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[NEWS] - Travel Alert, Stay Safe

Raiders

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Please feel free to contribute any news(civil disobedience, wars, bad weather alert) here. This would be useful for those people who are travelling. Thank you. :biggrin:
 

Raiders

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ASIA PACIFIC NEWS

17 gunmen dead in Thai military base attack
Posted: 13 February 2013 0804 hrs

BANGKOK, Thailand: Scores of heavily-armed gunmen stormed a military base in unrest-plagued southern Thailand, an army spokesman said on Wednesday, in a major assault that left at least 17 militants dead.

"Some 100 fully armed militants stormed the base, where there were 60 marines," Colonel Pramote Promin, southern army spokesman, told AFP.

He said the attack, one of the most ambitious in several years of violence in Thailand's three southernmost provinces, had left at least 17 assailants dead. No military casualties were reported.

- AFP/de
 

Raiders

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ASIA PACIFIC NEWS

Thailand warns of possible threat to US consulate
Posted: 12 February 2013 2047 hrs

BANGKOK: Thailand said on Tuesday that it had tightened security around the US consulate in the northern city of Chiang Mai in response to warnings of a possible terrorist threat.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said she had "instructed security officials to step up security protection" at the diplomatic facility.

"The US embassy did not make any special request but we have to be vigilant and cannot be reckless," she told reporters.

A Thai senior intelligence official who did not want to be named said the government had received information late last week about a possible threat.

"We have learned that Al-Qaeda linked Salafists (ultra-orthodox Islamists) may be planning an attack on the US consulate in Chiang Mai," he told AFP.

"It's difficult to find them because there are a lot of tourists in Chiang Mai and also it's hard for them to find weapons to mount an attack," he said.

The heightened security comes as Thailand and the United States stage 11 days of annual joint military exercises known as Cobra Gold.

A spokesman for the US embassy in Bangkok, Walter Braunohler, declined to comment on the reported threat but said the consulate in Chiang Mai was open as usual.

"We continue to take every precaution necessary," he added.

- AFP/al
 

po2wq

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very useful section for travel since many of us do. i travel a lot between bedok and siglap. :o
ya, man! ...

frequent train breakdowns causing unnecessary delays ... cement truck bully hazards ... pondings after rain making roads inaccessible ...

all shud b repoted here ...
 
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Muthukali

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Remember to buy/ bring raincoat when u explore an unknown cave when overseas. This is very important.

Dont be hero and do raw.
 
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Raiders

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Japanese tourists killed in Guam stabbing spree
AFP | Wed, Feb 13 2013

HAGATNA, Guam - At least two Japanese tourists were killed and 11 wounded when a knife-wielding man went on a stabbing spree outside a resort in the Pacific island nation of Guam, officials said Wednesday.

The attack occurred late Tuesday when the man drove his car up a pavement near the Outrigger Guam Resort and rammed it into a convenience store, before jumping out and stabbing bystanders.
The Japanese foreign ministry said it had been informed of two fatalities and 11 injuries.

"At least 13 Japanese nationals were injured, of whom two people died," a ministry official said in Tokyo.
Guam police reported three deaths in total and said a 20-year-old man, whose name has not been released, was arrested. They said a motive for the attack had not yet been determined.

"He came out of the car and started attacking people. It was scary," witness Lendi Cruz told AFP.
Local woman Ashley Quichocho said she was in a cafe near the resort's entrance when the car sped past and crashed into the convenience store. She said the man then got out, produced a knife and went on the attack.

"He started stabbing someone and I started freaking out. He was just running back and forth stabbing people," she told the Pacific Daily News.

Quichocho said she fled into the resort to escape.
Guam governor Eddie Calvo said the attack had stunned the nation of about 180,000, which attracts almost a million visitors from Japan annually, providing a major source of revenue for the economy.

"We are shocked and grieving with the families of those who were injured and who died," he said in a statement addressed "to the people of Japan".

"This is not the kind of thing that happens in our community. Anyone who has been to Guam knows this."
He said the police presence in the tourist area had been increased and the attacker would be "prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law".

"I assure you, my friends, we will not let this go unpunished," he said. Japanese media reported women were stabbed to death but officials in both Guam and Tokyo could not confirm the information.

