INDIA
Two Belgian tourists were seriously injured and their Indian guide was killed at the Amber Fort outside Jaipur, Rajasthan, when a domesticated elephant attacked them, reportedly after being infuriated by a camera flash. The incident is a reminder to check with animal handlers before taking flash photographs of powerful or potentially dangerous animals to see if they might be bothered by such flashes.
INDONESIA
The Jakarta zoo has been closed for three weeks because 19 exotic birds there were diagnosed with the avian flu virus. In other news, under terms of a peace agreement signed with Aceh rebels last month, the Indonesian military has begun a phased withdrawal of troops from Aceh province, the region of northern Sumatra that bore the brunt of the Dec. 26 tsunami. The peace accord, if it holds, will end three decades of fighting that has taken some 15,000 lives.
ITALY
Part of an effort to control crime in Naples, a city with 50 percent unemployment in some areas and a powerful mafia called the Camorra, is a newly launched campaign against scooters. They will now be confiscated for a series of highway code violations, including minor ones, as a way to reduce bag-snatching by youths on motorbikes.
MEXICO
Drug gang-related violence has spread into Acapulco, with some 30 killings this year, many in the disco and restaurant zone frequented by tourists, though no tourists have been injured. More than 100 federal paramilitary police have been stationed in the city to combat crime and disrupt the turf wars. Thus far the violence has not affected tourist arrivals; the numbers are up from last year.
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For the latest on world conditions, check the State Department’s automated service at 888-407-4747; fax 202-647-3000; travel.state.gov.
