Welcome back NYU Shanghai from yet another break! We hope you enjoyed 春节 and are ready to jump back into the semester! Here are some news updates you should be familiar with:

Smurfing in China - With more and more Chinese losing faith in RMB, they are trying to find ways of transferring their wealth out of the country. Some are finding family members and friends to take out $50,000 apiece - the maximum annual amount for the Chinese. This method, called smurfing, is dubiously legal.

Record Number of Civilian Casualties - The United Nations marked Afghanistan as a country with the highest number of civilian casualties for the 2015. More than 3,500 civilians have been killed last year according to the UN Assistance Mission in this war-stricken country.

The Legacy of Justice Antonin Scalia - U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Antonin Scalia, died this Saturday of natural causes at age 79. The household-name conservative was very often praised by John Roberts, the chief justice, who considered Scalia “an extraordinary individual and jurist.”

South Korea Policy Change with Respect to the North - Prior to the April general elections in South Korea, president Park Geun-hye decided to cut off the final economic link to North Korea. The last remaining factories had to pull out on the command from Seoul.

Facing Zika Virus Catholic Leaders Still Stand Against Contraceptives - Regardless of the consistent spread of the Zika virus, Catholic leaders are advising women against the use of contraceptives or the practice of abortions. Still, the health officials recommend avoiding pregnancies due to the risk involving birth defects.

Refugee Cemeteries in Turkey - With refugees fleeing the Middle East in hope of a better life, not all of them arrive to the final destination. The Mediterranean voyage ends for many on the Turkish coast where now there is a cemetery for mainly the refugee families. The imams who carry out funerals say that they are constantly haunted by the number of unidentified bodies.

This article was written by Lana Kugli. Please send an email to [email protected] to get in touch. Photo Credit: Chloe Haddaway