March 2011

As ITN went to press, the State Department had travel warnings on 31 destinations: Egypt, Haiti, Central African Republic, Niger, Nepal, Sudan, Kenya, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Cote d’Ivoire, Mauritania, Chad, Guinea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Colombia, Iraq, Burundi, Philippines, Nigeria, Yemen, Lebanon, Iran, Eritrea, Mexico, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Afghanistan, Israel/West Bank/Gaza, Mali, Uzbekistan, Pakistan and Algeria.

For details, call the State Department at 202/647-5225 or visit www.travel.state.gov.

About 140 travelers were stuck at the Tenzing-Hillary airport in Lukla, Nepal, for more than six days in mid January until the fog cleared. Lukla is the only airport in the Everest region and frequently has weather-related closures. In November 2010, about 1,000 people were stuck for over a week.

After 52 years of dormancy, Shinmoedake Volcano on the island of Kyushi in southern Japan began reerupting in January. A plume of gas, boulders and ash on Feb. 1 grounded flights at the airport in Miyazaki (about 500 miles southwest of Tokyo). Officials have restricted access to the mountain and expanded the “no-go zone.”

In Bogota, Colombia, visitors to the popular 17th-century Monserrate church are being reminded to take the aerial cable car or funicular railway up the mountain. A road up the hill was closed in 2009 due to the possibility of landslides, although pilgrims still walk it. In January, a group of 30 persons walking up the steep road was robbed by armed men.

In Paris, violent thefts on the Métro, trains and buses rose 40% in 2010, and police say that more than half of the thefts in recent months involved cell phones, particularly “smartphones” (iPhones seem to be targeted).

Security tips — be cautious of where and when you pull your phone out in public; keep it in a zipped pocket, and avoid sitting or standing next to an exit door (thieves snatch and run).

The US Department of State urges extreme caution when traveling in Mauritania, due to increased activities by the terrorist group Al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), which has declared its intention to attack Western targets.

Also discouraged is all nonessential travel to the Hodh El Charghi and Hodh El Gharbi regions, the eastern half of the Assaba region (east of Kiffa), the eastern half of the Tagant region and the Zemmour region of Mauritania as well as travel to unpopulated areas of eastern Mauritania.

The Department of State warns travelers that Al-Qaida in the Lands of the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), a terrorist group, continues its attempts to kidnap Westerners in Niger.

The Department of State reminds travelers that Nepal has experienced significant political violence in the past and, although there have been markedly fewer major disturbances in recent months, political tensions remain. Demonstrations and disruptions continue to occur. Curfews can be announced with little notice.

The US Department of State continues to warn travelers to Kenya to evaluate their personal security situation in light of the high rate of violent crime and threats of terrorism aimed at Western and Kenyan interests.

A city bus was bombed on Jan. 25 in Manila, Philippines, killing five and wounding 13. The bomb used was similar to one that was used in 2009 on Mindanao and traced to Muslim separatists. The Philippines has had a long struggle with Islamic separatists and Maoist rebels in the southern islands, but it is rare for attacks to occur in Manila.