News Watch

October 2019 issue | Appears on page 18

Typhoon in China

Typhoon Lekima made landfall on Aug. 10 near the city of Wenling in Zhejiang Province, eastern China, before moving north toward Shanghai and Shandong Province. At least 44 people were killed, mostly in the city of Wenzhou, where a natural dam collapsed, causing major flooding and landslides in the city.

More than one million people along the typhoon’s path were evacuated ahead of the storm, over a quarter of those in Shanghai, alone. It is estimated that more than 5 million...

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October 2019 issue | Appears on page 18

Kabul bombings

On Aug. 7 in Kabul, Afghanistan, a truck bomb was detonated outside of a police station, killing 14 people and injuring more than 150. The Islamist political/militant group the Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack.

On Aug. 17, a wedding in Kabul was targeted by a suicide bomber, followed by a car bomb being detonated when emergency services arrived on the scene. Sixty-three people were killed and more than 180 were injured, all civilians. The Islamist militant group Daesh (...

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October 2019 issue | Appears on page 18

Cairo hospital bombing

A car bomb exploded outside of a hospital in Cairo, Egypt, on Aug. 4, killing 20 people and injuring 47. An Egyptian official claimed that the explosives-laden car was being driven to a different site to attack when it ended up going the wrong way down a one-way street and collided with three other cars, causing the explosion.

The bomber, who died in the explosion, was identified as a member of the militant Hasm group, or Arms of Egypt Movement. Hasm is designated as a terrorist group...

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October 2019 issue | Appears on page 18

Hong Kong protesters close airport

Thousands of protesters in Hong Kong stormed the Hong Kong International Airport on Aug. 12, causing the cancellations of all flights for more than a day. Though there were some clashes between protesters and police within the airport, eventually the protesters left peacefully.

Regularly blocking major roads and disrupting public transportation systems, the protests in Hong Kong — which started on June 9 against a proposed bill that would have allowed authorities in mainland...

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October 2019 issue | Appears on page 18

Indian Kashmir locked down

On Aug. 5, the Indian government removed the constitutional amendment that granted the district of Kashmir, in the country’s northwest, a degree of autonomy.

In order to quell any violence, India stationed more soldiers in the area, instituted a curfew and shut down the Internet and mobile networks in the region. Tourists were advised to leave immediately. At press time, protests and violence had been reported in the region, but only one death, an Indian police officer, had been...

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October 2019 issue | Appears on page 19

Indonesian Papua unrest

On Aug. 19 in Surabaya, on the Indonesian island of Java, dozens of students who belonged to Papuan ethnic groups were arrested for allegedly damaging an Indonesian flag. After they were released, they holed up in their dormitories, where stones were thrown and racist slurs were hurled at them by Indonesian nationalists. When that was posted on social media, riots broke out in West Papua, and the West Papua Parliament building in the city of Manokwari was set on fire.

As riots and...

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October 2019 issue | Appears on page 19

Copenhagen bombings

Two bombings occurred in Copenhagen, Denmark, in August.

On Aug. 6, a large bomb exploded outside of the building housing the national tax agency, injuring one. On Aug. 10, a bomb exploded outside of a police station, with no injuries reported.

The bombers were identified as two Christian Swedish men. One was arrested in Malmö, Sweden, across the Øresund strait from Copenhagen, while an international arrest warrant was issued for the other suspect. No motivation for the...

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October 2019 issue | Appears on page 19

Northern Ireland unrest

A bomb targeting police officers exploded in Northern Ireland near the border with the Republic of Ireland on Aug. 19, causing no injuries. The targeted police were in the area investigating an earlier incident, the details of which were not shared.

Officials in Northern Ireland blamed the attack, and five others made against police in 2019, on either the Continuity Irish Republican Army or the New IRA, two militant separatist groups active in the region.