News Watch

An assessment of the Great Barrier Reef by Australian authorities found that 22 percent of the coral reef was dead from bleaching. The worst mass bleaching event on record, the results were announced on Oct. 14.

Coral bleaching occurs when symbiotic algae, which provides most of the nutrients for the coral, is killed or expelled; exposed to the elements and without its source of food, the coral eventually dies and turns white. There are many causes of bleaching, including rising water...

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As ITN went to press, the State Department had travel warnings on 39 destinations: Afghanistan, Algeria, Bangladesh, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Haiti, Honduras, Iran, Iraq, Israel/West Bank/Gaza, 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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At least nine people were killed and 20 injured when a car bomb exploded on a market street in central Baghdad, Iraq, on Sept. 9. The Islamist militant group Daesh (ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attack. Three separate bombings in Baghdad on Sept. 26 killed at least eight people and injured at least 25. Daesh claimed responsibility for only one, a suicide bombing at a prayer tent in western Baghdad that killed six. Another of the bombs was placed on a bus. On Sept. 27, two suicide...

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A bombing at a marketplace in Davao, Mindanao, Philippines, killed 15 people and wounded more than 60 others on Sept. 2. The bombing coincided with a visit to the city by the country’s president, Rodrigo Duterte, but he was not targeted. Davao is Duterte’s home city, and its mayor is his son. 

Islamist militant group Abu Sayyaf claimed responsibility for the bomb. Known for kidnapping and targeting civilians in attacks, Abu Sayyaf has been fighting a civil war in the...

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In North Korea in mid-September, flooding caused by Typhoon Lionrock killed at least 130 people and displaced more than 100,000, with, at press time, more than 400 people reported as missing.

The worst flooding occurred on the Tumen River, along the northern border with China. There were reports of some towns being completely washed away. The flooding also destroyed crops, compounding food shortages already plaguing North Korea. The UN World Food Program estimated that 70% of North...

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Taiwan was struck by three typhoons in September.

On Sept. 15, Typhoon Meranti, a “super typhoon,” struck with winds up to more than 140 miles per hour. One person was killed and 38 were injured during the typhoon, which caused flooding, damaged infrastructure and left more than 500,000 people without electricity. At the time, it was the strongest storm to touch down in Taiwan in 21 years.

Typhoon Malakas made landfall in Taiwan on Sept. 18-19. Malakas was...

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An earthquake measuring 5.7 on the Richter scale struck northwestern Tanzania, near Lake Victoria, on Sept. 11, leaving at least 16 people dead and more than 200 others injured. The city of Bukoba suffered the most injuries and the worst damage.

On the island of Lombok, Indonesia, the sudden eruption of Mount Barujari on Sept. 27 forced the evacuation of more than 1,000 tourists in the popular hiking area. 

Over 100 hikers, who had re­-mained on the trails, were escorted out by rescue teams the next day. No injuries were reported.

Barujari was one of seven volcanoes in Indonesia that were actively erupting at press time. The other six were experiencing minor activity.

There are about 130 known active...

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