News Watch

Africa was declared free of wild polio (that is, cases of polio caused by nonhuman sources) by the Africa Regional Certification Commission on Aug. 25 after there had been no reported cases in Nigeria, the last country on the continent to have wild cases, since 2016. It is estimated that 95% of children in Africa have been vaccinated for the disease.

According to the World Health Organization, there are still 177 cases of oral-vaccine-derived polio (cVDPV) circulating in Africa. This...

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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.

 

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At press time, active COVID-19 infections had been confirmed in 188 countries and territories, with more than 18 million cases and, resulting from those, more than 690,000 deaths. The country with the most confirmed cases was the US, with 4.4 million. It was followed by Brazil (2.5 million), India (1.5 million) and Russia (833,000).

A rise in cases in European countries, such as Spain, Italy, France and Germany, was causing concern that the Continent is facing a resurgence of the...

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Military clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia began on July 11 along a disputed border region, Nagorno-Karabakh, resulting in the deaths of 11 Azeri troops and at least two Armenian troops. Both sides have accused the other of shelling towns near the border, with at least one Azeri civilian killed.

The two countries engaged in a war over the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh territory in the 1990s, when both countries achieved independence after the fall of the Soviet Union. The territory...

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According to Israel, four members of the Islamist group Hezbollah were killed on July 27 as they attempted to infiltrate the country via the Golan Heights, bordering Syria and Lebanon. A few days earlier, a Hezbollah fighter in Syria was killed in an air strike that was blamed on Israel. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied it was responsible for that strike.

Hezbollah is a militant and political group based in Lebanon. It is considered a terrorist organization by the US and EU. A...

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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.

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At press time, active COVID-19 infections had been confirmed in 188 countries and territories, with more than 11.5 million cases and more than 535,000 deaths resulting. A rise in newly reported cases occurred in some countries after quarantine restrictions were eased, including Germany, South Korea and India, leading to fears of a second wave of infections.

In Beijing, China, a cluster of cases that occurred in mid-June, traced back to a food market, caused the city to again impose a...

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Nigeria’s northeastern Borno state suffered from three militant attacks in June, each claimed by the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWAP), a faction of the Islamist group Boko Haram.

On June 10, at least 82 civilians were killed in an attack on a village in the Gubio district. The attackers kidnapped at least seven people and set fire to the village.

On June 15, two attacks occurred simultaneously, one in the town of Monguno, which houses UN and NGO aid workers, and...

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