News Watch

Heavy rains in Rwanda from February through May caused multiple mudslides that killed at least 200 people, including three in the capital, Kigali. This year’s rainy season has caused flooding throughout the region, particularly in Somalia, Uganda and Kenya.

CONTINUE READING »

The Fuego Volcano, 25 miles southwest of Guatemala City, Guatemala, violently erupted on June 2, spewing out a pyroclastic flow that buried villages around the mountain, killing at least 25 people. More than 3,000 people in the area were evacuated, with about 1.7 million people around the volcano experiencing ash falls.

Fuego is one of the most active volcanoes in the Americas, last erupting in February of this...

CONTINUE READING »

A city bus in Rome, Italy, burst into flames on May 8, slightly injuring one person and completely destroying the bus. The fire was believed to have been caused by a short circuit. It was the ninth city-bus fire in Rome in 2018. In 2017 there were 22 bus fires in the city. There were no injuries in any of the other fires.

Atac, the company that operates Rome’s city buses and most of Italy...

CONTINUE READING »

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....

CONTINUE READING »

At least 140 people were killed and many more were injured when massive dust storms struck the northern Indian states of Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan on May 2. Most of the deaths and injuries were caused when buildings collapsed onto occupants due to the high winds. 

The storms, which included rain and hail, caused widespread power outages and killed livestock and crops.

The country’s capital, Delhi, is just north of Uttar Pradesh and was also hit, but the storm had...

CONTINUE READING »

A suicide bomber detonated a bomb beside a line of people waiting to register to vote in Kabul, Afghanistan, on April 22, killing at least 57 and injuring 119. Islamist militant group Daesh (ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attack. Voter registration for national elections opened on April 15, and, over the next week, four registration offices were attacked. Legislative elections are set to occur in October, with presidential elections to be held in 2019.

Two suicide bombers struck...

CONTINUE READING »

Palestinian protests that began on March 30 at the Gaza/Israel border continued past the originally scheduled end date of April 15. 

On April 20, in clashes with the Israeli military positioned at the border, four Palestinians were killed, including a 15-year-old.

On April 27, hundreds of Gazans attempted to force their way through the border fence by pulling it down or using wire cutters. In response, the Israeli military opened fire on the group, killing at least three...

CONTINUE READING »

Two suicide bombings occurred near a mosque in the city of Mubi in eastern Nigeria on May 1, killing at least 24 people. The first bomb was detonated in a group of worshipers arriving for afternoon prayers, while the second occurred at a nearby market as people fled the first bomb.

As of press time, no group had claimed responsibility for the attack, but the Islamist militant group Boko Haram is active in the area and has used suicide bombers in Mubi in the past.

On May 6, a...

CONTINUE READING »