News Watch

Record-breaking rains in late November and early December caused flooding in the southeastern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Throughout the state, at least 260 people were killed, with more than 12,000 stranded and in need of rescue. 

In Chennai, a city of 6.7 million, flooding shut down power to most of the city and closed the airport and main rail station. 

A dam retaining wastewater from an iron mine in Minas Gerais state in southeastern Brazil broke on Nov. 6, spilling hundreds of millions of gallons of water and mud into local valleys. At least 13 people were killed and more than 500 homes were destroyed. Additionally, the water is believed to have contained toxins from the mining operation. 

Flooding occurred up to four miles away from the dam site. The water eventually entered the Rio Doce before reaching the Atlantic Ocean.

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Torrential rains in late November caused extensive flooding in Saudi Arabia and Qatar, killing at least nine people. In Saudi Arabia, flooding occurred in the capital, Riyadh, as well as in Jeddah and Medina. In Qatar, 3.13 inches of rain fell in the capital, Doha, on Nov. 25, more than the nation’s yearly average of 1.97 inches. 

As ITN went to press, the State Department had travel warnings on 38 destinations: Afghanistan, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, El Salvador, Eritrea, Haiti, Honduras, Iran, Iraq, Israel/West Bank/Gaza, Kenya, North Korea, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Republic of South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine, Venezuela...

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An earthquake measuring 7.5 on the Richter scale killed at least 390 people and injured more than 2,000 in northeastern Afghanistan and neighboring Pakistan on Oct. 26, with thousands reported injured. At least 7,600 houses were destroyed. The earthquake also caused landslides and avalanches, but none were reported in residential areas. 

The epicenter of the quake was in an isolated and sparsely populated area. Additional deaths, injuries and damage were expected to be discovered as...

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In Ankara, Turkey, two suicide bombers targeted a peace rally on Oct. 10, killing at least 97 people and injuring more than 200. The rally, organized by leftist Turkish groups, was staged to call for an end to violence between the Turkish government and the pro-independence Kurdish Workers Party (PKK). 

A cease-fire agreement between the government and the PKK broke down in July after the PKK blamed the government for inaction that allowed a suicide bombing to occur in which 30...

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In Israel, protests by Palestinians at the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem that began on Sept. 13 escalated into a series of stabbings and police retaliations in late September and into October. 

As of press time, Israeli security forces had killed at least 60 Palestinians and Israeli Arabs, with 11 Jewish Israelis killed in knife and gun attacks during the violence. Many more people were injured. Attacks occurred mostly in Jerusalem but also in the West Bank and other Israeli cities....

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Two suspected suicide bombings in northeastern Nigeria on Oct. 23, the first at a mosque in the city of Maiduguri in the state of Borno and the second at a mosque in Yola in Adamawa state, killed at least 61 people and injured many more. As of press time, no group had claimed responsibility for the attacks. 

Northeastern Nigeria is home to the Islamist militant group Boko Haram, which has attacked with bombs in the past. The combined military forces of Nigeria, Niger and Chad have...

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