2021

2021May 2021International NewsAsia

India Continues to Set Global Records in COVID-19 Cases

Every four minutes, someone dies from COVID-19 in Delhi, India. Smoke from mass cremation sites covered the skies in a thick layer, as seen in CNN’s drone footage. On Friday, April 30, the country continued its streak of diagnosing over 300,000 new cases in a single day, the ninth consecutive day with over 200,000 total deaths. There is increasing evidence, however, that the death toll may be five to ten times higher than reported, partly due to the country’s large population of nearly 1.4 billion people. India faces a lack of vaccines, hospital beds, vaccines, and oxygen supplies; even crematoriums are struggling to keep up with the pandemic.

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Campus Spotlight2021Faculty SpotlightApril 2021School of Diplomacy News

Catching up with DiploLab: Collaboration and Student Success

Since Fall 2019, the School of Diplomacy has given students an unparalleled opportunity to conduct hands-on research under the guidance of Professor Joseph Huddleston through the DiploLab. In a recent interview, Professor Huddleston expressed his wish for DiploLab to have its own set of goals initiated and led by Diplomacy students. According to him, “students are the force behind its direction,” while the collaborative research space acts as an opportunity generator.

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2021Eastern EuropeApril 2021International News

Russia Builds Up Troops Near Ukrainian Border

The Russia-Ukraine conflict continues to escalate, with a new buildup of Russian troops and military hardware on the shared border of the two countries. Strains began Russo-Ukrainian relations after President Vladimir Putin annexed and seized control of Crimea in 2014, increasing Russian military presence in the area. This, along with Putin’s support for separatists in eastern Ukraine, has caused a seven-year-long conflict between the Ukrainian army and Russian-backed separatists that has claimed at least 14,000 lives, according to CBS News. 

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Campus Spotlight2021April 2021AmericasAfricaSchool of Diplomacy News

National Security Fellows from the School of Diplomacy Brief the National Security Council

A group of 11 graduate students recently presented their research findings to the National Security Council under the guidance and advisement of Professor Mohamad Mirghahari, a Tom and Ruth Sharkey Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the School of Diplomacy. Professor Mirghahari is a former Presidential Appointee under the Obama Administration who served as a senior advisor to the chief of staff for the Transportation Security Administration. Prior to that, he spent 14 years working at the Department of Defense and is a recipient of the Secretary of Homeland Security’s Award for Excellence.

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2021FocusApril 2021AfricaSeparatist Movements

FOCUS on Separatist Movements: Western Sahara

Following its establishment in 1945, the United Nations adopted a central commitment to the right to self-determination and decolonization of all non-self-governing territories. General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV), adopted in 1960, called for the “respect for the principles of equal rights and self-determination of all peoples” and declared that “all people have the right to self-determination by virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development.” It is on this basis that Western Saharans continue to push for their right to self-determination and independence from Morocco. 

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2021April 2021International NewsEuropeMiddle East

Head of States from Ukraine and Turkey Meet Amid Tensions With Russia

According to The Associated Press, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in Istanbul in early April to discuss matters of national security and the de-escalation of tensions surrounding the Black Sea region. The meeting between the two heads of state occurred as reports of a build-up of tens of thousands of Russian troops along the eastern Ukrainian border flooded international news headlines. 

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