMF, 2020). The second quarter of 2020 showed a contraction of real GDP by 15% in the euro area and 14.4% in the European Union (Trading Economics, 2020). Naturally, more severe measures were taken from lockdowns to travel bans.Travel restrictions have proven to have negative repercussions on a country’s economy and political settings, as was proven in the European. Yet, will the economic and political setbacks caused by these restrictions be worth their implementation?

Opinion Analysis by Roa Daher, Staff Writer

And yet, despite decades of evidence to the contrary, the Labour party decided that Corbyn was the perfect scapegoat for claims of anti-semitism within the party especially under his leadership. A socialist who has spent decades fighting not only for the rights of his constituents, but for the rights of people from all races, religions, nationalities, and genders, was made out to be an anti-semite in a very targeted and coordinated misinformation campaign coordinated by British political figures with the help of news broadcasters and media. When Corbyn claimed that the EHRC’s findings were blown out of proportion for political reasons, his claims were substantiated, and ultimately, he paid the price.

Opinion Economic Policy Analysis by Dana El Khoury, Contributor

The economic responsibility the 2020 elected candidate would be entrusted with is one that is unmatched and unprecedented – this individual would have to carry the burden of economic recovery post-COVID-19 global pandemic. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted that the United State’s economy output will plummet 8% in 2020, following 2.3% economic growth in 2019. The IMF’s expectations for an era where the virus is contained and economic-impeding measures are lifted consists of a sharp recovery, with 4.5% expected growth in 2021 (IMF, 2020). Thus, by studying the economic aspirations each candidate has, the Americans could make a sound choice as to which plan has greater potential for achieving the economic recovery America needs.

Opinion Policy Analysis by Roa Daher, Staff Writer

Despite all of the negative effects associated with a wealth of natural resources, be it authoritarianism, economic downturn, or even gender-based challenges, oil-rich Norway, which has the world’s richest sovereign wealth fund, has somehow managed to be the world’s best democracy for several consecutive years, according to The Economist’s Intelligence Unit, and has consistently been called one of the world’s happiest countries. In fact, Norway appears to be an exception to all of the consequences of the resource curse, despite the availability of natural resources other than oil.

Opinion Analysis by by Tarek Eid, Contributor

“I did not escape Justice, I fled injustice”. No one could have predicted the extent of this crisis. No one could have predicted how one the most prominent global leaders and figures of the automobile industry would suddenly get arrested, indicted, released on bail, rearrested, re-released on bail, and, best for last, would allegedly escape in a music instruments box. Ever since the day of his arrest, Carlos Ghosn has been denying all allegations that have been made against him. Is he actually guilty? If so, did he deserve the treatment he got? Or is this nothing but the greatest corporate Coup d’État of the 21st Century?

Opinion Analysis by Camille Heneine, Staff Writer

Whether you support Donald Trump or despise him, there is no denying he is like no other president. Before running for election, he had no political network or connections, no previous experience in the field. He wasn’t a top ranked military, he never had a high government position and he never held elected office. This almost never happens amongst presidential candidates. What set him apart, other than his very well-known public persona, was his disconcerting personality and his constant brush with controversy. Quite the showman, he frequently found himself deflecting allegations and scandals, many of them related to his attitude towards women.

Opinion piece by Celine Dakessian & Youssef Kel Yacoub

Upon visiting Artsakh, one thinks of themselves as if they are in the little sacred Armenia, where churches were the medium of prayers and worship. However, today St. Ghazanchetsots church’s bells ceased ringing due to Azeri aggression and barbarism, theaters used to display a message of love and tolerance, yet today shelled and bombarded to represent a sad story of a “new genocide”, Schools were cradles of education and culture, sadly today the classes turned empty and students sheltered under the rubble of their destroyed ceilings. In a nut shell, this is the story of today’s Artsakh conflict.

Opinion Analysis by Albert Geokgeuzian, Staff Writer

Burger King recently ran a marketing campaign, dubbed “The King Of Stream” that drew the ire of content creators and fans alike. They abused a Twitch program known as Text-To-Speech to broadcast their menu offers. At first glance it may not seem to be a big deal but what if i told you it could be an FTC violation and be considered illegal?

