Between a rock (trade wars) and a hard place (U.S. critiques), the WTO Appellate Body has been passing through some turbulent times. Due to the paralysis of the Appellate Body, the European Union (EU) and some other twenty countries have agreed on an arrangement, known as the Multiparty Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA), which allows [...]

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“The man who laughs has not yet heard the terrible news.” -Bertolt Brecht Any explicit comparisons of the Trump presidency with the Third Reich will elicit multiple cries of horror and execration across the United States, even when it had first been admitted that this American administration is similarly misleading and existentially dangerous. Nonetheless, to [...]

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In this election year and beyond, rightfully, the focus of our national attention and the world’s concern is COVID-19, the economy, healthcare, and jobs. That’s it. The world is reeling from a true pandemic the likes we may not have seen since 1918. The United States struggles in how to rationally tackle not only the [...]

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I believe in Amartya Sen’s idea of identity being a composition of multiple affiliations: nationality, language, religion, profession, neighborhood, social commitments, and other connections. I see myself belonging to a lot of groups by virtue of my affiliations: I am a Punjabi from West Punjab (Pakistan) with roots in Kashmir. I strongly admire the cultures [...]

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Aggrieved with the present pandemic crisis, the Finance Ministry, as a part of the Prime Minister’s Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan (Self-Sufficient India Mission), announced several measures to assist the ease of doing business through increasing the minimum threshold for the initiation of insolvency proceedings from Rs 1 Lakh to a whopping Rs 1 Crore. Further, Sections [...]

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COVID-19 has affected the world tremendously. Countries have closed borders and halted international travel, cross- border trade is strained. COVID-19 has disrupted supply chains; many goods are no longer in demand, while others are in high demand. The future of our global society is unclear, which also triggers unclarity in international trade. The shattering caused [...]

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A lawsuit brought by a lesbian in China has raised the profile of same-sex parenting in a country where marriage rights are not recognized. Split from her partner last year, Zhang Peiyi is suing for custody of one of the children they parented together and visitation rights for the other. Zhang’s former partner is currently [...]

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“The greatest nations are defined by how they treat their weakest inhabitants.” -Jorge Ramos The COVID-19 outbreak has caused an upsurge in humanitarian crises, affecting millions of refugees across the globe. In these unprecedented times, the rights of the refugees are most vulnerable. Refugees are the forgotten ones, with the least access to essentials required [...]

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During this entire period of three back-to-back lockdowns with a fourth coming soon, if there is a group who has suffered the most, it is the migrant laborers. When the lockdown was announced at very short notice and all transportation was immediately halted, these inter-State migrant workers became victims of this pandemic in a different [...]

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