The Diplomatic Envoy

Author: Jasmine Ortega

2021April 2021International NewsEuropeMiddle East

Denmark Revokes Residency of Syrian Refugees

Denmark has recently come under international criticism for its decision to revoke Syrian refugees’ residency permits. It is the first European country to do so. This is especially surprising given that Denmark was the first country to sign the United Nations Refugee Convention in 1952, according to VICE.

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2021March 2021International NewsAsia

Journalists Released from Detention in Myanmar

Associated Press journalist Thein Zaw and BBC journalist Aung Thura, among other media personnel, were released recently from detention in Myanmar. Their release comes after mounting pressure from the international community to release all journalists and cease the media crackdown. Since the February 1 coup that saw the overthrow of its democratically-elected government, a military government controls Myanmar which has cracked down on independent press coverage of protests resisting the new government, ABC News reports.

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2021February 2021International NewsAfricaEurope

Shell Ordered to Compensate Nigerian Farmers Over Oil Spill

A Dutch court has held the Nigerian subsidiary of the British-Dutch multinational Royal Dutch Shell liable for several oil spills in the Nigerian Niger Delta in 2006 and 2007, The New York Times reports. This case, which concludes a 13 year-long legal battle between four Nigerian farmers and the company, will likely be a catalyst for more successful environmental cases against multinational oil firms.

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October 2020International NewsAfrica2020Middle East

Sudan and Israel to Normalize Relations

In a deal brokered by U.S. President Donald Trump between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the leader of Sudan’s transitional government, Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, Sudan has agreed to normalize ties with Israel after decades of belligerence between the two states, according to The Guardian.

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October 2020Focus2020Mass Migration

Focus on Mass Migration: Venezuela

A refugee is defined as “someone with a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a social group or political opinion”. A migrant, meanwhile, is defined as “someone who voluntarily leaves his or her country of origin to seek a better life and who does not face impediments to returning home”. Yet for the five million people who have fled from Venezuela since 2015 neither of those definitions accurately describes their circumstances. 

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September 2020Eastern EuropeInternational NewsAmericas2020Middle East

Syria Turns to Russia for Aid Under Crippling U.S. Sanctions

President Bashar al-Assad of Syria has stated intentions to expand business ties with Russia in response to new, crippling U.S. sanctions under the Caesar Act, according to Reuters. The Syrian economy has suffered enormously under these sanctions, as its economy was already struggling prior to implementation of the Caesar Act. According to Reuters, this has resulted in the Syrian lira losing 80 percent of its value. Most citizens are experiencing extreme poverty.

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