The Pacific Daily News said at least two of the injured were babies, while a spokeswoman for the Guam Memorial Hospital told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the victims' ages ranged from eight months to 82.
The hospital spokeswoman said translators were being provided for Japanese patients hospitalised after the attack.
The hospital declined to comment on the condition of the victims when contacted by AFP.
 

Raiders

Alfrescian (InfP) + Mod
Generous Asset
Remember to buy/ bring raincoat when u explore an unknown cave when overseas. This is very important.

Dont be hero and do raw.

This is hardly a travel advice. I need a good field report with pictures from you brother. Hehe. Thank you lah. Help me abit :biggrin:
 

Raiders

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07-Feb-2013 Travel Notice for Rakhine State, Myanmar

It was reported in the media that Myanmar's President U Thein Sein declared a state of emergency for Rakhine State, western Myanmar, on 10 June 2012.Singaporeans are advised to postpone non-essential travel at this time to Rakhine State, western Myanmar. Singaporeans with an urgent need to travel to Rakhine State are advised to monitor local news and developments, take all necessary precautions for their personal safety and purchase comprehensive travel insurance.

Singaporean travelling to Myanmar should also eRegister with MFA at http://eregister.mfa.gov.sg/ to facilitate contact in an emergency. Singaporeans who require any consular assistance should contact the Singapore Embassy in Yangon or MFA Duty Office (24-hour) at:

Embassy of the Republic of Singapore in Myanmar
238 Dhamzedi Road, Bahan Township, Yangon
Tel: 001-95-1-559-001
Fax: 001-95-1-559-002,001-95-1-559-921 (Visa)
Email: [email protected]

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Duty Office (24-hours)
Tel: 6379 8800, 6379 8855 (24hours)
Fax: 6476-7302
 

banglat

Alfrescian
Loyal
very useful section for travel since many of us do. i travel a lot between bedok and siglap. :o

I need some information for this sector : Do you normally use the budget or the full service airlines. If you fly the budgets and are embarrassed that the other guys here know about it then please PM me.
Thank you bro.
 

banglat

Alfrescian
Loyal
Anyway if you plan to holiday in the Pacific islands eg Tonga, Western Samoa, Tahiti etc etc please check the health advisories. For some of these islands the water could be contaminated and you could contract Hepatitis B.
So boil your water and avoid the raw stuff like salads.
 

yinyang

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
...Pacific islands eg Tonga, Western Samoa, Tahiti etc etc ...water could be contaminated and you could contract Hepatitis B. So boil your water and avoid the raw stuff like salads.
Useless trivia, only saving grace is if you constipate. Better forewarn about creepy crawlies ...from grass skirts :p:wink:
 

YaoSiuKia

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Asset
There you are. Earthquakes again :o

Earthquake strikes off New Zealand's North Island
Posted: 16 February 2013 1405 hrs


WELLINGTON: A 6.0 magnitude earthquake struck off the North Island of New Zealand on Saturday, the US Geological Survey reported, but there were no reports of any damage.

The quake at 6:16pm (0516 GMT) was centred 204 kilometres (126 miles) deep and about 300 kilometres northeast of Auckland.

The tremor was not widely felt on the mainland and police said there were no immediate reports of damage or injury.

A shallow 6.3-magnitude quake devastated New Zealand's second largest city of Christchurch in February last year, leaving 185 people dead.

The sparsely populated country sits on the so-called "Ring of Fire", the boundary of the Australian and Pacific tectonic plates, and experiences up to 15,000 tremors a year.
 

YaoSiuKia

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
More earthquakes :biggrin:

6.2 quake shakes Philippines' Mindanao
Posted: 16 February 2013 1347 hrs

MANILA:
A powerful 6.2-magnitude earthquake rocked the southern Philippine island of Mindanao on Saturday triggering panic, but there were no immediate reports of any damage or casualties.

The quake struck at 12:37 pm (0437 GMT), off the coast, about 30 kilometres (19 miles) northeast of the town of Sarangani, said the government seismology institute.

Residents said people rushed out of buildings in panic after the quake sent lighting fixtures swaying.

The government institute said it did not expect any damage or casualties and there was no risk of a tsunami.

