News Watch

As ITN went to press, the State Department had travel warnings on 35 destinations: Afghanistan, Algeria, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Guinea, Haiti, Honduras, Iran, Iraq, Israel/West Bank/Gaza, Kenya, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Republic of South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia and...

CONTINUE READING »

In mid and late June, many areas of northern India experienced devastating floods from some of the heaviest monsoon rains in 80 years. The state of Uttarakhand was hardest hit, with more than 600 people confirmed dead and more than 80,000 residents, religious pilgrims and tourists stranded after floods and landslides destroyed bridges, roads and thousands of homes. 

The state’s Agricultural Minister said, “It will take us at least five years to recover from the extensive damages...

CONTINUE READING »

In Central Europe, unusually heavy rains in June instigated landslides and caused several rivers to overflow their banks, flooding towns and threatening several cities. In Germany, Hungary, Czech Republic, Austria and Poland, at least 19 people died and tens of thousands were evacuated.

In Budapest, the Danube River crested at a historic peak of 8.91 meters (29 feet). The Elbe River, at one point, was running at seven meters above normal levels. Many river cruise companies were forced...

CONTINUE READING »

After weeks of heavy rain, in June several rivers in Canada’s Alberta, province overflowed, flooding huge areas. Floods on the Bow, Elbow, High and South Saskatchewan rivers caused the evacuation of more than 75,000 people in Calgary and 10,000 in Medicine Hat and devastated the town of High River. Roads and bridges were washed away and hundreds of homes were submerged. The resorts of Banff and Canmore were cut off when the Trans-Canada Highway was temporarily closed.

CONTINUE READING »

In Istanbul, Turkey, what began on May 28 as a small protest over plans to build over a green-space park in Taksim Square mushroomed into nationwide antigovernment protests in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir, Adana, Mersin and other cities. 

Weeks of daily demonstrations by thousands of people drew a hard-line response from the government, with police using water cannons and tear gas to disperse protesters. At least two deaths resulted from the clashes.

On June 14 the government agreed...

CONTINUE READING »

More than a million people in 100 cities and towns throughout Brazil demonstrated in June. Issues of protest included a hike in public transportation fees, high taxes, inflation, health care, security and overspending on building projects for the 2014 FIFA World Cup and 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. 

While most of the protesters were peaceful, there were some violent confrontations with police and several acts of vandalism. 

Thousands of people took part in nightly protests held in Sofia and other cities in Bulgaria during June. Sparked by the appointment of a media mogul to the head of security, demonstrators moved on to protest graft and the political influence of organized crime. Protesters called for laws to strengthen the courts, to support freedom of the media and to prevent business groups from receiving public funds.

On June 19, 2013, Islamist militants in Somalia carried out a deadly assault on the main UN compound in Mogadishu, killing at least 17 people; African Union soldiers restored order after a 90-minute gun battle. On May 5, an attack on a government convoy killed eight bystanders. On April 14, a combined suicide bombing and armed assault by al-Shabaab terrorist gunmen killed 29 and wounded 58 in Mogadishu’s main court complex.

Interclan and interfactional fighting flares up with little...

CONTINUE READING »