Time Magazine International Edition March 29, 2021

WHAT YOU SAID ABOUT … WOMEN AND THE PANDEMIC The March 15/March 22 special report on the challenges women face amid the COVID-19 pandemic was eye-opening for many readers. “Women have come far but #Covid has been the great magnifier,” @LauraDistin360 wrote on Twitter. “[It] has shed some serious light on how we view women, child care & the workforce.” Pritish De of Waukesha, Wis., applauded the issue for centering female role models. “Your coverage on ‘Women and the Pandemic’ exemplified the remarkable spirit of women from different strata of society during the worst nightmare we are all facing,” De wrote. “It’s their undying resilience that has powered them to navigate this humanitarian crisis and reaffirms how formidable they are in terms of grit and gumption.” ‘The cracks in our…

‘In authoritarian states, the Olympics has more often been a tool of propaganda than a lever of reform.’MITT ROMNEY, U.S. Senator, in a March 15 New York Times op-ed calling for the U.S. to enact an “economic and diplomatic boycott” of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, while still sending athletes to compete ‘The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan.’BUCKINGHAM PALACE, in a statement issued on behalf of Queen Elizabeth II on March 9 in response to the couple’s interview with Oprah Winfrey ‘EVERY DAY HAS BEEN MARCH THE 13TH SINCE IT HAPPENED.’TAMIKA PALMER, Breonna Taylor’s mother, in an interview with the Cut published on March 12 to mark the first anniversary of her…

AFTER ONE OF THE ROCKIEST TRANSITIONS IN U.S. history, Joe Biden’s term has gotten off to a brisk start. In his first 50 days, the President has muscled a massive relief bill through Congress, sending stimulus checks to millions of Americans and easing housing costs, student loans and health-insurance premiums. His team of government veterans has also executed a series of less visible but consequential moves, from increasing vaccine production to approving loans for multitudes of struggling small businesses. Now Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are traveling the country, hoping to capitalize on the popularity of the plan. Biden has a 60% approval rating, according to a poll released March 5 by the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, compared with about 41% for Donald Trump around this time…

“SHE WAS JUST WALKING HOME.” THOSE five words trended widely on social media and appeared on many tributes at a vigil for Sarah Everard, 33, a marketing executive who disappeared from a London street on March 3. A week later, Everard’s body was found in woodlands in nearby Kent, and on March 12, an officer with London’s Metropolitan Police was charged with Everard’s kidnapping and murder. WOMEN’S SAFETY Everard’s disappearance prompted an outpouring from women in Britain sharing their own experiences of harassment on social media and assault. Everard’s body was discovered on the same day that a new survey by U.N. Women U.K. revealed that more than 70% of women of all ages in the country said they had experienced sexual harassment in a public space. Some 95% of…

Japan’s gay-marriage ban challenged A Japanese court ruled for the first time, on March 17, that the country’s same-sex marriage ban violates Japan’s constitution. While the ruling did not overturn the law, advocates hope the moral victory will help pave the way for legalization. FEMA agents sent to U.S.-Mexico border The Biden Administration directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency on March 14 to help “safely receive, shelter, and transfer” unaccompanied minors crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. CBS News reported on March 16 that “more than 13,000” migrant children are currently in U.S. custody. Brazil’s Health Minister replaced again As COVID-19 deaths in Brazil again reached record-breaking levels, President Jair Bolsonaro said March 15 he would replace the country’s Health Minister, an army general with no health care experience, with Marcelo Queiroga,…

LEADING MEN Steven Yeun is the first Asian American nominated for Best Actor, for his role in Minari; British actor Riz Ahmed is the first Muslim to appear in the category, for his role in Sound of Metal, as well as the first person of Pakistani descent to be nominated in an acting category. HISTORIC NODS Judas and the Black Messiah is the first film with an all-Black producing team nominated for Best Picture, and the Best Supporting Actor nominations for its stars Daniel Kaluuya and LaKeith Stanfield mark the first time two male Black actors are nominated for the same film. LEADING WOMEN The Best Director nominations for Nomadland’s Chloé Zhao and Promising Young Woman’s Emerald Fennell represent the first time two women have appeared in the category at…