The Philippines sits on the Pacific Ring of Fire -- a belt around the Pacific Ocean dotted by active volcanoes and tectonic trenches.

A 7.6-magnitude quake hit the country's east coast in August last year, triggering a tsunami alert that forced tens of thousands to flee their homes and causing a landslide that killed one person.
 

YaoSiuKia

Alfrescian (Inf)
Asset
More bombs going off. Stay safe!!!

Market bomb kills 79 in southwest Pakistan
Posted: 17 February 2013 0051 hrs

QUETTA, Pakistan:
A bomb targeting Shiite Muslims in a busy market in Pakistan's insurgency-hit southwest killed 79 people including women and children and wounded 180 others, officials said Sunday.

The powerful bomb in a water tanker ripped through a packed bazaar in Hazara town, an area dominated by Shiites on the outskirts of Quetta -- capital of oil and gas rich Baluchistan province -- at around 6:00 pm (1300 GMT) on Saturday.

"We have recovered more dead bodies from the debris of a collapsed building. The death toll has now risen to 79," senior Quetta police official Wazir Khan Nasir told AFP,

Quetta city police chief Zubair Mehmood said the water tanker, which officials said was packed with some 800 kilograms (1,750 pounds) of explosives, was placed near a pillar of a two-storey building, which collapsed in the blast.

"We fear that several people have been trapped inside. Rescue work is ongoing but I see very little chance of their survival," Mehmood said.

Nasir said the bombing "was a sectarian attack, the Shiite community was the target".

A spokesman for the banned Sunni Muslim extremist group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claimed responsibility for the bombing.

Provincial home secretary Akbar Hussain Durrani said the dead and injured included women and children, and confirmed reports of people trapped under rubble at the site of the collapsed building.

"We fear more casualties. We have announced an emergency in hospitals," he told AFP.

Officials and witnesses said an angry mob initially surrounded the area following the bombing and were not allowing police, rescue workers and reporters to reach the site.

"They were angry and started a protest, some of them pelted police with stones," Durrani said, adding that authorities and medical personnel were eventually able to gain access.

Sayed Qamar Haider Zaidi, a spokesman for Shiite groups in the area, condemned the Pakistani government for not providing protection to the community and announced three days of mourning and protest over the attack.

Baluchistan, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, has increasingly become a flashpoint for sectarian violence between Pakistan's majority Sunni Muslims and Shiites, who account for around a fifth of the country's 180 million people.

At least 92 people were killed and 121 wounded on January 10 when two suicide bombers blew themselves up at a crowded snooker club in an area of Quetta city dominated by the Shiite community.

It was Pakistan's worst sectarian bombing, also claimed by Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, and came after what Human Rights Watch (HRW) said was the deadliest year on record for the country's Shiites, with more than 400 people killed in 2012, mostly in drive-by shootings.

Pakistani Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf late last month sacked the provincial government in Baluchistan after meeting Shiite Muslim protesters demanding protection.

The province is also rife with Islamist militants and hit by a regional insurgency which began in 2004, with fighters demanding political autonomy and a greater share of profits from the region's natural resources.

- AFP/fa
 

Raiders

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Generous Asset
Singapore tour group loses $50,000 in Rome bus theft
By Tan Qiuyi | Posted: 19 February 2013 2151 hrs

SINGAPORE: A group of 26 Singaporean tourists lost some $50,000 in Italy when their belongings were stolen from their tour bus in Rome.

The theft took place on the second last day of their 10-day holiday.

The group touched down in Singapore just before 7.20pm on Tuesday evening.

Channel NewsAsia understands that the group had left their belongings on the tour bus when they went for dinner.

When they returned, the bus was missing.

Unfortunately, one tourist had left his passport on the bus.

Channel NewsAsia understands that he has flown to the nearest Singapore Embassy, in Switzerland, for assistance.

- CNA/fa
 

Raiders

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Islamist group claims kidnap of 7 foreigners in Nigeria
Posted: 18 February 2013 2059 hrs

KANO, Nigeria: Islamist group Ansaru on Monday claimed the kidnapping of seven foreigners in a deadly raid on a construction site in restive northern Nigeria at the weekend.

The attack in Bauchi state late Saturday was the one of the worst incidents targeting foreigners in northern Nigeria, a region that has seen waves of violence by extremist Islamist groups, but relatively few kidnappings.

