North and South Korean militaries exchanged fire three times in October. In the first incident, ships from both countries fired warning shots after a North Korean vessel crossed a disputed maritime border. 

On Oct. 10, North Korean soldiers fired at helium balloons carrying propaganda being sent across the border by South Korean activists. 

On Oct. 19, South Korean soldiers fired at North Korean soldiers encroaching on the demilitarized zone, prompting the North Korean soldiers...

On Thorong La Pass, part of the Annapurna Circuit trail in a section of the Himalayas in north-central Nepal, at least 41 people died from exposure when an unseasonable and sudden blizzard dropped over 5½ feet of snow on the pass in less than 12 hours on Oct. 14. Nearly 400 hikers became stranded.

The Nepalese Army rescued hundreds of the hikers, many suffering from frostbite or injured with broken bones, before the effort was halted on Oct. 19 due to worsening weather. At press time...

Since the first case of ebola was reported in Guinea in December 2013, more than 6,500 people in West Africa have been infected by the virus and more than 3,000 of them have died. At least 375 health workers, themselves, have been infected, and at least 211 have died. 

Liberia has been hit hardest, with more than 1,800 deaths, while Guinea and Sierra Leone each have suffered more than 600 deaths. Quarantine and curfew efforts in Sierra Leone and Guinea have failed to stop the spread...