News Watch

Two families carried out suicide bombings in Indonesia in May.

On May 13, a family of six committed bombings in the city of Surabaya in the state of East Java. A mother and her two daughters, aged 9 and 12, attacked one church, while the father and their two sons attacked two other churches. At least 18 people were killed, including the bombers, and more than 40 were injured.

Another bomb exploded in an apartment that same...

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An attacker killed two police officers with a knife in Liege, Belgium, on May 29, taking a gun from one and using it to kill a civilian and injure four other officers before taking a hostage. He was killed by police, with no further casualties.

The attacker was identified as a man who had just been let out of prison on temporary release while serving for a drug conviction. As of press time, the incident...

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A Chechnyan-born French citizen killed one person and injured four others in a series of knife attacks in central Paris on May 13 before being shot and killed by police. The attacker’s name was on a watch list ofpeople who might post a threat to national security. The Islamist militant group Daesh (ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attack.

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A park ranger was killed and three people — a driver and two British tourists — were kidnapped in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on May 11. The tourists and ranger were heading to the city of Goma after visiting a gorilla sanctuary in the park.

The ranger was the eighth one killed in the park in 2018. Since 1998, more than 170 rangers have been killed in the park either by ...

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Three US citizens held prisoner in North Korea, one since 2015, were released on May 10 ahead of a proposed meeting between US president Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. The three men were the last US citizens held in North Korea.

Prior to that, the last American to have been released was Otto Warmbier, who was visiting North Korea as a tourist in January 2016. He was arrested at the airport for crimes against the...

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A massive dust storm killed at least 61 people across India on May 13. The worst hit was the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, where at least 38 were killed, but deaths also occurred in Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal and Delhi.

As reported last month, a number of deadly storms hit northern India in April and May, with storms in April toppling two minarets at the Taj Mahal and another storm, on May 4, killing more than 140 people.

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At least 65 people died from heatstroke during a heat wave in Karachi, Pakistan, in late May, with temperatures reaching 111ºF.

The heat wave occurred during the first days of Ramadan, during which adult Muslims fast from food and drink during the daylight hours, increasing the risk of dehydration and overheating. Children, the elderly and the infirm are exempt from the fast.

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The Patel Dam, an earthen embankment dam in central Nigeria, burst in heavy rain on May 9, flooding the town of Solai and killing at least 47 people. More than 40 people were still missing as of press time.

The privately owned dam, one of five in the area built by a farmer for his large (3,500-acre) commercial rose farm, held about 52,800 gallons. It is believed the embankment failed...

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