Author: Australians Detained Abroad

Smart Traveller advisory update for Liberia states:

This Advice was last issued on Saturday, 20 September 2014.   This advice contains updated information in the Summary and under Safety and security (sporadic demonstrations and local disturbances have been reported across Liberia related to the Ebola outbreak; be aware that these can turn violent). We advise Australians to reconsider their need to travel to Liberia due to the outbreak of Ebola virus disease and the unpredictable security environment and incidence of crime.

source: http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/Liberia

The latest travel advisory to Mexico from DFAT had the following update:

This Advice was last issued on Saturday, 20 September 2014.   This advice contains new information in the Summary and under Additional information (Australians should reconsider their need to travel to Los Cabos and La Paz in Baja California Sur in the aftermath of Hurricane Odile owing to damage to infrastructure and essential services, shortage of essential goods, and the volatile security situation, including looting.

Australians in the area should consider leaving if it is safe to do so. Australians who remain in the area should exercise extreme caution. Australians seeking to depart Los Cabos International Airport, Cabo San Lucas Airport or La Paz Airport on flights arranged by the Mexican Government should see the details under Additional information). We have raised the level of the advice for Los Cabos and La Paz in Baja California Sur to “reconsider your need to travel”. We continue to advise Australians to exercise a high degree of caution in Mexico overall because of high levels of violent crime and drug-related violence.

Source: http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/Advice/Mexico

The outbreak of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) centred in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone continues to worsen and has led to over 2600 deaths. Limited outbreaks have also occurred in Nigeria and Senegal. The outbreak in west Africa is the most serious outbreak of EVD in recorded history.

An outbreak of a separate strain of EVD in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has led to a number of deaths.

First issued in April 2014, this bulletin is updated regularly. We strongly recommend that Australians residing or travelling in Africa, as well as Australian businesses with commercial interests in the region, subscribe to this bulletin to receive an email notification each time it is updated.

Source: Smart Traveller http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/TravelBulletins/Ebola

Planning a trip to India? From Dec, visa application requirements will change. See updated travel advice for details bit.ly/taindia

On 12 September 2014, the Government raised the domestic National Terrorism Public Alert level to High. This represents the assessed threat of terrorist attack within Australia. Heightened security arrangements are in place, including at Australia’s international airports.

Australia is viewed by ISIL and other groups as a legitimate target for terrorist attacks. This threat extends worldwide. Even in cases where attacks may not specifically target Australian interests, Australians could be harmed in indiscriminate attacks or attacks aimed at others. In the past decade, Australians have been killed and injured in terrorist attacks in Nairobi, Mumbai, Jakarta, London and Bali.

The risks faced by Australians when travelling overseas, are covered in the travel advisories on the smartraveller.gov.au website. These advisories are reviewed and reissued regularly.

Source: Smart Traveller, to read more: http://www.smartraveller.gov.au/zw-cgi/view/travelbulletins/Terrorist_Threat