News Watch

Two Palestinian gunmen launched an attack at a shopping center in Tel Aviv, Israel, on June 9, killing four people and injuring 16. Both gunmen were arrested by Israeli security forces.

After the incident, Israel suspended the travel permits of all Palestinians for the month of Ramadan (June 6-July 5), save for work permits, preventing Palestinians from crossing into Israel or any Israeli settlements, including Jerusalem. 

On June 22, near the West Bank city of Beit Sira,...

CONTINUE READING »

A suicide-car bomb killed six Jordanian soldiers and injured 14 other soldiers in Jordan, near the Syrian border, on June 21. The attack occurred near the Rukban refugee camp in Syria, home to more than 50,000 Syrian refugees. No refugees were injured in the attack. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, which came from the Syrian side of the border.

On June 23, Jordan declared its borders between Syria and Iraq to be “closed military zones” and warned that it...

CONTINUE READING »

In Saudi Arabia, terrorist groups (some affiliated with Daesh [ISIL] or Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula [AQAP]) have targeted both Saudi and Western interests over the past year, with multiple attacks on mosques and on places where members of the Shia-Muslim minority gather, resulting in significant loss of life.  

In 2015, a suicide bomber attacked a mosque in Al-Qadeeh in Al Qatif governorate on May 22, a blast occurred at another mosque in the Al Anoud district of...

CONTINUE READING »

In the eastern China province of Jiangsu, a tornado touched down in the city of Yancheng on June 23, killing at least 99 people and injuring at least 846 others. The tornado also destroyed homes and infrastructure. It was considered the worst tornado in China in 50 years. 

Bad weather also affected nine provinces in southern China in mid-June, with severe flooding killing 22 people and causing more than 200,000 people to evacuate their homes.

CONTINUE READING »

A major storm hit New South Wales and Tasmania, Australia, June 5-6, killing at least seven people and doing millions of dollars worth of damage to houses and infrastructure. The storm produced strong winds along with flooding and high seas that inundated low-lying areas of Sydney. Damaged sites included Bondi Beach in Sydney.

Protests staged by a teachers’ union in the Mexican state of Oaxaca turned violent on June 19 when police fired on protesters in two separate incidents, killing six people in the town of Nochixtlan and two in Juchitan. More than 100 people were injured, including more than 50 police officers.

On June 27, tens of thousands of people gathered in Mexico City to demonstrate against the police response to Oaxacan protesters. The event concluded peacefully.

CONTINUE READING »

Police were accused by the Kenya National Commission of Human Rights of beating subdued protesters in the capital city of Nairobi on May 17. Protesters had gathered to call for electoral reform.

On June 6, two people were killed and five people were wounded, including a 5-year-old, when police opened fire on people protesting perceived electoral fraud in the city of Kisumu in western Kenya. However, a protest in Nairobi that same day was peaceful.

Papua New Guinea police fired on students from the University of Papua New Guinea who were gathered in the capital city of Port Moresby on June 9, injuring 23 people. The student protesters were calling for the prime minister, Peter O’Neill, to resign his position and answer to corruption charges. A warrant was issued for Mr. O’Neill’s arrest in 2014, but he has yet to be arrested or tried.

CONTINUE READING »