Hardbeatnews, WASHINGTON, D.C., Thurs. July 21, 2005: U.S. State Department officials yesterday finally dropped their travel warning against the island of Jamaica and Cayman, that had been put in place Thursday as Hurricane Emily approached.
Despite the fact that Emily only brushed both islands, Department officials had kept the warning current as of early Wednesday morning.
But yesterday, following the department removed the warning, hours after a HBN story had highlighted the advisory.
Jamaica’s tourist board officials on Monday insisted the island is open for business following the passage of Hurricane Emily, adding that all tourism regions have reported little or no damage.
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BULL BAY, Jamaica (AP) - Fishermen dragged skiffs to shore and workers raced to board up buildings Saturday as Hurricane Emily swept along the southern coast of Jamaica, packing winds of nearly 250 kilometres per hour and rain that could bring landslides and flooding.
The Category 4 storm - the second-most severe type - was on track to pass close to Grand Cayman Island later Saturday or early Sunday before smashing into the Yucatan Peninsula, where Mexican officials prepared to evacuate tourists, on its way to the Gulf of Mexico and possibly southern Texas next week.
Jamaican officials sent buses
Hurricane Wilma swirled into the most intense Atlantic storm ever recorded Wednesday, a Category 5 monster whose powerful winds and heavy rains already have been blamed for killing at least 12 people in the Caribbean as it bore down on Central America.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami said a weakened but still formidable Wilma could make landfall in southwestern Florida on Saturday. Officials ordered visitors out of the Florida Keys.
Wilma's force dipped slightly Wednesday afternoon, with its maximum sustained winds dropping to 165 mph from 175 mph earlier in the day, but it was still a Category 5
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Indonesian officials have played down a warning issued by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), that terrorists are in what is described as the very advanced stages of planning attacks in Indonesia.
The warning, posted on the Australian Government's travel website, says the attacks could occur at any time, anywhere in Indonesia.
"We continue to receive a stream of credible reporting suggesting that terrorists are in the very advanced stages of planning attacks in Indonesia," the warning said.
"Attacks could occur at any time, anywhere in Indonesia and could be directed at any locations known to be
The US government on Thursday renewed a warning against travel to Iran, saying anti-US hostility had increased the threat of kidnapping.
But a State Department official said the warning was not linked to growing controversy over the past of Iran's President-elect, Mahmood Ahmadinejad, who has been accused of taking part in the 1979 hostage taking at the US embassy in Tehran.
"Due to ongoing tensions, particularly along the border with Iraq, US citizens may be at risk of harassment or kidnapping," said the State Department warning.
"Tensions generated by the current situation in Iraq have increased the potential threat to US citizens and
