U.S. Identifies Trouble Spots

The U.S. State Department provides different levels of international travel information to citizens. Find them at www.travel.state.gov.

Travel Warnings:
These are issued when Americans are urged to avoid travel to a particular country or region. Currently on the list are:

Afghanistan, Algeria, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burundi, Central African Republic, Chad, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, East Timor, Eritrea, Haiti, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Lebanon, Liberia, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Uzbekistan, Yemen, Zimbabwe.

Public Announcements:

These involve short-term, specific threats, such as Islamic unrest in Bangladesh, political protests in the Mexican city of Oaxaca and a bridge collapse in Venezuela.

Consular Information Sheets:

These fact sheets often highlight conditions that officials don't believe rise to the travel-warning level. An example would be the cautionary note about a ``growing'' problem of crime against tourists in Belize.