Uma Miskinyar Introduction Germany is pushing for mass Syrian returns, but neither Syria nor refugees themselves are fully on board with repatriation. In March 2026, Germany’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz stated that he and President Ahmed al-Sharaa hope that 80% of Germany’s Syrian population will return home by 2029. The chancellor rationalized his plan by arguing that the security situation in Syria, given its current status, is stable enough to justify a large-scale assisted

Edited by Mary Wahn, Grey Cohen, John Gooden, Emma Grace Jarvis, Ethan Joyce, Bianca Orfila-Molinet, and Meera Srinivasan Asia and the Pacific Written by Jesse Vu Philippines and U.S militaries to join forces for combat drills amid Iran war As part of their annual combat exercises, over 17,000 American and Philippine military personnel will join forces to participate in one of the largest exercises to date. Known as the Balikatan exercise, the joint exercise will take place a

Cristian Paez Introduction On the evening of November 1, 2025, during Uruapan’s Festival de las Velas , Municipal President Carlos Alberto Manzo Rodríguez walked through the candle-lit plaza with his family, greeting residents and posing for photos. Moments later, a gunman stepped out of the crowd and shot him multiple times at close range. Manzo, a 40-year-old independent mayor who had long declared “zero tolerance” for organized crime, was later pronounced dead in a local

Edited by Mary Wahn, Grey Cohen, John Gooden, Emma Grace Jarvis, Ethan Joyce, Bianca Orfila-Molinet, and Meera Srinivasan Asia and the Pacific Written by Jesse Vu Taiwanese Opposition Leader Visited Xi Jinping on a Rare Occasion Cheng Li-wun is the opposition leader and the chair of the Kuomintang party (KMT) of Taiwan. While current Taiwanese President Lai Ching–te of the Democratic Progressive Party has not visited China and there is no official diplomatic channel between h

Katie Leslie Introduction: On February 28, 2026, the world’s attention turned to Israel and the United States, who began to bomb Iran to destroy missile and military centers while targeting and successfully killing the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. As Israel and the U.S. continue to strike Iran, the conflict has become a full-on war affecting diplomatic relations and the world economy. Neighboring countries in the Gulf region, such as Lebanon, are als

Edited by Mary Wahn, Grey Cohen, John Gooden, Emma Grace Jarvis, Ethan Joyce, Bianca Orfila-Molinet, and Meera Srinivasan Asia and the Pacific Written by Jesse Vu Sri Lanka and the IMF Struck an Initial $700 Million Deal As the war in Iran has dragged on over the past few weeks, the economic crisis in Sri Lanka has deepened. Since the country imports up to 60% of its energy needs, which has become increasingly difficult due to the war with Iran and the closure of the Strait

Kaiya Davis Introduction Geopolitical rivalry, wars, and changes in economic blocs have characterized the international politics of the mid-2020s. These changes have pushed the People’s Republic of China to adjust their foreign policy and stances on geopolitical events. For example, U.S. military operations in Iran and Venezuela, rising rivalry in Latin America, and tensions with regional states are forcing China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take action, especially under

Alexa Fishman Introduction Russia’s four-year-long war against Ukraine has dominated headlines since February 2022. Members of the international community have watched as hundreds of thousands of civilians have been killed, injured, and displaced in this conflict. Powers like the United States have sent aid to Ukraine in order to prevent Russia from reabsorbing the country. However, one aspect of this war has been underrepresented in the news, lost in a sea of casualty report

Edited by Mary Wahn, Grey Cohen, John Gooden, Emma Grace Jarvis, Ethan Joyce, Bianca Orfila-Molinet, and Meera Srinivasan Asia and the Pacific Written by Jesse Vu Rohingya Refugees in Bangladesh Camp Face Consequences of U.S. Cuts to Foreign Aid Under the Trump Administration Rohingya refugees, a persecuted minority group from Myanmar, are facing an existential food crisis in Bangladesh camps this week. Earlier this month, the food assistance from the U.N. that they previous