AUSTRALIA
Barely a week after Prime Minister John Howard warned that authorities had specific information about an impending terrorist attack in Australia, police arrested 16 suspects and said they had thwarted a major terror attack. The investigation has been active for 16 months, and the raids in Sydney and Melbourne involved 400 officers.
EAST AFRICA
A pirate attack Nov. 5 on a Seabourn cruise ship off the coast of Somalia reinforced the notion that these seas are dangerous. Pirates from largely lawless Somalia have been preying on ships at will in the past year, launching 28 reported incidents since March 15 compared with two in all of 2004.
FRANCE
Riots by angry youths began in the Paris suburbs Oct. 27 and continued nightly for almost two weeks, quickly spreading to 300 French cities and towns and becoming the largest social uprising since 1968. The government declared a state of emergency that gives police special powers to contain the unrest and is valid until Nov. 20. The U.S. Embassy in Paris advised visitors arriving or departing from Paris’ Charles de Gaulle International Airport to avoid taking the train to or from the city because it runs through one of the affected areas. Airport buses or taxis are recommended.
ITALY
A 50-foot stretch of wall 16 feet high recently collapsed in the ancient Roman Forum, raising concerns that the entire site may be unstable.
TANZANIA
The islands of Zanzibar off the coast of Tanzania, a haven for divers, are seething after a disputed election in which the ruling party retained its 40-year grip on power.
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For more news, call the State Department’s automated service at 888-407-4747; travel.state.gov.
