Latest World Travel News

Here is the latest World Travel News:
  
1) Antigua: The slaying of a Bay Area woman on a shore excursion at Pigeon's Point Beach Jan. 19 was the fourth major incident in the last two years involving tourists visiting the island. In 2008, a honeymooning British couple were slain in their hotel room; in 2009, an Australian yachtsman was killed when walking with his girlfriend and daughter; in September, six Carnival Cruise passengers brawled with police and were arrested. In the recent incident, San Francisco State University graduate student Nina Nilssen left an afternoon beach barbecue and walked off alone on a secluded path where she was killed.


2) Canada: British Columbia authorities have put in place an Olympics expedited court to handle prosecution of minor crimes that occur during the Olympic Games. The temporary court system's purpose is to resolve all minor crimes within two weeks in the hope that international visitors will not have to remain in Canada longer than they had planned or return to Canada for trials. Crimes such as simple assault, drunken driving, petty theft and credit card fraud will be handled by the expedited court system.

3) Colombia: In Cartagena, Colombia's primary tourist city on the Caribbean Sea, a series of assassinations in the first weeks of this year have authorities worried that drug gangs from elsewhere are now fighting over turf in what, until recently, has been a tranquil city. National officials sent 270 additional police officers to patrol the streets, but that did not prevent an early morning assault by seven hooded and armed men on a hostel where they rounded up the 21 foreign guests, locked them in a room and stole all of their valuables. Police arrested three suspects and believe the crime was aided by the hostel staff.

4) Peru: Three days of heavy rain over the weekend caused floods and landslides that buried the only rail link between Cuzco and Machu Picchu, stranding some 2,000 tourists at Aguas Calientes, the rail terminus at the base of the mountain below the famous Inca citadel. Landslides also hit the Inca Trail, killing an Argentine hiker and a Peruvian guide. Authorities closed the trail and declared a state of emergency in Machu Picchu and surrounding areas. Floods washed out the Pisac bridge and the Huallabamba bridge was under water.

5) Philippines: The U.S. State Department issued a travel alert Jan. 20 warning of the risks of travel to the central and western portions of Mindanao and the Sulu Archipelago, in particular, the provinces of Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat, and the city of Cotabato. These three areas are covered by a state of emergency that includes police checkpoints and a significant military presence, where travel may be restricted. On Nov. 23 in Maguindanao, 57 people were massacred in a political feud.

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source: sfgate.com