U.S. State Department Issues Holiday Travel Warning

 TRAVEL ALERT

  WASHINGTON (AP) - The State Department is warning Americans traveling abroad to be extra cautious over the holidays.

 In a worldwide travel alert issued Friday, the department says an attack this week in Australia highlights the need to be vigilant. The alert says U.S. citizens traveling abroad should be mindful that terrorist groups, or those inspired by them, can pose unpredictable threats in public venues.

 The alert says an analysis of past attacks and threat reporting strongly suggests that terrorists are focused on hotels, shopping areas, places of worship and schools.

  A gunman in Sydney took 17 people hostage at a café on Monday. The siege ended 16 hours later in a barrage of gunfire that left two hostages and the Iranian-born gunman dead.

 The travel alert lasts into March.

It's Still Safe to Travel to Africa even with the Ebola!

I just returned to the USA from Tanzania, East Africa. The Ebola paranoia in USA is ridiculous. Americans are ignorant of Geography. Africa is a huge place, so demanding that all travelers from Africa be banned from traveling to the USA is absurd.  Imagine if Ebola was in some place in Idaho. Does it make sense to say all American's should not travel abroad? Let me say, they have a better education campaign in Tanzania, than they do the USA. Screenings at the airports for all arriving passengers, educational billboards, TV& radio ads galore! USA can learn from Tanzania!

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The Ebola Outbreak: Is It Still Safe To Go To Africa?

Written by  Paul Campbell

Over the last few weeks there has been extensive and often terrifying coverage of the Ebola outbreak in parts of West Africa, and our thoughts are with all those fighting this dreadful disease.

Whilst the coverage has highlighted that the disease is not airborne and can only be contracted by contact with body fluids from an infected person, we have had a number of people asking if it is safe to travel to South Africa, Tanzania, Botswana and other destinations in Eastern and Southern Africa.

The short answer is ‘yes – you can still safely travel to Africa’, however given the seriousness of the situation in West Africa we feel it is worth expanding on this. There are two key points to consider:

Africa is big – really , really big...

READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE HERE:

http://www.satoa.com/news/item/712-the-ebola-outbreak-is-it-still-safe-to-go-to-africa

U.S. Issues Global Travel Alert!

Kutoka:  http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Latest-News-Wires/2013/0802/U.S.-embassies-closed-Worldwide-travel-alert-based-on-terror-threat

The United States issued a global travel alert Friday, citing an al-Qaeda threat that also caused the State Department to close its embassies Sunday around the Muslim world.

The State Department warned American citizens of the potential for terrorism particularly in the Middle East and North Africa, with a possible attack occurring or coming from the Arabian Peninsula.

"Current information suggests that al-Qaeda and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks both in the region and beyond, and that they may focus efforts to conduct attacks in the period between now and the end of August," the statement said.

The alert asks American travelers to take extra precautions when traveling overseas and suggests they sign up for State Department alerts and register with consulates or embassies in the countries they are visiting.

The alert was posted a day after the US announced it would close diplomatic facilities on Sunday because of an unspecified threat. Spokeswoman Marie Harf said the department acted out of an "abundance of caution" and that some missions may stay closed for longer than a day. Sunday is a business day in Muslim countries.