July 1st, 2009
Canada: Toronto Garbage Strike Raises a Stink
By Larry Habegger |
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A strike by 24,000 municipal workers in Toronto shut down parks, recreation programs, ferry service and garbage collection June 22. The strike entered its second week with negotiations continuing but no end in sight. Meanwhile, garbage was piling up around bins and residents were dumping their trash at 19 temporary dump sites, including city parks. Residents living near the sites complained of the stench and visitors were surprised to see the mounds of trash throughout the city that is known for its cleanliness. But Toronto’s problem may be smaller than what Windsor, Ontario is facing: a similar strike there just entered its twelfth week.
July 1st, 2009
Honduras: Curfew Extended in Aftermath of Coup
By Larry Habegger | Add a Comment »
Congress extended a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew July 1 that had been imposed throughout the country June 29-30 in the wake of the military removing President Manuel Zelaya from power and sending him into exile. Demonstrations both for and against the coup occurred in Tegucigalpa and elsewhere, and tensions remained high. The U.S. State Department advised deferring non-essential travel to Honduras until the situation clarified.
July 1st, 2009
Mexico: Dengue Fever Increasing
By Larry Habegger | Add a Comment »
Cases of dengue fever are rising in Mexico, having increased by a factor of almost 20 since 2000. This year, incidence of the disease is up 15 percent from last year and it has spread to 21 of Mexico’s 31 states. The central Pacific coast state of Colima has the highest rate in the country, and eradication efforts are underway.
July 1st, 2009
North Africa: Bubonic Plague in Libya Makes Neighbors Nervous
By Larry Habegger | Add a Comment »
An outbreak of bubonic plague in Libya has neighboring countries acting to prevent spread of the disease across their borders. Algeria has already seen 50 cases near its border with Libya and has tightened medical surveillance there. Their concerns are that Algerian Bedouin are crossing into Libya and returning with the disease or the fleas that spread the disease. Plague can also be spread through handling contaminated hosts (usually rodents), and officials believe that some cases could have been caused by eating contaminated camel meat, incidences of which were reported in Saudi Arabia in 2005. Health officials are also taking precautions in Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt, where authorities closed the border with Libya after confirmed reports of plague cases in the city of Tubruq. Officials also placed the Egyptian port city of Sallum under quarantine. Unlike pneumonic plague, bubonic plague does not pass from human to human, so avoiding fleas, infected hosts or bad meat should prevent the disease.
July 1st, 2009
Thailand: Security To Be Tightened for ASEAN Meeting; Scams at Bangkok Airport
By Larry Habegger | Add a Comment »
Authorities plan to invoke an internal security act to prevent disruption of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum to be held in Phuket July 10-24. The declaration will permit the military to help police keep order on the island of Phuket and within three miles around it. The move comes on the heels of the April cancellation of a major summit in Pattaya because of protests that authorities failed to contain. In other news, a British couple who were falsely accused of shoplifting at a duty-free store in Bangkok’s airport were detained for five days until they paid £8,000 (more than $13,000) in bribes to be allowed to leave. The extortion scam, they alleged, involved tourist police and an interpreter. Their release order acknowledged that there was no evidence against them, and since their ordeal occurred in late April at least one other foreigner, a Danish woman, has been snared by the same interpreter, at a cost of £4,500 (about $7,400).
June 24th, 2009
Italy: Passport Controls Imposed for G8 Summit
By Larry Habegger | Add a Comment »
Italy will reinstate passport controls within its Schengen borders for the G8 Summit to be held in L’Aquila July 8-10. The passport controls will be in place from June 28 to July 15. All travelers arriving in Italy will need to be prepared to show their passports to enter. The Schengen area comprises 25 European countries that have waived passport requirements for travel throughout the region for anyone arriving from a member country. This includes Americans who arrive in one member state, pass through immigration formalities and then proceed to other member states. The name Schengen refers to the city in Luxembourg where the original agreement was signed in 1985.
June 24th, 2009
Latvia: Crimes Against Tourists Increasing in Riga
By Larry Habegger | Add a Comment »
The crime rate in Latvian cities is moderate compared to U.S. cities of similar size, but crime still exists, especially in Riga, Latvia’s main draw for foreign tourists. Since 2008 Riga has seen a trend of extortion and intimidation in bars, clubs and lounges where foreigners are presented with a bill from a separate menu showing vastly inflated prices, then threatened with violence if they refuse to pay. The Old Town center and public parks can become dangerous at night with thieves looking for intoxicated victims and groups of drunken revelers wandering about. Many of the crimes against foreigners occur in dimly-lit parks or outside clubs late at night.
June 24th, 2009
Nicaragua: Crime Up in Managua and Other Cities
By Larry Habegger | Add a Comment »
Express kidnappings have increased in the past year, with incidents involving Americans in several cities. In many cases the victims accepted assistance to find or share a taxi and then were held at knife point until they surrendered their cash and valuables. Some victims were assaulted this way, then driven to ATMs to withdraw cash. Others reported being beaten in taxis, especially around the international airport. Travelers should use only officially registered taxis or radio-dispatched cabs available at the airport and larger hotels.
June 24th, 2009
Northern Ireland: Tour Bus Attacked in Belfast, Romanian Immigrants Leave
By Larry Habegger | Add a Comment »
A gang of five teenage boys hurled stones at an open-top tourist bus in west Belfast, breaking a window but injuring no one. The incident was the first of its kind for the tour company, but not so long ago during the troubles such attacks were a daily occurrence. Open-top bus tours of both east and west Belfast, loyalist and republican enclaves, are popular with tourists and the company vowed to continue them. In other news, 100 Romanian immigrants left Northern Ireland after a series of threats and attacks in Belfast. Even the church in which they were given temporary shelter had its windows smashed. The incidents raised concerns that racism and anti-immigrant sentiment is growing in the province.
June 24th, 2009
Spain: Thousands Protest ETA Killing
By Larry Habegger | Add a Comment »
Tens of thousands of people marched in Bilbao to protest the killing of a police investigator June 19 by the Basque separatist group ETA. The public outrage in the Basque region over the death of the officer, who headed an anti-terror unit, suggests that ETA’s violent tactics have little support among the populace it claims to represent. In May, two ETA members were quoted in a Basque newspaper of threatening a campaign of violence before the summer against tourists and Britons seeking second homes in the region, but thus far no such violence has occurred.
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- Francisco on Egypt: Armed Convoys No Longer Required for Tourist Journeys; Travel Warning for Northern Sinai
Now that armed convoys are no longer required, wil ... [read more] - Larry Habegger on Thailand: Airport Protests End, Flights Resume
Yes, everything looks good now, Neil. - Neil Duckett on Thailand: Airport Protests End, Flights Resume
Everything back to normal there now? Is it classed ... [read more] - Mary on Honduras: Roatan Unrest
why are they targeting Americans? - Diane Lahey on Dominican Republic: Credit Card Fraud Up
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I'm so sorry for what happened to that man and his ... [read more] - Parisgirl on Australia: Rocks Returned to Uluru (Ayers Rock)
Do you think the people who took those rocks had b ... [read more] - Tony Pecchia on Italy: Garbage Piles Up in Naples
Having been in Naples recently (two weeks in March ... [read more] - the USA on Antigua and Barbuda: Violent Crime Increase Prompts New Police Initiatives by Trevor
My brother was murdered by the police in Antigua. ... [read more] - Desi on Italy: Naples Garbage Still Rots, Raises Health Concerns
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