China
The U.S. consulate in Shanghai has begun issuing pollution statistics, giving a worse assessment of air quality than suggested by official Chinese statistics. On Tuesday the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau called air conditions “good,” but the consulate classified the air quality as “unhealthy.” Chinese air quality is generally regarded as among the worst in the world, ranking 128th out of 132 countries measured by the Environmental Performance Index at Yale University. Visitors might want to consider the health risks of prolonged exposure to such air quality.
Lebanon
Sectarian tensions linked to Syrian violence erupted last weekend as gunmen fired assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades in the streets of Tripoli, Lebanon’s second-largest city. Lebanon and Syria share a complex web of political and sectarian rivalries, which are easily inflamed by actions across their shared border. While Tripoli is no stranger to bouts of such violence, fighting has increased as the Syrian conflict worsened. At the heart of this most recent round of violence is the arrest of Lebanese national Shadi Mawlawi, an outspoken critic of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Northern Ireland
A “viable explosive device” was removed Monday from St. Angelo, a small airport outside Enniskillen in County Fermanagh. A security alert related to the bomb scare closed the main road to Enniskillen through Monday evening. The airport is a hub for recreational fliers and private jets and is near a number of homes. Northern Ireland has a long history of Catholic-Protestant violence, so all reports of possible threats are taken seriously.
Ukraine
A month before the start of Euro 2012, the European soccer championship tournament, four foreign teachers participating in a local language-learning center were beaten in a nightclub in Donetsk, one of the host cities. Apparently an argument erupted between the visitors and security guards of the club, and when the foreigners left, the guards assaulted them. Officials do not believe that this will be a trend once the games start, but foreigners should remember to avoid such situations by keeping their cool and maintaining personal security regardless of locale.
Worldwide
The FBI is warning travelers that their laptops could be the target of hackers who use pop-up windows to gain access to personal information such as Social Security numbers and bank accounts while laptops establish Internet connections in hotel rooms. The warning says that while users were trying to establish a connection, a pop-up window notified them to update widely used software. If the users accepted and chose to “install” the software, malicious software would instead be loaded. As a safeguard, users should avoid updating computer programs while abroad.
Compiled from news services and travel sources. For updates, check with the State Department at 888-407-4747, travel.state.gov.
