News Watch

In Yemen’s civil war between Arabian coalition-backed Yemeni forces and Houthi rebels, a UN-brokered cease-fire went into effect on April 10 and as of press time was largely holding, despite reports of sproradic artillery fire. The cease-fire allowed food and medical aid to reach Yemen.

Yemen’s civil war has left more than 6,200 people dead, mostly civilians, wounded over 35,000 and displaced more than 2½ million. It began in 2014 when armed Houthis, a Shia Muslim...

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Regarding the Philippines, the US Department of State recommends avoiding all nonessential travel to the Sulu Archipelago and the southern Sulu Sea and exercising extreme caution at the island of Mindanao. This is due to separatist and terrorist groups carrying out attacks and kidnappings against civilians and foreigners. 

In western Mindanao, terrorist, insurgent and criminal gangs have conducted at least 15 separate kidnappings since January 2015. In September 2015, assailants...

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Unusually heavy rains in Central Europe caused extensive flooding in Germany and France in late May and early June, leaving at least 18 people dead and tens of thousands without power or water. 

In Paris, at press time, the Seine was over 19 feet above normal levels and had spilled over its banks at some locations. All river traffic had been halted and the Musée d’Orsay and Louvre had been closed so staff could move artworks to upper levels. Some rail and Métro stations in...

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Workers often strike in France, and this occasionally affects travelers. The following occurred in 2016.

In March, two air traffic controller strikes caused the cancellation of more than 1,000 flights. (Since 2009, French air traffic controllers have convened 43 strike days.)

In late May, oil refinery workers held a strike that caused about 20% of the nation’s gas stations to run out of fuel.

In late May and early June, rail worker strikes shut down 40% of the...

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As ITN went to press, the State Department had travel warnings on 37 destinations: Afghanistan, Algeria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, El Salvador, Eritrea, 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, Turkey, Ukraine, Venezuela and Yemen...

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An earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck northwestern Ecuador near the city of Portoviejo on April 16, killing at least 650 people and injuring about 16,600. Nearly 7,000 buildings were destroyed, and roads were damaged as well. More than a thousand aftershocks were measured. It was the worst tragedy to hit the country in nearly 60 years.

In the northern Pakistan provinces of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, at least 92 people were killed in floods caused by heavy, pre-monsoon-season rains in early April, including at least 23 from a massive landslide that covered a village.

Flooding also washed away more than 1,000 houses and destroyed or damaged at least 70 shops in the regional capital of Peshawar. Roads also were damaged, including the Karakorum Highway, a link between China and Pakistan.

A heat wave in northern and eastern India in much of April, with area temperatures peaking at 105°, 113°, 116° and, in one town, 121°F, led to the deaths of at least 160 people. The deaths occurred in the states of Odisha, Telengana and Andhra Pradesh, though other states were also affected.

The El Niño weather pattern in the Pacific in 2016 has kept India’s coastal water temperatures high and delayed the monsoon season (which normally begins in April),...

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