Austria’s Communist Party: Fighting Fascism At The Local Level
Austria’s Communist Party: Fighting Fascism At The Local Level

From 1918-1934, Austria’s largest city underwent a Marxist-led economic transformation known as Red Vienna. Funded by exuberant taxes on the wealthy, the Social Democratic Workers’ Party (SDAPÖ - a precursor to SPÖ) built 65,000 publicly rented apartments throughout the city with nearby state amenities. Although Nazi occupation ended Vienna’s novel socialist experiment, the Communist Party of Austria (KPÖ) is continuing to advocate for the working class today. This small anti-capitalist movement poses a direct threat to Austria’s entrenched political elite and growing populist right.

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EuropeBy Josh Emokpaeelections, communist, Austria, housing, urban, populism
Afghanistan Completes Opium Crackdown
Afghanistan Completes Opium Crackdown

For years, Afghanistan served as the world’s leading producer of opium, a key ingredient in the street drug heroin. The country reached this level of production after years of widespread and violent conflict. In April 2022, the Taliban declared a complete ban on the crop and spent the next several months eradicating it from the country. With opium production off the table, Afghanistan’s rural population is struggling to make ends meet, worsening the already poor humanitarian situation in the country. 

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Middle EastBy Michael HalebianAfghanistan, opium, heroin, Mujahideen, drugs, narcotics
The Search for Truth in South Africa's Political Landscape
The Search for Truth in South Africa's Political Landscape

The recent search and seizure operation at the residence of Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula, South Africa's Speaker of Parliament, on March 19, 2024, has ignited concerns about corruption and accountability within the nation's political landscape. Yet, amidst the turmoil, South Africa's democratic system remains steadfast in its commitment to upholding integrity and transparency.

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AfricaBy Cindy Pinocorruption, South Africa, political reform, law enforcement, bribery
South Korea Plays Cupid in Hopes of Raising Birth Rates
South Korea Plays Cupid in Hopes of Raising Birth Rates

South Korea’s struggle with record-low fertility rates prompts the government to develop innovative solutions. In the fight to reverse this trend, the South Korean government has organized mass blind-date events with hopes to spark love connections and, ultimately, more births. Despite a large number of critics who called to the government for more direct support for mothers, these gatherings are gaining momentum, underscoring the nation’s determination to address its demographic crisis. As birth rates continue to decline, South Korea’s approach offers a unique perspective, highlighting the need for multifaceted strategies to address this intricate issue. While these matchmaking events still need to prove its lasting results, they signify a creative response that contributes to the larger issue of a drop in global fertility rates. 

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AsiaBy Elise ChoiSouth Korea, Fertility rates, Birth rates, Demographic crisis, Work-life balance, Blind dates, Matchmaking events
Uprooting the Mafia: Italy Expands a Controversial Approach to Combat Organized Crime
Uprooting the Mafia: Italy Expands a Controversial Approach to Combat Organized Crime

In 2012, Italy's Ministry of Justice, namely the Department of Juvenile and Community Justice, launched the Free To Choose program in Calabria. The project sought to remove children from their mafia families and place them in foster care programs, to break the cycle of criminal behavior between generations. Once authorities can prove to a court that the child is in danger due to their circumstances, they can forcefully remove the child from their parents' custody and place them in foster care.

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EuropeBy Luke GialanellaItaly, mafia, Naples, Sicilian mafia, foster care, organized crime
Silenced Stories: Censorship in the Americas
Silenced Stories: Censorship in the Americas

News is ultimately a form of storytelling, a way of informing the public of the events occuring in the world around them. Censoring the press is therefore a way of framing the way people see the world into a picture defined by what is not censored. However, press extends beyond the typical newspaper; even a novel may also be considered a form of press, reflecting societal issues of a certain period, or working to challenge authority. To censor this type of artistic press is to censor imagination, which results in the same effect––a suppression of public opinion. In the Americas, there has been an influx in the censorship of the press, which has taken one of two forms: censorship of the formal newspaper press and book censorship. This article thus examines censorship in the case studies of Canada, Mexico, Nicaragua, and the United States.

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AmericasBy Victoria Beharrybook banning, censorship, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom of expression, human rights, United States, America, U.S. book banning, Canada, Latin America, Nicaragua, Central America, Mexico, Americas, book censorship, stories, storytelling, first amendment, populism, LGBTQ+, sex-ed, racism, Critical Race Theory, Florida, Texas, schools, education, books
Spiraling Security in Nigeria reflected by Mass Kidnappings
Spiraling Security in Nigeria reflected by Mass Kidnappings

Four mass kidnappings in the northern region of Nigeria have pointed to the resurfacing of the country’s kidnaping crisis. The crisis began in 2014 following the abduction of over 200 schoolgirls, and has since spread to bandit groups seeking ransom. This security threat points not only to gender-based insecurity, but the overall decline of Nigeria’s social, political and economic situation.

