News Watch

January 2017 issue | Appears on page 19

Second Colombian peace deal

Colombian president Juan Manuel Santos and the leader of the rebel group FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia – People’s Army), Rodrigo Londoño, signed a second peace accord on Nov. 24 after the first one, agreed upon on Sept. 26, 2016, was denied by voters in a national referendum (Nov. ’16, pgs. 19, 63). 

Unlike the first accord, the second accord was not voted upon by the public but was unanimously approved by Colombia’s senate. 

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January 2017 issue | Appears on page 19

Zika in the Americas

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Nov. 21 that  because the zika virus outbreak in South America and the Caribbean is now endemic to the region, it will no longer be considered an “international medical emergency.” WHO now recommends a long-term approach to treating the virus, emphasizing prevention.

The zika virus is spread by the Aedes aegypti mosquito and also by sexual contact with persons infected with the virus, even months after symptoms cease. It...

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January 2017 issue | Appears on page 19

Inflation in Venezuela

As of press time, Venezuela’s inflation rate, expected to reach 720 percent by the end of 2016, had caused the country’s largest bank­note, the 100-bolivar bill (VEF100), to have a value of only 5 US cents. This has caused a shortage of currency at banks and ATMs.

Venezuela has announced the creation of higher-denomination notes, set to start circulation in January 2017 and ranging in value from VEF500 to VEF20,000 (worth about 25¢ to $10, respectively).

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January 2017 issue | Appears on page 63

Current warnings

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, Turkey,...

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December 2016 issue | Appears on page 16

Floods in Vietnam

Rains from Typhoon Sarika caused major flooding in central Vietnam in mid-October, killing at least 31 people and damaging more than 125,000 homes. Flooding destroyed large areas of agricultural land and killed livestock. Before striking Vietnam, Typhoon Sarika made landfall in the Philippines, with sustained winds of more than 135 miles per hour. It caused the deaths of two people there.

December 2016 issue | Appears on page 16

Battle for Aleppo

Syrian, revolutionary and Kurdish forces continue to battle for control of Aleppo, Syria’s most populous city, preventing food and medical aid from reaching the two million civilians trapped there.  On Sept. 19, 18 civilians were killed when a Red Crescent aid convoy taking food and supplies to Aleppo was bombed. The US blamed Russia or Syria for the bombing, but Russia claimed it was done by a US-operated drone. In September, Syrian forces with the backing of...

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December 2016 issue | Appears on page 16

Ethiopia stampede deaths

In the city of Bishoftu, Oromia, Ethiopia, about 25 miles south of Addis Ababa, hundreds of thousands of people gathered for a religious festival on Oct. 2. When protests broke out, with some people throwing stones and bottles, preventing community leaders from speaking, security forces responded with tear gas. This caused panic in the crowd, resulting in a stampede and the deaths of at least 52 people, many of whom suffocated after being driven into a ravine. Protests against the Ethiopian...

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December 2016 issue | Appears on page 16

Pakistan cadets killed

Gunmen attacked a police academy in the city of Quetta in western Pakistan on Oct. 24, killing 59 people, most of them police cadets, and injuring more than 100. The gunmen stormed the campus when most of the students were asleep. Some students were held hostage for more than five hours before the gunmen were killed by security forces. At least two of the attackers were also equipped with suicide bombs. The Islamist militant group Daesh (ISIL) claimed responsibility for the attack, but local...

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