Iraq
The Iraqi government and the U.S. State Department have deemed the country’s largest dam at risk of collapsing. The Mosul Dam, located on the Tigris River, was constructed in the 1980s under President Saddam Hussein. Since the beginning of the Iraq War, geologists and engineers have expressed doubts over the dam’s stability. According to the U.S. embassy in Bagdad, “Some models estimate that Mosul could be inundated by as much as 70 feet (21 meters) of water within hours of the breach.” Over a million people down-river could be affected.
Netherlands
Dutch politicians have voted in favor of providing separate accommodations for gay and Christian asylum seekers. Members from the Christian Union, Democrats 66 and the Labour Party formed a coalition on the vote after reports of attacks and death threats against gay asylum seekers. Separate housing will be provided to members of the gay, lesbian and transgender community as well as Christians in need of it. Legislators from the VVD, the conservative party, opposed the motion, citing its disharmony with Dutch ideals and equality.
China
Chinese workers will see massive layoffs and labor restructuring in the next two to three years. Yin Weimin, China’s minister of human resources and social security, announced on Feb. 29 that he expects the country to lay off 1.8 million steel and coal workers. Weimin did not give a timetable for when these layoffs will occur. According to Reuters, sources within the government claim the layoff plan will eventually affect 5-6 million workers. Many state-owned companies in China have become unable to pay off their debts to banks and other businesses.
Mexico
Reuters reports that between October and February, 150,304 people were detained trying to cross the U.S.-Mexico border. These figures, from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, constitute a 24 percent increase from the same time span a year earlier. According to CBP data, through January of the federal fiscal year, 24,616 family units and 20,455 unaccompanied children were detained at the border, a 171 percent and 102 percent increase, respectively, from the 2015 fiscal year. Most families and children apprehended by border patrol agents came from El Salvador and Guatemala.
United States
A South Dakota bill that would have restricted transgender bathroom access in schools was vetoed March 1. Prior to making the decision, Gov. Dennis Daugaard met with transgender students on Feb. 23. “It helped me see things through their eyes a little better and see more of their perspective,” he said, according to the Argus Leader. Previously, Daugaard claimed to have never met a transgendered person. Transgender groups and activists campaigned against the bill’s passage into law. Rep. Fred Deutsch, the bill’s author, said it only provided special accommodations for transgender students.