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AfricaBy Caterina TomassiniSecurity, kidnapping, Nigeria, Terrorism
What Canada’s Recent Nunavut Land Transfer Could Mean for Indigenous Rights and the Environment
What Canada’s Recent Nunavut Land Transfer Could Mean for Indigenous Rights and the Environment

The Canadian government recently signed an agreement to transfer full control over the northernmost territory of Nunavut to the territory’s Inuit-dominated residents. This is a huge milestone in the movement for indigenous rights, and autonomy for the region will also bring more sustainable resource assessment and the protection of biodiversity. It could also be a stepping stone for increased indigenous autonomy and biodiversity across the Americas.

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AmericasBy Juliana ZraickCanada, Nunavut, Nunavut transfer, Inuits, First Nations, Métis, indigenous people, indigenous equity, indigenous rights
The Fall of a Giant: How Evergrande’s Liquidation is Impacting China’s Economy
The Fall of a Giant: How Evergrande’s Liquidation is Impacting China’s Economy

China has experienced a spell of economic growth that is unique to global history, beginning in the late 1970s and continuing into the present day. For the past two decades, China’s real estate sector has cemented itself as a reliable driver of economic growth, but that saga has concluded with the fall of the Evergrande Group. Evergrande serves as an apt vessel to explore the collapse of a once dominant property sector, with this article seeking to analyze the causes of the group's fall as well as explain the greater impacts felt by China’s domestic economy.

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AsiaBy Benjamin O'Brieneconomy, real estate crisis, china, debt, evergrande
A Peek into China’s Property Crisis: How It Happened and What It Suggests About China’s Domestic Economy & Xi’s Legitimacy
A Peek into China’s Property Crisis: How It Happened and What It Suggests About China’s Domestic Economy & Xi’s Legitimacy

The arrest of Evergrnade’s chairman, Xu Jiayin, sheds light on the complexities behind China’s domestic property market collapse. The intertwined history of China’s rapid economic growth, its unique property laws, and pandemic-induced challenges led to a high-risk bubble that not only damages the domestic economy but also questions the legitimacy of Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party. 

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AsiaBy Selina Hproperty crisis, china, real estate crisis, china economy, xi jinping
Turmoil in Ethiopia's Amhara Region Signals Urgent Need for Unity and Resolution
Turmoil in Ethiopia's Amhara Region Signals Urgent Need for Unity and Resolution

Ethiopia faces one of its gravest crises as federal security forces are implicated in the killing of civilians in the Amhara region, sparking escalating turmoil. The roots of this conflict trace back to historical grievances and the exclusion of the Fano militia from peace negotiations following the Tigray conflict, highlighting the urgent need for inclusive dialogue and internal reconciliation to achieve lasting peace.

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AfricaBy Cindy Pinoregional unrest, human rights, security, Amhara region, conflict resolution
The Striking Teachers Of Portugal
The Striking Teachers Of Portugal

Resistance has been a crucial part of Portuguese politics since the days of the Estado Novo dictatorship. College campuses and city plazas became the voice for public discontent amidst state suppression, acting as a catalyst for democratic reform and wealth redistribution. Decades after the 1974 Carnation Revolution ended this brutal regime in a leftist coup d’etat, many continued to protest the government regularly. Recent economic instability has brought Portugal to its knees on several occasions. Throughout this time, teachers have been the most vocal advocates for change. 

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EuropeBy Josh Emokpaeeducation, Portugal, cost-of-living crisis, strikes, union, austerity
The Institutionalization of Gang Violence in Trinidad & Tobago
The Institutionalization of Gang Violence in Trinidad & Tobago

In Trinidad and Tobago there has been a record of gang-related violence that has made life unsafe for citizens of the island nation. Moreover, the gangs themselves are deeply institutionalized into Trinidadian society, even serving functions of government, thus making them exceptionally difficult to remove. 

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AmericasBy Victoria BeharryTrinidad and Tobago, Gang Violence, Gun Violence, Caribbean, Caribbean Countries, Crime, International Crime, Crime in Trinidad and Tobago, Gang Violence in Trinidad and Tobago, People’s National Movement, United National Congress, Government, Society, Human Rights, Violence against Women, Social Factors of Gang Violence, Music and Gang Violence, Caribbean Music, Criminal Law, Institutionalization of Gang Violence, Island Nation, Cultural Violence