Since May there has been considerable civil unrest in many of the South African township, these areas should be avoided as attacks on African immigrants is likely to continue. The situation in Zimbabwe continues to worsen and we advise against all but essential travel.  

Bird Flu (H5N1) continues to spread across the globe, but at present it is not posing a serious risk to travellers. Travellers are urged to avoid live poulty markets in SE Asia and to continue to check for developments on www.who.int and www.fco.gov.uk.  If you are travelling in an area where an outbreak occurs seek advise immediatly and simple precautions such as the use of alcohol hand gels are strongly recommended to prevent infection.

In recent weeks both Peru and Bolivia have experienced unrest, therefore we advise travellers to constantly check the situation.    

Objective continues to be concerned over the continued threat of a terrorist attack against tourists in Thailand.  Whilst to date Islamist attacks have been confined to the southern provinces, intellligence assessments are warning of the growing possibility of attacks against the major cities and popular beach resorts. Objective would urge travellers to avoid very popular nightclubs and restaurants in the most popuar beach resorts.  The threat from terrorism is Indonesia is also high, please check FCO and Australian government web sites for advise.   

The terrorist threat level in Ski Lanka is high, over 60 in an attack on a train in Colombo on 25th May 2008. Travellers should avoid the north and east of the country where fighting between the Government and Tamil seperatist is concentrated.  Terrorism remains an ongoing problem in India , travellers aree urged to research teh current situation. 

In South America and parts of central America ( esp Guatamala) there has been a  dramatic rise in cases of dengue fever, the virus is caused by mosquitos which bite in the day time  Symptons are headaches, nausea and sore joints.   The best form of protection is using insect repellant with a high DEET content & covering up to prevent being bitten. No vaccinne is available. If concerned see a doctor immediately.  In the vast majority of cases a full recovery occurrs within a month. Paraquay has declared a state of emergency and cases have been reported in Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia. Rio de Janeiro is experiencing large levels of infection . See www.who.int  for details and advice. 2006 saw over 10,000 cases in India with the likelyhood of a repeat after the summer monsoon rains and in Jan 2008 the number of cases in Thailand has risen.   

See www.bbc.co.uk/longwaydown - see Objective training Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman on the Long Way Down.