UNITED STATESWith election day coming up on Nov. 2, the general climate looks grave for the Democratic Party. According to the BBC, experts are predicting the Republican Party to pick up as many as 40-50 additional seats in the House of Representatives. A few races to keep an eye on include the tight race in Pennsylvania’s third district, California’s 47th district in which republican Van Tran threatens to unseat popular democrat Loretta Sanchez, and Minnesota’s sixth district in which radical Tea-Party Republican Michele Bachmann, looks likely to win a third term.

MEXICO

The violence continues in Ciudad Juárez as gunmen bursted into a boy’s birthday party on Oct 22 and opened fire on the guests, killing 13 people immediately and wounding 20, according to The New York Times. The local police refrained from saying whether or not they suspected the killings were drug-related, but the killing has been compared to similar drug-related killings in January, when gunmen opened fire on a party of teenagers – mostly working-class students and non-gang-members.

KENYA

A soccer match between two of Kenya’s top teams was temporarily halted in Nairobi after seven soccer fans were killed when a group stormed the Nyayo National Stadium. David Matee, a radio operator with St. John’s Ambulance, explained to Reuters that the stampede was a result of people trying to force entry into the match without paying. According to Matee, seven people were killed and 30 were hurt, 14 of whom were injured critically. These seven tragic Kenyan deaths are not alone among the world’s casualties as a result of passionate, and sometimes violent, soccer fans.

TAIWAN

After killing 28 people in the Philippines earlier in the week, Typhoon Megi has left its mark on Taiwan. According to The New York Times, the torrential rains and flooding has resulted in huge landslides and mudslides that have killed at least nine people and buried a Buddhist temple in Ilan County. Mudslides on one highway buried a bus carrying 19 Chinese tourists, and flooding has resulted in three drownings. The typhoon has now been downgraded to a tropical storm as it moves on to China, but The New York Times reports 23 people still missing in Taiwan as a result of its destruction.

UNITED STATESWith election day coming up on Nov. 2, the general climate looks grave for the Democratic Party. According to the BBC, experts are predicting the Republican Party to pick up as many as 40-50 additional seats in the House of Representatives. A few races to keep an eye on include the tight race in Pennsylvania’s third district, California’s 47th district in which republican Van Tran threatens to unseat popular democrat Loretta Sanchez, and Minnesota’s sixth district in which radical Tea-Party Republican Michele Bachmann, looks likely to win a third term.

MEXICO

The violence continues in Ciudad Juárez as gunmen bursted into a boy’s birthday party on Oct 22 and opened fire on the guests, killing 13 people immediately and wounding 20, according to The New York Times. The local police refrained from saying whether or not they suspected the killings were drug-related, but the killing has been compared to similar drug-related killings in January, when gunmen opened fire on a party of teenagers – mostly working-class students and non-gang-members.

KENYA

A soccer match between two of Kenya’s top teams was temporarily halted in Nairobi after seven soccer fans were killed when a group stormed the Nyayo National Stadium. David Matee, a radio operator with St. John’s Ambulance, explained to Reuters that the stampede was a result of people trying to force entry into the match without paying. According to Matee, seven people were killed and 30 were hurt, 14 of whom were injured critically. These seven tragic Kenyan deaths are not alone among the world’s casualties as a result of passionate, and sometimes violent, soccer fans.

TAIWAN

After killing 28 people in the Philippines earlier in the week, Typhoon Megi has left its mark on Taiwan. According to The New York Times, the torrential rains and flooding has resulted in huge landslides and mudslides that have killed at least nine people and buried a Buddhist temple in Ilan County. Mudslides on one highway buried a bus carrying 19 Chinese tourists, and flooding has resulted in three drownings. The typhoon has now been downgraded to a tropical storm as it moves on to China, but The New York Times reports 23 people still missing in Taiwan as a result of its destruction.