AustraliaMore than 200 people have died in Australian wildfires, the country's worst wildfire death toll ever, with hundreds of blazes in Victoria, some within 60 miles of Melbourne. Continuing drought and extreme heat have fed the fires, which largely have bypassed tourist areas. In other news, Cairns in Queensland has logged 226 cases of dengue fever, prompting officials to vow to stop the mosquito-borne disease's spread. And a measles outbreak occurred in Melbourne, with 11 cases reported since January.
Guadeloupe and MartiniqueThree weeks of labor strikes that paralyzed Guadeloupe and spread to Martinique continued when a tentative agreement between unions and the French government collapsed Monday. Tourist services on the islands may be disrupted until the strikes are settled. Most businesses in Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, and all gas stations were closed because of demonstrations. In Martinique, about 20,000 people marched to demand a decrease in fuel costs and an increase in the minimum wage.
India The entire ski-resort town of Gulmarg was shut down for two hours recently by protesters demanding action against a Swedish snowboarder who brought a board inscribed with Quran verses. Enraged locals handed over the Swede and the board to police, asserting that to ski on verses of the holy book is sacrilege. All shops and businesses closed in protest, and demonstrations spread to Srinagar, where police used tear gas to disperse protesters. The incident is a reminder that cultural sensitivities can be strong, and we ignore them at our peril.
MexicoAuthorities assigned 100 more federal police officers to Mexico City's international airport after the 18th reported robbery of arriving passengers who exchanged money in the airport. Five of the victims were foreigners, with a Colombian citizen the latest Feb. 6. The usual method is for one member of a gang to observe a victim exchanging a large sum of money, then call ahead to cohorts to follow the target out of the airport and rob him at an opportune time. Last month a French scientist was killed while resisting the attackers.
SpainTerrorist attacks by the Basque separatist organization ETA are a possibility in the weeks leading up to March 1 regional elections, especially in light of the Spanish Supreme Court's Feb. 8 banning of two Basque political parties from the contest. ETA was blamed for the Feb. 6 burning of commuter trains and buses in the Basque region, and the Monday bombing at the Campo de las Naciones in Madrid. Tourists are not usually the targets of such violence, and ETA generally gives warnings of such incidents, but the risks of being in the wrong place at the wrong time cannot be dismissed.
Guadeloupe and MartiniqueThree weeks of labor strikes that paralyzed Guadeloupe and spread to Martinique continued when a tentative agreement between unions and the French government collapsed Monday. Tourist services on the islands may be disrupted until the strikes are settled. Most businesses in Basse-Terre, Guadeloupe, and all gas stations were closed because of demonstrations. In Martinique, about 20,000 people marched to demand a decrease in fuel costs and an increase in the minimum wage.
India The entire ski-resort town of Gulmarg was shut down for two hours recently by protesters demanding action against a Swedish snowboarder who brought a board inscribed with Quran verses. Enraged locals handed over the Swede and the board to police, asserting that to ski on verses of the holy book is sacrilege. All shops and businesses closed in protest, and demonstrations spread to Srinagar, where police used tear gas to disperse protesters. The incident is a reminder that cultural sensitivities can be strong, and we ignore them at our peril.
MexicoAuthorities assigned 100 more federal police officers to Mexico City's international airport after the 18th reported robbery of arriving passengers who exchanged money in the airport. Five of the victims were foreigners, with a Colombian citizen the latest Feb. 6. The usual method is for one member of a gang to observe a victim exchanging a large sum of money, then call ahead to cohorts to follow the target out of the airport and rob him at an opportune time. Last month a French scientist was killed while resisting the attackers.
SpainTerrorist attacks by the Basque separatist organization ETA are a possibility in the weeks leading up to March 1 regional elections, especially in light of the Spanish Supreme Court's Feb. 8 banning of two Basque political parties from the contest. ETA was blamed for the Feb. 6 burning of commuter trains and buses in the Basque region, and the Monday bombing at the Campo de las Naciones in Madrid. Tourists are not usually the targets of such violence, and ETA generally gives warnings of such incidents, but the risks of being in the wrong place at the wrong time cannot be dismissed.
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