March 2021

2021March 2021International NewsAfrica

Tanzania President John Magufuli Dead at 61; Samia Suluhu Hassan Becomes Country’s First Female President

Tanzania’s former Vice President was sworn in as the East African country’s first female President after the death of John Magufuli, reports Al Jazeera. This comes days after the then-former Vice President announced on state television that President John Magufuli, aged 61, died of heart failure at Mzena hospital in Dar es Salaam.

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2021March 2021International NewsEurope

Turkey Withdraws from the 2011 Istanbul Convention on Women’s Rights

Turkey announced in late March that it has withdrawn from the 2011 Istanbul Convention on women’s rights. The convention was held to promote the protection of women against domestic violence and promote gender equality by signatory states, reports Reuters. Notably, Turkey was the first country to sign on to the convention, which was forged in and is named after the country’s largest city.

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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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2021March 2021International NewsAsia

Historic Transgender Islamic School Opens in Pakistan

A young transgender woman opened the first transgender-only madrasa in Islamabad, Pakistan. A madrasa is an Islamic religious school where students can pray, learn the teachings of the Qur’an, and discuss other Islamic subjects. Rani Khan, the founder of the school, explained to Reuters that in a dream, her transgender friend who passed away was in a great state of agony, begging her to do something for the transgender community. The dream changed her life and inspired her to use her life savings towards creating this two-room school.

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2021March 2021International NewsAsia

India Threatens to Deport Rohingya Refugees to Myanmar

Authorities in Jammu detained over 200 Rohingya refugees in early March and are threatening to deport them to Myanmar, the state from which they are fleeing. India claims that the refugees are considered “illegal immigrants” and explains they are in the process of deporting the detainees back to their home country, despite the continued severe violence against Rohingya Muslims in the region.

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Campus Spotlight2021March 2021School of Diplomacy News

Vice President of the International Committee of the Red Cross Talks the Importance of Humanitarian Action in Contemporary Warfare

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been using humanitarian action, policy, and diplomacy to combat the impacts of contemporary warfare, according to Gilles Carbonnier, the vice president of the ICRC at a School of Diplomacy event on March 18.

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2021March 2021International NewsAmericas

Violence Erupts in Mexico on International Women’s Day

Thousands of women took to the streets in Mexico City -some carrying their children and others bats and hammers- to protest the rising violence against women in Mexico, on March 8 which marked the International Women’s Day. The march was stimulated by public outrage over  the actions of Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, commonly known as AMLO, who many see as out of touch. Lopez Obrador was heavily criticized for his continuous support of the candidate for governor of Guerrero, Felix Salgado Macedonio, who had been accused of rape on two occasions.

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