Featured Image: (Pacer Graphic / Darby Self)

“In the News” is an event hosted at the Paul Meek Library every Wednesday at 4 p.m. The point of the event is to engage students in thoughtful, thought provoking discussion regarding current events. The events can be local, regional or global.

“In the News” starts by presenting a globe with multiple pinpoints highlighting areas of hot-topic discussion. The host of the event is Johnnie LaDue, Ph.D., an assistant professor and information literacy librarian at the University of Tennessee at Martin. LaDue started with events from East to West on the screen and opened the forum to discussion with the participants.

The first event discussed on the globe was China. China’s Parliament has recently concluded its annual session, approving a new five-year plan to halt economic slowdown with a focus on technology and the use of Artificial Intelligence. The Parliament also approved an increased defense budget. The session was overseen by President Xi Jinping and held during the first week of March, according to The Print. 

Also in China, an expected summit is coming up at the end of March with President Donald Trump. The meeting, nearly three weeks away, still remains unclear as to what it will be about. The summit will take place on March 31 to April 2, 2026.

Next, the globe spun to Nepal, where an unlikely leader is emerging. In wake of the Gen-Z Protests movement in Nepal, official results of the March 5 election have so far shown that the party of Balendra Shah, the former mayor of the Nepali capital Kathmandu more popularly known as Balen, will form the South Asian nation’s next government. Shah, a former rapper, “tends to be more bombastic,” said LaDue.

Up next, Iran. A breaking development that has recently emerged is the death of six U.S. soldiers after a plane refueling crash in Iran. “The incident was not due to hostile or mistaken fire and rescue efforts were ongoing, Central Command or CENTCOM said,” according to NBC News. “Israel has hit major oil depots in Iran, especially close to Tehran, which could cause an environmental crisis in Iran,” said LaDue.

Using the attention in Iran as cover, Israel has increased its activities within Lebanon, bombing southern Beirut. According to the UNHCR, almost 700,000 people have been displaced in a week across Lebanon as crisis deepens.

In Haiti, explosive drone strikes by Haitian security ​forces targeting gangs have killed over 1,200 people, including 43 adult civilians and 17 children, according to Reuters. Since last March, Haitian security forces, with support from Vectus Global, have carried out anti-gang operations using quadcopter drones strapped with explosives, reported the news agency.