BRAZIL
Crime against tourists is increasing in Rio de Janeiro. At least 22 tourists were robbed the week of Aug. 14-19 despite increased police patrols after the daylight murder of a 19-year-old Portuguese student on Copacabana beach.
GERMANY
Investigators believe that the two suitcase bombs discovered on German trains July 31 were an act of terrorism, not extortion, and they have arrested a Lebanese student in the plot.
KENYA
A U.S. Embassy employee was robbed on her way to work in Nairobi by a gang of bandits who took her possessions but left the car. The incident was one of at least a dozen violent crimes in a two-week period against embassy personnel. And American and British tourists were robbed by an armed gang in the luxury Mara Porini Camp in the Masai Mara game reserve. The robbers, armed with AK-47s, ransacked two tents and stole cash and valuables before fleeing toward the Tanzanian border. Police believe this was an isolated incident because game parks have been mostly free of crime.
TURKEY
Two bombs in two days exploded in Istanbul’s Sultanahmet neighborhood, home to the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sofia. Three Turks were injured, one seriously, in the first blast, and no one was hurt in the second. Both were believed to be percussion bombs. No one has claimed responsibility for the blasts.
UNITED KINGDOM
London’s Heathrow airport has resumed full flight service after 10 days of reduced operations because of the thwarted plot to bomb multiple airplanes. Tight carry-on restrictions remain in effect. For passengers arriving at Gatwick airport, travel into London may be more complicated because of a series of one-day strikes threatened by Gatwick Express drivers. The trains may be shut down on Aug. 29 and Sept. 11, 22 and 25 in a wage dispute.
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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.
