News Watch

A fire destroyed parts of Gikomba Market, one of the largest open-air markets in Nairobi, Kenya, in the early morning of June 27, killing at least 15 people and injuring more than 70.

The cause of the fire was not known as of press time, but officials believe it started in an on-site timber yard. Firefighters contained the blaze after about 90 minutes. Fires in the market are common, and arson is often suspected.

A magnitude-5.3 earthquake struck near Osaka, Japan, on June 18, killing four people and injuring more than 200.

Though there were cracked roads and broken water pipes throughout the region and airports in the area were temporarily shut down, no major damage to infrastructure was reported, and local nuclear power plants were operating as normal.

A 6-year-old child in Morobe Province in northern Papua New Guinea was diagnosed with polio in April 2018. Subsequent testing found that the virus had infected at least two other children, who were showing no symptoms, causing the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare an outbreak in the country.

Polio had been considered eradicated in Papua New Guinea, as the last case there was reported 18 years ago. Because of the community’s isolation and vaccination efforts, WHO...

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The US Department of State posts up-to-date travel advisories on every country and many territories, ranking each 1 (Exercise normal precautions), 2 (Exercise increased caution), 3 (Reconsider travel) or 4 (Do not travel). Note: A country’s regions are also ranked, and may have different rankings than the country as a whole. Visit travel.state.gov and click on “Travel Advisories” at the top of the page.

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A Cubana 737 aircraft carrying 104 passengers crashed shortly after takeoff in Havana, Cuba, on May 18, killing 111 people, with two survivors in critical condition as of press time. The plane was heading to the Cuban city of Holguín.

The cause of the accident was not known as of press time, but Aerolíneas Damojh, the Mexican company that owned the plane (which was being leased to Cubana at the time...

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An outbreak of ebola in northwestern Democratic Republic of the Congo had killed at least 27 people as of press time, out of 58 suspected cases.

On May 21, two patients in the city of Mbandaka who were showing symptoms of the disease, including hemorrhaging, were illegally removed from quarantine by their families and taken to a religious gathering, potentially exposing at least 50...

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The Israeli military killed at least 60 Palestinians and injured more than 2,000 during a protest along the Gaza border fence on May 14, the same day the US opened its new embassy in Jerusalem. That brought up to 100 the total number of Palestinians who had been killed at that location in protests that started seven weeks earlier.

Palestinians were protesting for “the right to return,” a policy ...

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Twenty rockets were fired from Syria into the Golan Heights, Israel, on May 10, with no casualties resulting. In response, Israel targeted sites in Syria believed to be occupied by Iranian military. According to Israeli sources, more than 70 military sites in Syria were damaged or destroyed.

Reports stated that, after the missile launch, Russia made an agreement with Israel to move Hezbollah and Iranian soldiers away from the border of ...

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