U.S. Warns Against Middle East Travel
The State Department issued a travel advisory today urging Americans to defer travel to Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
Meanwhile, thousands of foreign workers fled oil-rich Persian Gulf states fearing an escalation in the Iraq-Kuwait crisis.
Spokesmen for airlines in the three gulf states and the United Arab Emirates said flights to most European and Asian destinations were fully booked for the next month.
Banks in the gulf reported long lines and heavy demand for U.S. dollar and British pound sterling bank notes and travelers’ checks, and even Asian currencies such as Indian rupees, as people tried to get rid of potentially worthless Saudi rials and other gulf national currencies.
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