 Hello, you're watching the International Daily Roundup by People's Dispatch, where we bring you some of the top stories from around the world. Let's take a look at today's headlines. Teachers go on strike across Hungary. Trans children's access to care under threat in the United States. Coalition demands freedom for pro-refugee Italian mayor. And Algeria cuts ties with Spain over Western Sahara policy. We begin with Hungary, where school teachers across the country have gone on strike to demand better salaries and working conditions. The action has been organised by the PSZ Union and the Democratic Union of Teachers or the PDSZ. Teachers walked out on March 16th following months of failed negotiations with the government. They have previously organised a series of warning strikes. This included one on January 31st, which saw the participation of over 20,000 workers. Conservative Prime Minister Viktor Orban tried to restrict the actions by issuing a special COVID-19 decree for mandatory teaching. The unions challenged this in the Constitutional Court as an attack to their right to strike. Teachers in Hungary received the lowest salaries in the European Union. Their pay scale is still calculated on the basis of the 2014 minimum wage. Meanwhile, unions argued that the workload has increased amid a shortage of staff. The education system currently lacks around 12,000 people. Besides an adjustment of the pay scale, teachers are demanding an increase in the guaranteed pay for non-teaching staff. They have also demanded that teaching work time be limited to 22 hours a week. Work time for pedagogical and special assistants must be similarly limited to 35 hours a week. As the strike continues, the government has reportedly made a list of protesting teachers and threatened to cut their salaries. Despite this, teachers held a demonstration outside parliament on Saturday. According to local reports, all classes remained suspended from March 16th to 18th and resumed at 50% capacity between March 21st to 23rd. We move on to the United States, where nearly one third of transgender children in the country could lose access to gender-affirming care. The recent spate of legislation pushed by the Republican Party has put over 54,000 transitioning children aged between 13 and 17 at risk. These findings are part of a new report by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law. Gender-affirming care could be denied even in cases where parents, therapists and doctors all support a treatment. Moreover, 4,000 people between 18 and 20 years of age are also under threat in Alabama, Oklahoma and North Carolina. Approximately 150,000 youth in the United States identify as transgender. As of last week, the 15 states have either passed or are considering bills to restrict gender-affirming care. These would either criminalize health professionals who provide the scare to minors or subject them to action by state licensing boats. Around half of these bills will ban some insurance providers from covering gender-affirming treatments. They will also limit the use of state funds and facilities for them. Right-wing leaders in six states are trying to implement penalties for parents who try to provide such care for their own children. Ten states will allow private citizens to file civil suits against medical providers. Recent, dangerous actions include those of Texas Governor Greg Abbott who issued a directive classifying gender-affirming care as child abuse. A global coalition organized by Progressive International is demanding the release of Domenico Mimmo Lucano. He is the former mayor of the small town of Riace in southern Italy. During his tenure from 2004 to 2018, Lucano welcomed and resettled 450 refugees from West Asia and Africa. Riace had come to be known as a dying town as its population fell by 75% between 1945 and 1998. Residents had moved towards the north to seek economic opportunities. After Lucano was elected to office, his focus was on revitalizing the town while providing a home for displaced peoples. Riace gained international recognition for a model of multi-ethnic integration. However, after the far-right politician Matteo Salvini came to power in 2018, he launched a campaign of persecution against Lucano. Salvini accused him of colonizing Italy with migrants. Lucano was placed under house arrest and all public funds for his programs were cut. Migrants who had settled in Riace were moved to refugee centers. In September 2021, Lucano was convicted of embezzlement fraud and abetting illegal immigration. He was sentenced to 13 years in prison double than what the prosecutors had asked for. He is also facing fines of over 500,000 euros. Lucano's lawyers have now filed an appeal seeking his exoneration and the process could take a year. Progressive International has demanded that the European Court of Justice launch an investigation into Lucano's indictment. His arrest took place just as Italy's Interior Ministry imposed a series of brutal anti-immigrant policies. Finally, we take a look at Algeria which has cut diplomatic ties after Spain changed its policy regarding the western Sahara. On March 18th, Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said that he backed a 2007 proposal by Morocco. Under the plan, western Sahara would be granted autonomy under the Kingdom's Sovereignty. This signaled an abrupt and complete shift in Spain's previously neutral position. Similar language was also adopted by the UN Security Council in October. Reacting to Spain's statements, the Algerian Foreign Ministry recalled the ambassador to Madrid on Saturday. Algeria has had quarrel relations with Spain and provided over 40% of its gas supplies in 2021. Spain's shift was also condemned by the Polisario Front as a grave error. It added that the position contradicted the international legitimacy. The front has been resisting Morocco's occupation of the western Sahara and the exploitation of its resources for decades. Morocco occupied the region in 1975 after the withdrawal of the Spanish colonizers. In 1991, a UN-led peace process resulted in a ceasefire and a settlement plan. This would include an independence referendum to decide the fate of western Sahara. Not only has Morocco not conducted this referendum, it also violated the ceasefire by deploying troops to Gergerat in 2020. The Kingdom has repeatedly carried out air attacks which have killed both Sahrawi and Algerian nationals. Morocco's ambassador to Spain returned to Madrid on Sunday after being recalled during a dispute in 2021. That's all for today's episode. 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