News Watch

At least four million people in Santiago, in central Chile, went without drinking water for a couple of days in late February after heavy rains and landslides left the Maipo River contaminated, forcing authorities to shut off the city’s water supply until the water ran clear again. 

Farther south and southeast, at least three people were killed when rivers overflowed and bridges were washed away. 

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More than 80 brushfires burned throughout New South Wales, Australia, in February, charring tens of thousands of acres. More than 2,500 firefighters fought to control the fires, which were declared contained by Feb. 18. Two firefighters were injured. In one small town, Uarbry, nine of the 12 buildings in town were destroyed. 

The cause of the fires was believed to be a combination of dry, hot weather conditions and lightning. It was an unusually high number of fires to have...

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As ITN went to press, the State Department had travel warnings on 41 destinations: Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, Iran, Iraq, Israel/West Bank/Gaza, Jordan, Kenya, North Korea, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Republic of South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia...

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In Istanbul, Turkey, in the early-morning hours of Jan. 1, a gunman opened fire on a New Year’s Eve party at the popular nightclub Reina, killing 39 people, including 15 foreigners, and injuring 69 others. The foreign victims were identified as citizens of France, Belgium, Tunisia, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

The suspected gunman, an Uzbekistani national who had moved to Turkey in early 2016, was arrested soon after. According to authorities, the gunman said he was...

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In the city of Playa del Carmen, on Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, four people were killed and 12 others were wounded when a gunman opened fire at the Blue Parrot nightclub on Jan. 16 during the closing ceremony of the BPM Electronic Music Festival. A fifth woman, from Colorado, was killed in the ensuing stampede of people escaping the attack. Police were still searching for the gunman at press time.

Police say the attack began after security personnel refused to allow the attacker...

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In northeastern Mali, a car bomb struck a military base in the city of Gao on Jan. 19, killing more than 70 soldiers. Under a peace agreement, the base is shared by Mali armed forces and a militia comprised of Tuareg, a nomadic North African people. The two groups were preparing to go on a cooperative patrol when the blast occurred. The Islamist terrorist group al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) claimed responsibility for the bombing. 

During a civil war in Mali in 2012, AQIM...

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Militants attacked a hotel in Mogadishu, capital of Somalia, on Jan. 26, killing at least 28 people and injuring more than 40 others. Somali armed forces killed at least four of the militants. The hotel was housing Somali members of Parliament as well as foreign journalists. The Islamist militant group al-Shabaab, currently embroiled in a civil war in Somalia, claimed responsibility for the attack.

A car bomb was used to blow open the entrance of the hotel, after which gunmen entered...

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The Nigerian air force mistakenly attacked a camp housing refugees and aid workers in the northern Nigerian state of Borno on Jan. 18, killing at least 115 people. The site was targeted after receiving information that a Boko Haram training camp was operating in the area. Boko Haram is an Islamist militant group that has been engaging in an insurgency in northern Nigeria since 2009.

On Jan. 23 in the northeastern Nigerian city of Madagali, two Boko Haram female suicide bombers...

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