International Travel News

News Watch

August 2013 issue | Appears on page 68

Singapore, Malaysia air

In Indonesia each year during the dry months of June-September, farmers illegally burn forests in order to plant crops. Singapore and Malaysia can suffer the resulting pollution.

In Singapore during a few days in late June this year, a record high of 401 was reached on the Air Pollution Index, which measures five known pollutants. (Levels over 100 are considered unhealthy.) In Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, a level of 200 was reached.

Low-level winds dispersed most of the haze in...

August 2013 issue | Appears on page 68

Current warnings for August '13

As ITN went to press, the State Department had travel warnings on 34 destinations: Afghanistan, Algeria, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, El Salvador, Eritrea, Guinea, Haiti, Honduras, Iran, Iraq, Israel/West Bank/Gaza, Kenya, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Lebanon, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Mexico, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Republic of South Sudan, Syria, Tunisia and Yemen...

February 2013 issue | Appears on page 19

Cyclone in Samoa & Fiji

Cyclone Evans roared through Samoa on Dec. 13 and hit Fiji on Dec. 17. Five people were killed in Samoa, with high winds and heavy rains extensively damaging more than 600 houses. Bridges on both islands were under water, but the worst damage was to agricultural and forest lands. Most infrastructure was left intact.

February 2013 issue | Appears on page 66

Be mindful in Iran

The US Department of State con- tinues to warn of the risks of travel to Iran. Dual-national Iranian/American citizens may encounter difficulty in departing Iran. Iranian authori- ties also have unjustly detained or imprisoned US citizens on various charges, including espionage and posing a threat to national security. Persons who encourage Muslims to convert to other religions are subject to arrest.

The Iranian government continues to repress some minority religious and ethnic groups...

February 2013 issue | Appears on page 67

Hong Kong demonstrations

In the streets of Hong Kong on New Year’s Day, more than 26,000 people marched against the region’ s current leader, Leung Chun-Ying, while about 8,000 pro-government protesters held rival demonstrations.

A scandal over illegal renova- tions in his buildings plus housing shortages, the slowing economy and discontent with the inability to have direct elections for city leaders have led to increasing pressure on the Beijing-supported Chun-Ying to resign. A few streets were blocked...

June 2012 issue | Appears on page 18

Niger caution

Although there have been no kidnappings in Niger since January 2011, the US Department of State still warns that Al-Qaida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb, a terrorist group, continues its attempts to kidnap Westerners in Niger.

Recently, the possibility of violence related to extremist and criminal groups filtering up from northern Nigeria has led the government of Niger to recommend armed escorts for travel in far-eastern Niger.

October 2011 issue | Appears on page 67

The state of Haiti

Any travel in Haiti should be with organizations with solid infrastructure, evacuation options and medical support systems in place, says the US State Department.

In Port-au-Prince, US citizens have been the victims of violent crime, including murder and kidnapping. No one is safe from kidnapping, regardless of occupation, nationality, race, gender or age. In a number of cases this past year, travelers arriving in Port-au-Prince on flights from the US were attacked and robbed shortly...

October 2011 issue | Appears on page 67

Snow on NZ’s North Island

New Zealand’s normally warm and “winterless” North Island was hit by a freak snowstorm in mid August that brought almost a week of freezing winds, ice and snow. Roads and highways in the central areas were briefly closed due to snow, which some areas hadn’t seen in over 70 years. Also, more than 700 homes in Wellington were without power, and train, bus and cable car services were shut down.