IRAN
Tourists and other foreigners are required to follow Iran’s Islamic dress code, meaning that women in public must cover their heads and conceal their figures or face criminal detention. Authorities handed out some 10,000 warnings in the last 10 days of April in an annual pre-summer crackdown. Plainclothes police will go into action May 8 to enforce the code. Police have asked travel companies to warn their tourist clients to comply.
PANAMA
Dengue fever continues to be a problem in Panama, with almost 1,000 cases reported this year, about the same rate as 2006. The rainy season is about to begin, however, and mosquito breeding increases at that time. The regions most affected are Panama City and San Miguelito. The best way to prevent dengue fever, which can sometimes be fatal, is to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes.
PHILIPPINES
Mid-term elections will be held May 14 for 12 senators, the entire House of Representatives and thousands of local officials. The run-up to the elections has been plagued by violence among political clans, with almost 30 people killed in recent weeks.
WORLDWIDE
When traveling abroad, Americans worry about disease, terrorism, robbers with guns, but one thing that seldom concerns them is dying in a traffic accident. It turns out that such accidents are the leading cause of death for Americans traveling overseas. U.S. State Department data analyzed by the Make Roads Safe Campaign show that about one-third of all deaths in the last three years among U.S. tourists traveling abroad were caused by accidents. Some dangers cannot be avoided, such as bus travel on bad roads in countries where there are few good roads, but research road conditions and tour companies’ safety records as much you can.
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Compiled from various news services and travel sources. For the latest on world conditions, check the State Department’s automated service at 888-407-4747; fax 202-647-3000; travel.state.gov.
