Tom
Member
Registered: 3rd Apr 02
Location: Wirral, Merseyside
User status: Offline
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On 9 March, in Turkey, two assailants attacked a Masonic lodge in the Kartal district of Istanbul with automatic weapons and explosives, killing at least one person and injuring several others. On 9 March, in Indonesia, five bombs were discovered at a left-bag counter in a supermarket in Medan (North Sumatra). On 15 March, in Pakistan, a bomb was defused near the US consulate in Karachi. On 16 March, in Yemen, two vehicles loaded with explosives were found and made safe in Sanaa. On 21 Mar, in Algeria, the British Embassy in Algiers relocated to the Hilton Hotel following a security review of the Embassy building. The Embassy remains open at the new location. On 22 March, in Israel, a missile strike in Gaza City by Israeli Air Force helicopters killed Hamas spiritual leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin. On 8 April, in France, there was serious travel disruption after the authorities suspended line A of the suburban railway (RER) and evacuated around 50,000 people from its main stations within central Paris after receiving a CIA warning. On 10 April, in Pakistan, a car bomb exploded in a car park in Karachi, killing one person and injuring nine others. On 12 April, in Afghanistan, suspected Taleban gunmen shot dead seven people, including government employees, in Birmal district in Paktika province. On 15 April, in Saudi Arabia, the US Embassy in Riyadh ordered the evacuation of non-essential diplomats amid fresh concerns about possible terrorist attacks in the Kingdom. On 17 April, in Israel, security forces assassinated Hamas leader Abdulaziz al-Rantissi. On 18 April, in Thailand, unidentified assailants shot and killed a railway crossing guard at Sungai Padi station in Narathiwat province. On 19 April, in Saudi Arabia, the authorities recovered a truck bomb, the fifth in the last week. Two days later, a suicide bomber detonated a massive car bomb outside the headquarters of the security police in the capital Riyadh, shearing off the front of the building and killing at least four people. On 1 May, in Saudi Arabia, there were terrorist attacks in the Red Sea town of Yanbu. On 5 May, in Greece, three bombs exploded in Athens causing only minor injuries to one policeman.
Assessment
Terrorists have been active in the Middle East, in particular Saudi Arabia, causing the US Embassy to relocate. Security forces around the world have been successful in thwarting a number of attacks. Terrorists will try to attack symbolic targets and crowded public places, and with both Euro 2004 and the Olympics taking place in the summer, the threat of an attack remains high. You should be aware that you might have to alter your travel plans at short notice due to cancelled or redirected flights and/or tensions rising quickly in countries being visited.
In the fight against terrorism people are encouraged to play their part in maintaining a safe society by reporting their suspicions. It is better to report something for it to be investigated and be found innocent, than to wish you had done so with the benefit of hindsight. In the UK, the Anti-Terrorist Hotline is 0800 789321. The Home Office's Terrorism Website is www.homeoffice.gov.uk/terrorism.
China - On 22 April, the government announced that a Beijing nurse was suspected of having contracted Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Another suspected SARS case was reported on the same day in Anhui province.
Assessment: The return of SARS is likely to prompt a tightening of health monitoring in affected areas but are unlikely to cause delays at present.
Fiji - On 12 April, severe flooding on the island of Viti Levu means that travel to Fiji is now inadvisable.
Assessment: After long periods of rain, flood waters and damaged infrastructure will remain for some time.
India - Voting for the general election will be held in five stages which began on the 20 April and is due to be completed by the 10 May.
Assessment: Elections in India are largely peaceful events, though incidents can occur especially in areas troubled by insurgencies such as Jammu and Kashmir. Foreign personnel are not normally targeted but risk becoming caught up in incidents.
Philippines - On 4 May, police announced that they had launched an investigation into the murders of three foreigners and one Filipino on the resort island of Boracay, 180 miles (300km) south of Manila.
Assessment: These attacks were against travellers with strong local business connections or were expatriates married to locals.
Thailand - On 14 April, railway workers found 80 bolts missing from railway sleepers on a stretch of railtrack two miles (4km) from Pa Rai station in Mae Lan district (Pattani province). According to railway officials, the bolts had been deliberately removed in an attempt to derail passing trains.
Assessment: Despite the attacks on the rail system, travel across the southern provinces of Pattani, Yala and Narathiwat remains a safer option by rail than by road
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