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1. Should Iran back regional limits on oil production?
2. Is the Britain-EU deal enough to keep Britain in the EU?
3. What role should the Catholic Church play in combating Zika in Latin America?
4. Should the West care about Ukraine’s political dysfunction?
5. Will a new cabinet strengthen Malcom Turnbull’s political position?
6. How can Angela Merkel secure the cooperation of Eastern European countries on the admission of more Middle Eastern refugees?
7. Can negative interest rates reinvigorate the Japanese economy?
8. Will the Saudi-Russian agreement on oil production lead to an eventual recovery of global oil prices?
9. What steps should Haiti take to ensure a fair presidential poll in April?
10. Will the Munich agreement stabilize Syria?
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Marshall High School in Marshall, Minnesota hosted the last fifth tier tournament in the 2015-2016 National Points Race on January 29 and 30. Olivia Shoemaker of Lakeville North High School (MN) was this year’s tournament champion, winning by a convincing five rank margin over Kevin Bi of East Ridge High School (MN).
The passing of Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia last Saturday in Shafter, Texas has thrown the nation’s political scene into turmoil. Shortly after Scalia’s death was announced, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that he had no intention of allowing President Barack Obama to appoint a replacement and that voters in the next presidential election should have a voice in the process. Democrats and liberals decried the statement, arguing that President Obama has a constitutional right to appoint a new justice and that the Senate must give the nominee a fair and proper hearing. Since Scalia was the leading conservative on a divided court, a liberal or progressive replacement would move the Court to the left for the first time in more than thirty years. The calculations surrounding a new nomination battle could significantly affect the outcome of the 2016 presidential election, but it could also affect cases that are currently before the Court on hot button social issues such as abortion, the Affordable Care Act, affirmative action, and voting rights. As a result, Scalia’s death comes at an inopportune time for a dangerously divided country, and the looming confirmation of a new justice could be the most divisive showdown of a judicial nominee since Clarence Thomas was barely confirmed in 1991.
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For American policymakers, Saudi Arabia is deemed as one of the pillars of stability in the Middle East. Despite its export of Wahhabist Islam and its suppression of democratic and gender rights, the kingdom has anchored the interests of Sunni Muslims in the region for the last six decades. Saudi Arabia has also been a reliable American ally, assisting in the Persian Gulf War of 1990-1991 and offering ideas for solving the Israeli-Palestinian dispute. The House of Saud’s leadership in global oil markets has been valuable as well, with the country serving as the de facto leader of the Oil and Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) cartel. However, the growing strength of Iran over the last decade has created significant anxieties in Saudi ranks. With the decline of Western sanctions against the Islamic Republic it is possible that the Iranian economy could overtake Saudi Arabia’s in the long-term, and low oil prices are forcing the kingdom to make choices about how it can sustain its social model without provoking unrest in the coming years. These Saudi anxieties could prove harmful for the Middle East, especially if they cause the regime to engage in risky interventions and some of this is already taking place in Syria and Yemen.
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