Student Connections

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has issued a ban on petrol-powered motorbikes in Hanoi, effective July 1, 2026 (AP). Pursuant to the adoption of the Paris Agreement and Vitenam’s pledge of net-zero emissions by 2050, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City are tackling air emissions and the worsening pollution of fossil-fuel motorbikes (MAE II). Major […]

Recent news reports flooding from Sudan, the North African country torn apart by civil war for three years, have surfaced, displaying razed, blood-stained villages in and around the final SAF stronghold and city, El Fasher (ABC) (Yale 1,2). Since the start of the conflict, an estimated 150,000 people have been killed, and 14 million have […]

As of mid-July 2025, “the most intensive” heatwave to-date in Spain resulted in 1,180 fatalities, according to the Carlos III Health Institute (Reuters). In Türkiye, ten firefighters and rescue workers lost their lives fighting flames and evacuating 50,000 individuals (WWA). The Greek islands, have been plagued by fire, burning half the island of Kythera, the […]

The collapse of Lebanon’s banking system, ongoing since October 2019, is one of the “worst economic crises globally since the mid-nineteenth century” (World Bank Group). It resulted in people losing access to their money overnight, the currency losing practically all of its value, and hardship spreading throughout the country (UPI). According to the Barcelona Centre […]

Last Spring, UCF GPII MENA fellow, Farah Shah, and Terrorism intern, Noah Mohammedelamien hosted an interview with non-resident fellow, Owen Kirby. Mr. Kirby has served as Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa region at the International Republican Institute, as well as the former Director of Office of Transition Initiatives at USAID. Beyond […]

Within the past 5 years, the rate at which Presidents have declared National Emergencies has significantly increased. Since the passing of the National Emergency Act in 1976, an act which established the procedures for declaring a National Emergency, there have been 89 declarations of a National Emergency in the United States (Brennan Center for Justice). […]

Prior to the Cold War, the Arctic held significant military importance for the USSR and the United States (Arctic Institute 2). After the dissolution of the USSR, a new status quo emerged, with Arctic states- Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, the U.S., Denmark, Canada, and Iceland- forming cooperative organizations, such as the Arctic 8 or The […]

Hugo “El Pollo” Carvajal, an ex-military intelligence officer for the Venezuelan government, pled guilty to charges involving drug trafficking and narco-terrorism this June, after initially pleading not guilty when Spanish authorities captured him in 2021 (CBS News). Carvajal was the head of the Military Intelligence Directorate and a legislator, working closely with Chavez, but he […]

Following the 2024 U.S. presidential election, local officials in Puerto Rico are facing new challenges in securing federal disaster aid. Recent developments within the Trump administration have cast uncertainty over the future of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), prompting Puerto Rican leadership to explore alternative funding measures (San Juan Daily Star 1). The Central […]

The Mexican state of Chiapas, Mexico, bordering Guatemala, faces an intense and underreported conflict involving the Mexican government, government-aligned paramilitaries, cartels, and the EZLN or Zapatista movement (WordPress). Chiapas, home to one of the largest indigenous populations of the country -26% of the state’s inhabitants -is also an epicenter for about half of all unresolved […]