News Watch

Suspected militants dressed as police officers kidnapped 60 people in the Kurram region, northwest Pakistan, near the Afghan border, on May 15. The people, all believed to be Pakistanis, including some women and children, were traveling in a convoy to the city Parachinar when they were ambushed. At press time, the outcome was unknown.

Kidnappings for ransom are now common in the area, where the Taliban has a strong presence. There also has been violence between the majority Sunni...

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President Kurmanbek Bakiyev of Kyrgyzstan was ousted on April 7. He has many supporters in the southern region of the country, and after days of their violent protests in the city of Jalalabad in mid-May, the new government began enforcing nightly curfews.

The Department of State warns against all travel in northern Niger due to continued kidnapping threats against Westerners. On April 20, a French citizen was kidnapped west of Agadez by a terrorist group.

In the past, Burundi has experienced violence throughout campaign seasons and in the weeks following election results. Nationwide elections are scheduled from May to September 2010.

In general, what poses the highest risk for visitors to both Bujumbura and Burundi is crime (muggings, burglaries, robberies and car-jackings), often committed by groups of armed bandits or street children.

In Uganda, there has been a political struggle between the civil government and members of the Buganda traditional kingdom. In mid-March, a suspicious fire gutted the 128-year-old royal mausoleum of the kings of Buganda, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Kampala. Days later, when the president visited the site, protesters rioted and at least two people were killed. Reconstruction of the Kasubi tombs is planned.

In Kathmandu, Nepal, beginning on May 2, streets were blocked and businesses were forced to close in a six-day anti-government strike by Maoist protestors calling for Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal to step down. Visitors in Pokhara were evacuated by authorities.

Though the general strike was called off, the Maoists, who have the largest party in Nepal’s current government, continue their protests. 

The US Department of State canceled the Travel Warning for Sri Lanka on May 26 due to improvements in safety and security conditions throughout the country.

The government of Sri Lanka declared victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) on May 18, 2009, and the LTTE has not mounted any attacks in Sri Lanka since then.

The Peace Corps announced on May 11 it intends to send about 20 volunteers back to Colombia in fall 2010, citing improved security there.

The Peace Corps stopped its Colombia projects in 1981 partly due to Richard Starr’s kidnapping by FARC guerrillas in 1977 and FARC’s later declaration that volunteers would be considered military targets.