Compiled by Dannielle Konz
Afghanistan
More than 100 people were killed and over 200 wounded in a suicide bombing in Kabul on Saturday, Jan. 27. The attackers drove an ambulance into a crowded street in a district of government buildings and embassies where the bomb detonated at a security checkpoint. The Sunni Islamic fundamentalist political movement the Taliban are said to be behind the attack. Afghanistan’s government declared the following day, Sunday, was to be a day of mourning set aside for funerals and an opportunity for families to find survivors.
Kenya
Four people have been killed and an estimated 6,000 left homeless when a fire hit the Lang’ata neighborhood in Nairobi on Sunday, Jan. 28. The fire trucks that came to the rescue ran out of water and were unable to stop the fire from spreading. It took eight hours to contain the fire and authorities were not able to get extra equipment from nearby sources. Second Deputy Governor of Nairobi Polycarp Igathe has ordered a full investigation of the fire.
Brazil
Gunmen stormed a nightclub and killed 14 people and wounded several others in the early hours of Saturday, Jan. 27 just outside of Fortaleza in the state of Ceará. The attackers are said to be part of a criminal gang involved in drug trafficking. This is Ceará’s deadliest mass shooting on record, a title previously held by a 2015 nightclub shooting that killed 11 people.
Jordan
Jordanian TV presenter and professional martial arts athelete Shadia Bseiso is the first Arab woman to sign with American entertainment company World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE). She has just started an intense training program with the company in Orlando, Florida with the help of wrestling and cardio trainers as well as camera and acting instructors. Bseiso has previously worked as a TV host, voice-over artist, events presenter, professional jiu-jitsu athlete and private owner of a media company based in Dubai. It could take up to two years of training before Bseiso will be able to enter the ring onscreen.
Korea
North Korea abruptly cancelled a cultural event scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 4 with South Korea. It was to be part of a series of events including art performances and martial arts demonstrations seen as a thawing of ties leading up to South Korea’s hosting of the Winter Olympics in PyeongChang from February 9 to 25. North Korea withdrew from the events, blaming “biased” and “insulting” media coverage in the South. The two nations are to march under a unified flag at the games and have a combined women’s ice hockey team. There are ten other Northern athletes expected, as well as hundreds of delegates, cheerleaders and performers.