Ansaru is considered a new group with a rising profile after it claimed the abduction of a French national in December and some view it as being directly linked to Boko Haram, the Islamist insurgents blamed for killing hundreds of people in northern Nigeria since 2009.

In an email statement sent to journalists, Ansaru said it has "the custody of seven persons, which include Lebanese and their European counterparts working with Setraco," the Lebanese-owned company targeted in the attack.

Police in Bauchi said four Lebanese, one Briton, a Greek citizen and an Italian were among those taken hostage by gunmen who stormed the site in the town of Jama'are in Bauchi state.

Residents in Jama'are, about 200 kilometres (125 miles) from the state capital, said Setraco had evacuated all of its staff from the company compound on Sunday.

Ansaru's two-paragraph statement listed French support for the against Islamist rebels in Mali as a justification for the December kidnapping and appeared to warn of further attacks.

The statement was written in English, which the group has previously used to communicate, however some past statements have been written in Hausa, a language used widely across west Africa.

It was not immediately clear how many of the remaining workers were foreign and an official at Setraco's office in Nigeria's capital declined to comment, also refusing to provide contacts for the company spokesman.

There were two separate gun attacks in the town on Saturday before the abductions.

The kidnapping of expatriates have typically occurred in Nigeria's oil-rich south, with the hostages released following a ransom payment.

But such incidents in the north have been isolated and some analyst fear that Ansaru's emergence may be a sign of changing tactics among the Islamist group's operating in northern Nigeria.

The group is thought to have some ties with Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, which has secured huge profits from the abduction of foreigners in several North African countries.

Little is known about Ansaru, with some speculating that the group is a breakaway faction of Boko Haram, although it is possible the two sects operate in concert.

In November, the British government declared Ansaru a terrorist organisation.

The governments of Greece and Italy have confirmed that their citizens were among those taken hostage. Beirut has acknowledged that two Lebanese nationals were seized, but has not matched the police figure of four.

British Foreign Secretary William Hague said Monday that London was in touch with Nigerian authorities following the reports that a Briton was among the seven, but that he had no further information.

Nigeria is Africa's most populous country and top oil producer, roughly divided between a mainly Muslim north and mostly Christian south.

-AFP/fl
 

sadshishamo

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Be very careful when in Italy especially in Rome. There are many gypsies there and they are well trained in the art of picking pockets. Bring out as little as you can when visiting the tourist sites and be especially alert when you board the trains. These gypsies love to strike when you are just boarding especially when there is a crowd. You may not even feel a thing when they fish your wallet from your pocket.
The regular culprits are women carrying infants or a group of children.

Singapore tour group loses $50,000 in Rome bus theft

SINGAPORE: A group of 26 Singaporean tourists lost some $50,000 in Italy when their belongings were stolen from their tour bus in Rome.

fa
 

neddy

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Be very careful when in Italy especially in Rome. There are many gypsies there and they are well trained in the art of picking pockets. Bring out as little as you can when visiting the tourist sites and be especially alert when you board the trains. These gypsies love to strike when you are just boarding especially when there is a crowd. You may not even feel a thing when they fish your wallet from your pocket.
The regular culprits are women carrying infants or a group of children.

Thanks for the tip.

Gypsies are everywhere in major European "tourist traps" cities like Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, Prague, Paris & London. It is hard to stop them. They rack havoc on local communities that they "invade".

Be very careful!

They love to stay near queues.

Their modus operandi:

1. You see Romanian women with prams sitting down. There could be other kids around.

2. When they spot a target, they will get up and join the queue, often it appears like a family. Their idea is to confuse those people standing behind the target.

3. That is when they strike. Even if your back pocket is buttoned, they will unbuttoned and take your wallet.


Next you will find your money sent to build luxurious mansions in Romania.

If they are kind enough, your wallet will be left for some locals to pick up to hand over to the police.


When this happen, always a good idea to turn to the Tourism Police or the Police station in the city. Do not be surprised that the local Tourism Office (if government-run) will help out. They are expert in handling these sort of things - helping you call your credit card agencies, help you with insurance claims letters (The police may even teach you how to inflate your claims :smile:)
 
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