1 ARGENTINA
Demonstrators protested in Buenos Aires last week to demand that the government resume negotiations with striking farmers who have been blocking highways and restricting the flow of agricultural products periodically since March.
2 CHINA
Hoping to rejuvenate tourism in quake-battered Sichuan province, authorities officially reopened 13 cities and prefectures to tourists June 14. These cities are Dazhou, Guang’an, Leshan, Liangshan, Luzhou, Meishan, Nanchong, Neijiang, Panzhihua, Suining, Yibin, Zigong and Ziyang.
3 MEXICO
Some 20,000 teachers and sympathizers on strike in Oaxaca ended their three-week protest June 16 in part to allow the state to celebrate the Guelaguetza, the region’s premier cultural event, which takes place on the last two Mondays of July. During the three-week strike, protesters camped out in the city center, closed highways and blocked access to the airport.
4 ZAMBIA/ZIMBABWE
Authorities in Zambia are fearful of a mass exodus of immigrants from Zimbabwe in the aftermath of Zimbabwe’s presidential run-off election June 27. Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe appears determined not to let a possible election defeat remove him from power and has threatened to “go to war” to prevent opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai and his party from taking control.
———-
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.
