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.

After the US began pulling troops out of Afghanistan in early July, Taliban forces quickly took over large sections of the country, culminating in their taking control of the capital, Kabul, on Aug. 17 with little resistance. The US negotiated an evacuation date of Aug. 31 with the Taliban and completed evacuating all military personnel by that date. Thousands of US citizens were also evacuated; however, a spokesperson for the US government said that some US citizens remained, numbering...

Deadly and destructive wildfires occurred throughout Europe and Asia Minor in July and August.

In Italy, fires in western Sardinia in late July burned more than 50,000 acres of land and caused more than 1,000 people to evacuate, including tourists. An olive tree believed to be more than 1,000 years old, which was the symbol of the village of Cuglieri, was one of the casualties of the fires.

A heat wave in southern Italy in mid-August that saw record-breaking temperatures...