PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
This information is current as of today, Wed Jan 14 10:14:34 2004.
WORLDWIDE CAUTION
January 9, 2004
This supersedes the Worldwide Caution dated December 21, 2003. It is being
issued to remind U.S. citizens of the continuing threat that they may be
targets of terrorist attacks even though the homeland security threat level
has returned to Yellow (Elevated) from Orange (High). This Worldwide Caution
expires on July 9, 2004.
The U.S. Government remains deeply concerned about the security of U.S.
citizens overseas. U.S. citizens are cautioned to maintain a high level of
vigilance, to remain alert and to take appropriate steps to increase their
security awareness. We are seeing increasing indications that Al-Qaida is
preparing to strike U.S. interests abroad.
Al-Qaida and its associated organizations have struck in the Middle East in
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and in Europe in Istanbul, Turkey. We therefore assess
that other geographic locations could be venues for the next round of
attacks. We expect Al-Qaida will strive for new attacks designed to be more
devastating than the September 11 attack, possibly involving nonconventional
weapons such as chemical or biological agents. We also cannot rule out that
Al-Qaida will attempt a second catastrophic attack within the U.S.
Terrorist actions may include, but are not limited to, suicide operations,
hijackings, bombings or kidnappings. These may also involve commercial
aircraft and maritime interests, and threats to include conventional
weapons, such as explosive devices. Terrorists do not distinguish between
official and civilian targets. These may include facilities where U.S.
citizens and other foreigners congregate or visit, including residential
areas, clubs, restaurants, places of worship, schools, hotels, outdoor
recreation events or resorts and beaches. U.S. citizens should remain in a
heightened state of personal security awareness when attendance at such
locations is unavoidable.
U.S. Government facilities worldwide remain at a heightened state of alert.
These facilities may temporarily close or suspend public services from time
to time to assess their security posture. In those instances, U.S. embassies
and consulates will make every effort to provide emergency services to U.S.
citizens. Americans abroad are urged to monitor the local news and maintain
contact with the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate .
As the Department continues to develop information on any potential security
threats to U.S. citizens overseas, it shares credible threat information
through its consular information program documents, available on the
Internet at <http://travel.state.gov>.
In addition to information on the
Internet, travelers may obtain up-to-date information on security conditions
by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the U.S. or outside the U.S. and
Canada on a regular toll line at 1-317-472-2 328.
PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
This information is current as of today, Wed Jan 14 10:14:15 2004.
Haiti
January 9, 2004
This Public Announcement is being issued to alert American citizens
to ongoing civil unrest and political demonstrations in and around the
capital of Port-au-Prince, as well as restrictions the U.S. Embassy has
placed on the movements of its employees due to the unrest. This Public
Announcement replaces the Public Announcement of December 12, 2003, and
expires May 5, 2004.
There has been significant political tension over recent weeks in
Port-au-Prince, Gonaives, Cap Haitien, Petit Goave, Jacmel, and other parts
of Haiti. The U.S. Embassy was closed several times due to civil unrest.
From time to time the Embassy may close again to assess its security
posture. The Embassy's Regional Security Office has recommended that persons
associated with the Embassy not remain in downtown Port au Prince after
sunset and has at times advised Embassy personnel to remain in their homes
when violence has flared.
Some international organizations have decided to draw down their
staffs in Haiti. Students and other groups opposed to the government have
mounted demonstrations around the country, some of which have become
violent. The government of Haiti has not been able to maintain order in Port
au Prince or in other cities and in some instances has assisted in violently
repressing the demonstrations.
If at all possible U.S. citizens should delay travel to Haiti until
calm is restored. Due to severe limitations on travel and communication
inside the country, the Embassy's ability to assist U.S. citizens in Haiti
is very limited at this time.
U.S. citizens planning to travel to Haiti should consult the
Department of State's Consular Information Sheet for Haiti, and the most
recent Worldwide Caution Public Announcement, which are available via the
Internet at
http://travel.state.gov. American citizens may obtain up to date
information on security conditions by calling toll-free 1-888-407-4747 in
the United States, and 1-317-472-2328 from overseas.
U.S. citizens living in or visiting Haiti are strongly encouraged to
register at the Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy in Haiti
<mailto:[email protected]>.
The Consular Section of the U.S. Embassy is
located at 104, rue Oswald Durand, Port-au-Prince. The telephone numbers are
(509) 223-7011, 223-6440, 223-6443, 223-6421, 223-6426, 223-6424, 223-6407,
223-7008, 222-0200, the fax number is (509) 223-9665, and the email address
is
[email protected]. ACS hours are 7:30 am to 2:00 p.m., Monday through
Friday, except Thursdays, 7:30 to 11:00 a.m. The Consular Section is closed
on U.S. and local holidays. The U.S. Embassy is located at 5 Blvd. Harry
Truman, Port-au-Prince; telephone (509) 222-0200, 222-0354, 223-0955 or
222-0269; fax (509) 223-1641. Internet: www.usembassy.state.gov/haiti.
