What is Political Asylum?

Known by its legal name of asylum, this form of immigration protection is available to people who flee their home country and claim that they are at risk of persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion.

The immigration law that governs asylum is the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (aka Hart-Celler). To qualify for asylum, you must prove that there is a well-founded fear that you will be persecuted based on one of these five protected grounds: race, religion, nationality, membership in or perceived membership in a PSG or political opinion.

You must also have suffered past persecution to qualify for asylum. The past persecution can be direct or indirect. A direct persecution may be physical harm or threats of violence or death. Indirect persecution is the violation of your rights in some other way, such as imprisonment or discrimination based on your protected grounds.

An example of indirect persecution is a government order or policy that violates your rights to equality or freedom of expression. Indirect persecution can also include a pattern of harassment or discrimination, but it must reach a certain level of severity to be considered a well-founded fear of future persecution.

Asylum officers conducting threshold screening interviews or asylum hearings review the facts of your case and decide whether to grant you asylum. The decision of an immigration judge can be appealed to the Board of Immigration Appeals, and the final decision can be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The Economic Impact of a Financial Report

A financial report is a summary of business operations over a set period, often quarterly or annually. It combines important data from a company’s balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement to provide an overview of a company’s financial health. It reflects profits and losses, shows the amount of money coming in and going out, and helps investors and managers understand a business’s trajectory.

It can be created for internal or external use. In the case of external reports, they are typically required by regulatory bodies. Accurate reporting is necessary for compliance with taxation, accounting and legal standards. For example, publicly-traded companies in the United States must file a quarterly (10-Q) and annual (10-K) report with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Internally, financial reports help businesses evaluate their performance over time and identify areas where they can improve. Having accurate data can also make it easier to secure financing or manage debt.

The economic impact of financial reporting goes beyond the capital market. Empirical studies consistently find that high-quality financial reporting is associated with more efficient real activities of the reporting firm. In particular, a misreporting firm might be more likely to overinvest in the next period to conceal its misreporting, and a truthfully-reporting firm might invest more efficiently than the peer firm.

The Risk of a Government Shutdown

When government funding expires without an approved full-year spending bill or a CR, programs and activities are shut down for weeks or months. The effects are far-reaching and costly, with the Congressional Budget Office estimating that even a short shutdown costs billions in lost economic activity that will never be recovered.

Americans expect their federal government to help keep the economy running smoothly, provide public benefits, conduct scientific research, and address national security challenges. Yet the partisan divides over funding have created a high risk of a government shutdown that would halt essential services, delaying passport processing and small business loans and preventing food safety inspections.

A government shutdown erupts when Congress fails to pass a full-year funding bill or a continuing resolution, and the President vetoes the measure. Congress may try to override the presidential veto, but it will take the support of two-thirds of both chambers.

Shutdowns have been the result of a range of disagreements, including a dispute over the Affordable Care Act. Regardless of the cause, a shutdown can lead to long delays in getting Social Security and Medicare checks, closed parks and museums, and slowed court cases.

Each year, all agencies reevaluate and post contingency plans that detail how they will respond to a shutdown. These plans include details such as whether staff will continue to work on user-fee derived revenue and how many workers will be kept on the job. In the past, most of these plans have centered on keeping vital functions open and accessible to the public.

How to Write a News Feature

Feature stories are about the things that happen in our communities, that you would not expect to be newsworthy but which have an impact on people’s lives. They are often long, detailed articles which take up a great deal of space in a newspaper or magazine, so they need to be very well written. They also need to be interesting.

They can be about a person (profiles, celebrity pieces), a topic or an issue (such as the environment, crime, health, etc.), a location, a type of work or activity (artisanal craftwork, community development, tourism, etc.), a particular sport or pastime, something seasonal or even a lifestyle piece which covers areas such as food, fashion, home or leisure.

You can use all the skills you learned in hard news writing to create a good feature article. You can also include elements of narrative and storytelling, interviews, surveys and sensory details (like photographs and videos). But you must always ensure the content is king; there is less scope in a news feature than a hard news story to let your literary style show through.

A newspaper which only had features and no news stories would seem shallow, so they are a vital part of the mix. However, it is possible to overdo it with them; they should be balanced with plenty of hard news items. Breaking news is important and you should be quick to respond to it, but turning out a lot of features when nothing of any significance is happening can confuse people.

Special Report

A special report is an in-depth investigation into a particular subject. In the field of journalism, this can involve exposing wrongdoing or corruption and requires a level of understanding and expertise that not all journalists have. Specialized reporting is a powerful tool for increasing journalist credibility and allowing them to convey complex subjects for their audience.

In accounting, a special report is a customized financial report that deviates from the standard formats required by Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. These unique reports are often used to comply with contractual agreements or regulatory provisions and can include certain sections, accounts, or items of a financial statement. Special reports are usually conducted independent of a standard audit but can also be done alongside one.

The Hastings Center periodically publishes the results of its research projects in bioethical topics as “special reports.” These single-authored essays or essay sets organized around topical bioethical developments are another venue for the Center’s researchers to communicate their findings to a larger audience. They are meant to be comprehensive and offer deep insight into the complex issues facing society today. The reports are available in both PDF and HTML format.