Opinion piece by Tala Al Otaibi, Staff Writer

While the top priority of the deal was ending the wars ravaging Sudan, there are still way too many factors that need to be taken into account in order to rightly achieve “peace” between the people and provide the Sudanese people with the life they truly deserve.

Opinion Analysis by Maria Wehbe, Staff Writer

COVID-19 was the last thing that was needed in trying to reduce the number of children within the child labor field: the numbers had started to drop in Latin America and in the Caribbean, from 10.8% in 2008 to 7.3% in 2016. Yet, it has become well known knowledge that the probability of children contracting the virus and exhibiting excruciating conditions is almost nonexistent compared to the other age groups, which is seen as reason more to send them to work, which remains fundamentally unacceptable and undoubtedly categorizes as a basic violation of children’s rights.

Opinion News Analysis by Tala Karkanawi, Staff Writer

The UK covid-19 situation isn’t getting better. Tens of thousands of cases per day with hundreds of deaths, as well as the lack of capacity and lack of protection measures in hospitals. The UK is getting ready for another lockdown which does not make sense and does not put the word ‘lockdown’ into good use. Does the UK truly need another lockdown? Or will it prove to bear no fruits and save no additional lives?

Opinion Analysis by Cherly Abou Chabke, Staff Writer

If there’s one thing that 2020 taught us, is that no one should be left behind: The fight against destitution is an ongoing battle that has molded our world’s prosperity and growth, affecting the most vulnerable everywhere and particularly in developing countries. With extreme poverty killing more children, youngsters and adults, than any other war, it is vital to address this matter today, and acknowledge its urgency in the context of COVID-19, that will push 176 million more people into extreme poverty.

Analysis by Albert Geokgeuzian, Staff Writer

The first NBA player to test positive for COVID was Rudy Gobert, it was on March 11. On that day, the NBA suspended the season, and for close to 4 months there wasn’t a guarantee that the system would resume. What could they do? Could they safely continue the season? Could they play without fans? What precautions can they take? What about the money? The TV deals? These were the kinds of questions that were facing the NBA. fast forward 6 months and we are currently in the middle of the NBA finals, the matches that will crown the NBA champion. So how did it happen?

Opinion Policy Analysis by Roa Daher, Staff Writer

The conditions created by the legally dubious American sanctions over the years have had devastating consequences on the people of Iran. More than 26,000 people have died due to COVID-19 in Iran so far, and the situation does not seem to be relenting any time soon which leads us to pose the question: to what end? American sanctions have not been entirely successful in their goals: if anything, American-Iranian relations deteriorated significantly after Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal, and the material conditions tied to the human rights of Iranians have taken a hit. Ironically, the United States adopts sanctions against Iran because of alleged human rights violations by the government, but it is those very sanctions that have contributed to the rapidly declining standards of living in Iran, including access to healthcare and medication.

Opinion Analysis by Hala Al Taher, Staff Writer

The so-called “land of the free” is a land in which many rightful citizens suffer from ill mistreatment due to simply the color of their skin. Although African American citizens serve their country in the military, police, and other parts of the justice system, they are not granted equal rights in practice, only in theory. A heartbreaking crime was committed in March of 2020 on a black medical worker named Breonna Taylor. Referring to the murder as a dirty crime would be an understatement, but the justice system’s response to the murder undermines the value of Breonna Taylor’s life.

Analysis by Camille Heneine, Staff Writer

Since the discovery of big gas fields in the East Mediterranean Sea, such as Tamar in 2009 and Leviathan in 2010, this region has become highly coveted by regional powers and international governments like Europe or the United States. The US Geological Survey estimates that the Levant Bassin - the waters around Lebanon, Palestine, Cyprus, Israel and Egypt- roughly “contains 122.4 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable gas" and Wood Mackenzie states that “all told, the natural gas reserves (…) could top 125 trillion cubic feet”.

Opinion Economic Analysis by Sandro Joseph Azzam, Staff Writer

In September 2020, the FinCEN leaks happened. This was the leak of over 2500 suspicious activity reports that were thought to incriminate the world’s largest financial institutions. This couldn’t be further from the truth…