Terrorist Attacks Shock World

In less than a week, two independent terrorist groups attacked three different countries, injuring and killing many people. On Tuesday, an airport and subway station in Brussels, Belgium were attacked by suicide bombers. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attacks. Authorities believe that five militants were responsible for the attacks, which killed 31 people and injured 330. On Friday, an Iraqi soccer stadium was attacked by a lone terrorist. People had congregated in the stadium to celebrate the victory of a local soccer team when the attack took place. ISIS claimed responsibility for the attack, which killed at least 25 people and wounded 90 more. On Sunday, a park in the Pakistani city of Lahore was bombed. Many Christian and Muslim families had gone to the park to celebrate Easter. Jamaat ul-Ahrar, an offshoot of the Pakistani Taliban, claimed responsibility for the attacks. In a phone interview with The Washington Post, Ehsanullah Ehsan, a spokesperson for Jamaat ul-Ahrar, stated, “It was our people who attacked the Christians in Lahore, celebrating Easter… It’s our message to the government that we will carry out such attacks again until sharia [Islamic law] is imposed in the country.” On his personal Twitter account, Shahbaz Sharif, chief minister of the province in which the attacks took place, vowed revenge: “Those who targeted innocent citizens do not deserve to be called humans… We will hunt you down… [and] make sure your terror infrastructure is dismantled completely.”

President Obama Visits Cuba

On Sunday, March 20, President Obama became the first active president since Calvin Coolidge to visit Cuba. Obama and Cuban president Raul Castro held a joint news conference, during which Obama urged for freedom of speech, assembly and religion. Obama and Castro also attended a baseball game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Cuban national team, which was won by Tampa Bay. Following his visit to Cuba, Obama flew to Argentina.

North Carolina Anti-LGBT Bill Sparks Backlash

On Wednesday, North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed a bill that required transgender people to use the restroom aligned with their gender identity and that voided local government laws protecting people from discrimination based on their sexual orientation. Companies with business presence in the state including American Airlines, Dow Chemical, Paypal, and Red Hat expressed their dissatisfaction with the new law while conservative groups such as the Civitas Institute praised it. In an official statement, the N.C.A.A. announced that it would “continue to monitor current events, which include issues surrounding diversity, in all cities bidding on N.C.A.A. championships and events, as well as cities that have already been named as future host sites.” The N.C.A.A. is scheduled to hold tournaments in North Carolina in 2017 and 2018. San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee banned city-funded, non-essential travel to North Carolina in protest of the law. Lee also announced plans to bar travel to Georgia if its governor signs a similar law.