| Thailand - Possible Terrorist Threat Thailand - Flooding Situation in Greece Japan - Typhoon Roke London Riots Thessaloniki Demonstrations Thailand - Possible Terrorist Threat Friday, 13 January, 2012 The following announcement was made by the Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) of the United States Department of State Bureau of Diplomatic Security this morning. We have subsequently provided this advice to our students currently residing in Thailand and those who are planning for their upcoming semester abroad. We will continue to keep apprised of the situation and share any developments. This message alerts U.S. citizens in Thailand that foreign terrorists may be currently looking to conduct attacks against tourist areas in Bangkok in the near future. U.S. citizens are urged to exercise caution when visiting public areas where large groups of Western tourists gather in Bangkok. U.S. citizens are encouraged to maintain a heightened awareness when out in public; be alert for unattended packages/bags in public/crowded places and report any suspicious behavior to the nearest law enforcement personnel. We also encourage you to keep a low profile in public areas, particularly areas frequented by foreign tourists. The American Citizen Services Unit of the U.S. Embassy is located at 95 Wireless Road in Bangkok, and can be reached by calling 66-2-205-4049, or by e-mailing acsbkk@state.gov. The Embassy’s after-hours emergency telephone number is 66-2-205-4000. The U.S. Consulate General in Chiang Mai is located at 387 Wichayanond Road in Chiang Mai. The American Citizen Services Unit of the Consulate General can be reached by calling 66-53-107-777 and by e-mail at acschn@state.gov. The after-hours emergency telephone number is 66-81-881-1878. For the latest security information, you should regularly monitor the Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs Internet website, where current Worldwide Cautions, Travel Alerts, Travel Warnings and health-information resources can be found. You can also obtain up-to-date information on security by calling 1-888-407-4747 (toll free) in the U.S. and Canada or, for callers in other areas, by calling a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (Eastern Time), Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays). We encourage you notify us of your presence in Thailand by enrolling in the Department of State’s Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP). Thailand - Flooding Friday, 28 October 2011 The US Department of State has issued a Travel Alert to U.S. citizens due to difficulties related to travel in the flood-affected areas of the central and lower parts of northern Thailand, including Bangkok. Severe flooding has hampered transportation and limited access to some essential services in the affected regions. The U.S. Department of State recommends against all but essential travel to these areas of Thailand. This Alert extends only to the areas of Thailand listed in the following paragraph. Most tourist destinations, such as Phuket and Chiang Mai, are unaffected by the current flooding. Bangkok’s main international airport, Suvarnabhumi, is operating normally. This Travel Alert will expire on January 26, 2012.
You can read the entire Travel Alert here:http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/pa/pa_5596.html Currently, all of our students studying at Mahidol University in Thailand have not been directly threatened or harmed by any of the flooding. Classes at Mahidol University have been postponed until November 14th, 2011. We have been in constant contact with our students in Thailand, and are continuing to monitor the situation closely. Monday, 24 October 2011 As you know, heavy monsoon rains in Thailand have caused floods in at least one third of the country, causing major disruptions in transportation and leaving more than 350 people dead. Flood waters have already reached some parts of Bangkok and are expected to peak in the next several days. While no major rainfall has occurred in recent days, disaster management officials continue to work hard in trying to contain and divert the flood waters. Although most major roads throughout the Bangkok metro area are either under several feet of water or blocked with cars that have evacuated low lying areas, other transportation infrastructure remains operational. Both Don Mueang International Airport (VTBD/DMK) and Suvarnabhumi Airport (VTBS/BKK) are open despite the fact that each facility is surrounded by flooded neighborhoods. Some flight operations disruptions have occurred at Don Mueang due to one unused terminal being designated as an evacuation center for the surrounding area. As our students at Mahidol University are to the west of Bangkok, the threat of flooding has not been as severe. Mahidol University has been named an evacuation center for the Buddhamonthon district. This indicates that this area is expected to remain a area safe from new flooding. For more information on the flooding in Thailand, please visit the following news article. