News Watch

Health authorities in several Latin American countries have released warnings that dengue fever cases have increased dramatically in the last year. Puerto Rico, Honduras and Venezuela all have seen large outbreaks that include increased cases of the life-threatening “dengue hemorrhagic fever” form of the disease.

Mosquitoes carry the disease and should be avoided by using mosquito nets and repellents with DEET.

As ITN went to press, the State Department had travel warnings on 30 destinations: Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Mexico, Chad, Haiti, Israel/West Bank/Gaza, Guinea, Nepal, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Burundi, Côte d’Ivoire, Niger, Georgia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Philippines, Algeria, Lebanon, Iran, Kenya, Colombia, Eritrea, Central African Republic, Yemen, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Somalia, Mauritania and Mali. 

For details, call the State Department at 202/647-5225 or visit http://...

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A surge of violence against ethnic Uzbeks living in southern Kyrgyzstan resulted in over 190 dead and about 1,900 injured in June. 400,000 people fled their homes in the cities of Osh, Jalalabad and surrounding villages. For several days, the police and army were ineffective in stopping the riots. 

Although thousands of refugees have returned home, thousands more displaced persons are being cared for by aid agencies.

The interim government accused allies of the previous...

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• Prolonged monsoon rains in Myanmar and Bangladesh caused floods and mudslides that killed more than 100 people in mid June. In Rakhine state in northern Myanmar, bridges and a key road were washed away. Landslides destroyed several villages in Myanmar and across the border in the Cox Bazar district of Bangladesh. 

• In southern China’s Jiangxi province, there were over 230 people killed, 109 missing and over 100,000 displaced after the Fu River overflowed its banks and broke through...

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In the Republic of Congo, a train crash on June 22 killed over 56 and injured 677. The train derailed about 60 kilometers outside Pointe-Noire on its way from there to Brazzaville. The causes determined were high speed, driver error and having too many passengers.

Guinea’s interim government was successful in holding elections on June 29 without violence — considered the country’s first free vote since independence from France in 1958. The interim government had taken power after the junta run by Captain Camara fell apart in January 2010. 

Camara’s junta government was blamed for the massacre at a stadium of protesters in Conakry on Sept. 28, 2009, that killed at least 28 — rights groups claim as many as 150 — amid other atrocities (rape and...

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In Nigeria, the US Department of State recommends avoiding the Niger Delta states of Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers; the southeastern states of Abia, Edo and Imo, and the city of Jos in Plateau State, due to the risks of kidnapping, robbery and armed attacks. Crime committed by individuals and gangs, as well as by persons wearing police and military uniforms, is a problem throughout the country.

Since January 2009, over 111 foreign nationals have been kidnapped in Nigeria,...

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The US Embassy in Togo released a report in May 2010.

Armed robbery of pedestrians is the most common crime, usually in urban centers. Robberies on beaches have increased; use only private beaches that provide security personnel, and avoid all beaches at night. Theft from vehicles stopped in traffic is becoming common, particularly where there is construction congestion; keep car doors locked when inside, and leave extra room to maneuver the car. 

The most significant threat to...

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