Identifying a Market Trend

A market trend is a perception that financial markets tend to move in a consistent direction over time. These trends can be categorized as secular for long-term shifts, primary for medium time frames or secondary for shorter time frames. Traders attempt to recognize these trends by using technical analysis, a framework that characterizes predictable price tendencies in support and resistance levels.

Businesses hope for an upward trend to manifest as a consistent rise in sales, suggesting growing consumer demand and a healthy market presence for their products or services. Analyzing these trends can help them shape pricing, messaging and marketing strategies, as well as determine where to invest resources or whether their products are suited for certain regions.

Identifying and tracking market trends can inform strategic decisions, from inventory levels and capacity planning to purchasing, facility expansion and marketing activities. To maximize the benefit of this analysis, identifying objectives and scope helps narrow the search for the most relevant data sets, tools and techniques.

It can also be beneficial to examine competitor and customer trends, such as what kinds of features are attracting consumers or what pain points they might be trying to solve. For example, when the popularity of a product such as bamboo baby clothes rises, looking at reviews might reveal a trend toward reducing sensitivity and itching associated with certain fabrics, like wool or synthetics. This could inspire a new line of products that address this need.

How to Write a Good News Update

A news update is a story that adds more detail to a previously reported news event. This can be as simple as a follow-up to an earlier article or it can be a deeper explanation of an issue or topic that is already in the news. The first step to writing any good news article is researching the topic thoroughly. Start by making a list of all the important facts. These are the facts that are necessary for your readers to understand the story fully.

Once you’ve gathered all the important facts make sure they are arranged in a logical manner. It’s a good idea to have someone else read over your article before you submit it for publication. This extra set of eyes can help you catch things that you might not have noticed when reading it yourself. Also make sure you have included enough information that anyone reading your news article can form their own opinion.

How the Stock Market Works

The stock market is a key part of modern economies. It’s where companies raise vast sums of money to accelerate successful startups, expand operations and pay off debt. It’s also where high-net-worth individuals and investors with more modest means buy shares in publicly traded businesses, often to take advantage of gains and have a voice in how the company is run.

The earliest days of the stock market began when entrepreneurs raised money by giving parts of their business to friends and family in exchange for capital. This was the first form of private equity. Today, the stock market is a global trading system where stocks are sold and traded through regulated exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and Nasdaq. Some stocks are also traded “over the counter” through broker-dealers and other financial institutions.

As for how stocks go up and down, it comes down to supply and demand. When demand for a specific stock is greater than the number of shares on offer, its price rises. Factors that drive demand include things like a company’s profitability, news about the economy here and abroad and the general sentiment of investors.

Many investors keep tabs on the market by following indexes that reflect the performance of a group of stocks, such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average or S&P 500. You’ll hear about these indexes on news programs as they report the ups and downs of Wall Street.

How to Write a Powerful Editorial

An editorial is an opinion-based commentary that influences societal discourse. It can be used to ‘explain’ complex issues, ‘critique’ specific policies or decisions, or ‘persuade’ readers toward a particular viewpoint. As a powerful communication tool, editorials have the potential to spur significant societal advancements.

A well-crafted editorial starts with a strong opening that outlines the issue at hand. It should also clearly present your stance on the topic, guiding the tone and structure of the piece. The rest of the article should provide supporting evidence for your thesis, including factual statistics, expert quotes, and real-life examples that readers can relate to. Don’t forget to acknowledge opposing viewpoints in order to demonstrate balance and credibility, but make sure to explain why their arguments are less convincing or flawed. Then, conclude the editorial with a powerful statement that reinforces your stance and motivates readers to think or act accordingly.

Despite the complexity of some topics, a well-written editorial can be both enlightening and entertaining to read. It should use a professional, persuasive tone, and avoid overly complex language or jargon that may be difficult for readers to understand. And, of course, it should be free of grammatical and spelling errors to ensure that your message is conveyed effectively. If possible, have your work proofread by a colleague or friend before publication to ensure that no mistakes are missed. This way, you can be confident that your editorial will have the desired impact on your audience.

The Dangers of Using Force to Promote Regime Change

While the US government should encourage democracy and human rights around the world, attempting to force regime change is dangerous and ineffective. This is especially true when the regime change mission involves the use or threat of armed force. Using force to promote regime change can also spawn unintended consequences such as humanitarian crises and political instability.

In a broad sense, regime change is the replacement of a nation’s leadership. This can be accomplished by a revolution, war, coup, or some other means of overthrowing the current government.

Regardless of the method, it’s important to understand what makes a regime ripe for change. In most cases, regime change is triggered by domestic discontent with a government’s policies or the behavior of its leaders. It can also be triggered by economic instability or social movements.

The key to successful regime change is creating or leveraging intrinsic motivations for citizens to support opposition efforts. This includes fostering civic engagement, organizing protests, and mobilizing citizens to demand change. It’s also necessary to recognize that nonviolent resistance is typically a gradual process and the success of a movement requires time and patience.

Despite high-profile failures such as the Iraq war, many in the policy community continue to call for ousting illiberal regimes. They argue that this tool achieves objectives more cheaply and quickly than sustained diplomatic pressure and engagement and is less likely to escalate into broader military action. However, academic research reveals that armed regime-change missions rarely succeed as intended and often produce unintended consequences that far outweigh any short-term benefits.