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-15426529 Wednesday, 19 October 2011 There have been cases of severe flooding throughout Thailand. As of today, there is no flooding or water at the Mahidol University campus or at any of the international student housing facilities. Mahidol University has, however, chosen to cancel classes until Tuesday, October 25th, 2011. This decision was made primarily to benefit local students who commute to and from campus and may be affected by flood waters in surrounding areas. The International Relations Office will remain open on campus and continues to provide students with updates and assistance. Mahidol staff and the Asia Resident Director have been in contact with all of the GlobaLinks Learning Abroad students and have requested the students stay in close contact and provide updates if they choose to travel outside of Bangkok, although travel is not recommended at this time. For informaiton view the Bangkok Post Japan - Typhoon Roke Wednesday, 21 September 2011 Typhoon Roke initially made landfall in Japan on Wednesday afternoon (05:00GMT) in Hamamatsu, and is heading up the northeast coast of the main island of Honshu. The GlobaLinks program at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University has remained unaffected by this Typhoon, as the university is located in the city of Beppu on the southern island of Kyushu. Typhoon Roke is headed toward Fukushima, where the majority of the devastation occurred during the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Workers at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant are working quickly to prepare the plant and ensure safety against the possible strike of the typhoon. The GlobaLinks Learning Abroad staff will continue to monitor the situation, but do not expect the typhoon to affect our current participants. For more information please see: http://www.japantoday.com/ Thessaloniki Demonstrations Friday, 9 September 2011 The Greek Prime Minister will be in Thessaloniki on Saturday, September 10th to make a speech at the 76th annual Thessaloniki International Fair and protests have been scheduled ahead of his speech. These planned demonstrations and taxi strikes will likely affect Thessaloniki, Greece this Saturday. In order to maintain security, more than 5,000 police officers have been deployed to the area. Our staff in Thessaloniki are aware of these developments and will ensure that our students remain far away from protests and gatherings. All demonstrations will be in a controlled and central area and GlobaLinks Learning Abroad staff will remain vigilant to ensure students’ health and safety. For more information, please see: http://www.athensnews.gr/portal/9/47107 You can also read feedback from staff and students here. London Riots Wednesday, 17 August 2011 This is an update regarding the riots that occurred in London and other UK cities on the week of August 8th. Since Thursday, August 11th London has not experienced any additional rioting and other UK cities have remained calm as well. The UK government has continued to monitor the situation and has increased police in parts of the country in order to ensure the peace. GlobaLinks Learning Abroad continues to be in contact with our staff in London and our UK partner universities and at this time we do not believe there is any risk associated with the riots to our students. We will continue to monitor the situation and will update you if the situation changes. For more information please have a look at: http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/london-riots Thursday, 11 August 2011 London and other cities in the UK have experienced unprecedented rioting over the past week. Since Saturday night, bands of youths have vandalized and looted their way across several shopping districts on the city's fringes. Some police officers and civilians have been injured as a result. Though most of the activity has been concentrated in neighborhoods on the outskirts of London (like Tottenham, Brixton, Clapham, and Croydon), other parts of London have seen sporadic outbursts of violence. On the past two nights, the looting had spread to other cities, including Manchester. London authorities are on high alert and have pledged more patrols for the city throughout the week in an effort to minimize future rioting. London was largely quiet on Tuesday and Wednesday night, due to the increased police presence. All indications are that the majority of this violence was not motivated by political forces, but it does represent some level of social discontent among young urban populations. Words used in the media have included "senseless greed," "opportunistic," and "copycat criminality." Many images were caught on CCTV camera, and as of this morning, almost 800 suspects had been arrested in connection with the violence.
London has subsequently seen an upwelling of community spirit, as residents and volunteers have banded together to help clean up streets and shops in affected districts. A sense of general outrage pervades British society. Police forces are mobilized across the UK, and today, it seems mostly to be business-as-usual across London, as well as in Manchester.
Though GlobaLinks Learning Abroad doesn’t have any students currently studying in the UK, we are monitoring the situation very carefully. We are in contact with our partners in London in order to keep up with the most updated information and will monitor the situation as it unfolds. Students traveling to London and Manchester are advised to avoid the affected districts, as well as to remain vigilant at all times.
For more information please read:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-14460554
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/10/world/europe/10britain.html?_r=1&hp
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/london-riots We will continue to monitor this situation as it unfolds, and will issue further advice as needed. At this point, however, we are continuing plans for the Bridging Cultures Program and semester start up as usual, though we will certainly make any changes, if necessary. |