U.N. Says Globe Drying Up at Fast Pace
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By CHRIS HAWLEY, Associated Press Writer
UNITED NATIONS - The world is turning to dust, with lands the size of Rhode Island becoming desert wasteland every year and the problem threatening to send millions of people fleeing to greener countries, the United Nations (news - web sites) says.
AP Photo
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• Convention to Combat Desertification (United Nations)
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One-third of the Earth's surface is at risk, driving people into cities and destroying agriculture in vast swaths of Africa. Thirty-one percent of Spain is threatened, while China has lost 36,000 square miles to desert — an area the size of Indiana — since the 1950s.
This week the United Nations marks the 10th anniversary of the Convention to Combat Desertification, a plan aimed at stopping the phenomenon. Despite the efforts, the trend seems to be picking up speed — doubling its pace since the 1970s.
"It's a creeping catastrophe," said Michel Smitall, a spokesman for the U.N. secretariat that oversees the 1994 accord. "Entire parts of the world might become uninhabitable."
Slash-and-burn agriculture, sloppy conservation, overtaxed water supplies and soaring populations are mostly to blame. But global warming is taking its toll, too.
The United Nations is holding a ceremony in Bonn, Germany, on Thursday to mark World Day to Combat Desertification, and will hold a meeting in Brazil this month to take stock of the problem.
The warning comes as a controversial movie, "The Day After Tomorrow" is whipping up interest in climate change, and as rivers and lakes dry up in the American West, giving Americans a taste of what's to come elsewhere.
The United Nations says:
_ From the mid-1990s to 2000, 1,374 square miles have turned into deserts each year — an area about the size of Rhode Island. That's up from 840 square miles in the 1980s, and 624 square miles during the 1970s.
_ By 2025, two-thirds of arable land in Africa will disappear, along with one-third of Asia's and one-fifth of South America's.
_ Some 135 million people — equivalent to the populations of France and Germany combined — are at risk of being displaced.
Most at risk are dry regions on the edges of deserts — places like sub-Saharan Africa or the Gobi Desert in China, where people are already struggling to eke out a living from the land.
As populations expand, those regions have become more stressed. Trees are cut for firewood, grasslands are overgrazed, fields are over-farmed and lose their nutrients, water becomes scarcer and dirtier.
Technology can make the problem worse. In parts of Australia, irrigation systems are pumping up salty water and slowly poisoning farms. In Saudi Arabia, herdsmen can use water trucks instead of taking their animals from oasis to oasis — but by staying in one place, the herds are getting bigger and eating all the grass.
In Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece, coastal resorts are swallowing up water that once moistened the wilderness. Many farmers in those countries still flood their fields instead of using more miserly "drip irrigation," and the resulting shortages are slowly baking the life out of the land.
The result is a patchy "rash" of dead areas, rather than an easy-to-see expansion of existing deserts, scientists say. These areas have their good times and bad times as the weather changes. But in general, they are getting bigger and worse-off.
"It's not as dramatic as a flood or a big disaster like an earthquake," said Richard Thomas of the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas in Aleppo, Syria. "There are some bright spots and hot spots. But overall, there is a trend toward increasing degradation."
The trend is speeding up, but it has been going on for centuries, scientists say. Fossilized pollen and seeds, along with ancient tools like grinding stones, show that much of the Middle East, the Mediterranean and North Africa were once green. The Sahara itself was a savanna, and rock paintings show giraffes, elephants and cows once lived there.
Global warming (news - web sites) contributes to the problem, making many dry areas drier, scientists say. In the last century, average temperatures have risen over 1 degree Fahrenheit worldwide, according to the U.S. Global Change Research Program.
As for the American Southwest, it is too early to tell whether its six-year drought could turn to something more permanent. But scientists note that reservoir levels are dropping as cities like Phoenix and Las Vegas expand.
"In some respects you may have greener vegetation showing up in people's yards, but you may be using water that was destined for the natural environment," said Stuart Marsh of the University of Arizona's Office of Arid Lands Studies. "That might have an effect on the biodiversity surrounding that city."
The Global Change Research Program says global warming could eventually make the Southwest wetter — but it will also cause more extreme weather, meaning harsher droughts that could kill vegetation. Now, the Southwest drought has become so severe that even the sagebrush is dying.
"The lack of water and the overuse of water, that is going to be a threat to the United States," Thomas said. "In other parts of the world, the problem is poverty that causes people to overuse the land. Most of these ecological systems have tipping points, and once you go past them, things go downhill."
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Iran shows off ballistic missiles sporting anti-Israeli, US slogans
Iran put on show its new Shahab-3 ballistic missiles in a military parade, with the rockets sporting slogans including "We will crush America under our feet" and "Israel must be wiped off the map".
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Iran flaunts ballistic missiles on Iraq war anniversary.
Iran marked the anniversary of the outbreak of its long war with Iraq with a defiant display of military might, showing off its latest ballistic missiles sporting anti-Israeli and anti-US slogans and vowing not to back down to mounting pressure over its nuclear programme.