NEWS OF THE DAY
From Around the World
1 _ Referendums: New Zealanders voted to legalize euthanasia in a binding referendum, but preliminary results released Friday showed they likely would not legalize recreational marijuana use. With about 83% of votes counted, New Zealanders emphatically endorsed the euthanasia measure with 65% voting in favor and 34% voting against. The “No” vote on marijuana was much closer, with 53% voting against legalizing the drug for recreational use and 46% voting in favor. In past elections, special votes — which include those cast by overseas voters — have tended to track more liberal than general votes, giving proponents of marijuana legalization some hope the measure could still pass as those votes are counted.
2 _ Tanzania election: Populist President John Magufuli on Friday was declared the overwhelming winner of a second term amid allegations of widespread election fraud. The national electoral commission said Magufuli received more than 12 million votes, while top opposition candidate Tundu Lissu received nearly 2 million. Turnout was less than 50%. Lissu has rejected the vote, alleging widespread irregularities and called for peaceful demonstrations. The opposition has alleged that thousands of observers were turned away from polling stations on Wednesday. The ruling party also achieved the twothirds’ majority in parliament needed to change the constitution. Some in the party have called for the presidency’s twoterm limit to be extended.
3 _ Poland protests: Women’s rights activists staged a major protest Friday in Warsaw after a week of mass nationwide street demonstrations in Poland triggered by a restriction on abortion rights. The march was held in defiance of government appeals that people stay home due to skyrocketing coronavirus infections. The national public prosecutor has vowed to file criminal charges against organizers of the protests for “causing an epidemiological threat.” The constitutional court ruled last week that abortion in the cases of severe fetal deformities is unconstitutional.
4 _ Restive region: Armenia and Azerbaijan pledged Friday after talks between foreign ministers in Geneva to avoid targeting residential areas amid the fighting over Nagorno Karabakh. The two sides also agreed they will move to exchange the remains of soldiers left on the battlefield as well as exchanging lists of prisoners of war. The outburst of hostilities has left hundreds and possibly thousands of people dead, marking the largest escalation in the region in more than a quartercentury. Nagorno Karabakh lies within Azerbaijan but has been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces backed by Armenia since a war there ended in 1994. A U. S. brokered truce frayed immediately after it took effect Monday, just like two previous ceasefires negotiated by Russia. The warring sides have repeatedly blamed each other for violations.
5 _ Gay rights: Two lesbian couples tied the knot in a mass wedding held by Taiwan’s military on Friday in a historic celebration with their peers. Taiwan is the only place in Asia to have legalized samesex marriage, with more than 4,000 such couples marrying since the legislation passed in May 2019. The mass wedding with 188 couples was the first time samesex couples have been wed and celebrated at a military ceremony. Both couples viewed their ceremonies with a sense of responsibility toward representing the LGBT community. “We are hoping that more LGBT people in the military can bravely stand up, because our military is very openminded. In matters of love, everyone will be treated equally,” said Chen Yinghsuan, 27, an army lieutenant who married Li Lichen, 26.