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Update April 12, 2024

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China Travel Advisory

Travel advisory april 12, 2024, see summaries - mainland china, hong kong & macau.

Updated due to new national security legislation in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Summary:  Reconsider travel to Mainland China due to the arbitrary enforcement of local laws, including in relation to exit bans, and the risk of wrongful detentions.

Exercise increased caution when traveling to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) due to the arbitrary enforcement of local laws .

Reconsider travel to the Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) due to a limited ability to provide emergency consular services . Exercise increased caution when traveling to the Macau SAR due to the arbitrary enforcement of local laws .

See specific risks and conditions in each jurisdiction . 

Mainland China – Level 3: Reconsider Travel

Reconsider travel due to the arbitrary enforcement of local laws , including in relation to exit bans, and the risk of wrongful detentions .

Summary:  The People’s Republic of China (PRC) government arbitrarily enforces local laws, including issuing exit bans on U.S. citizens and citizens of other countries, without fair and transparent process under the law.

The Department of State has determined the risk of wrongful detention of U.S. nationals by the PRC government exists in the PRC.

U.S. citizens traveling or residing in the PRC may be detained without access to U.S. consular services or information about their alleged crime. U.S. citizens in the PRC may be subjected to interrogations and detention without fair and transparent treatment under the law.

Foreigners in the PRC, including but not limited to businesspeople, former foreign-government personnel, academics, relatives of PRC citizens involved in legal disputes, and journalists have been interrogated and detained by PRC officials for alleged violations of PRC national security laws. The PRC has also interrogated, detained, and expelled U.S. citizens living and working in the PRC.

PRC authorities appear to have broad discretion to deem a wide range of documents, data, statistics, or materials as state secrets and to detain and prosecute foreign nationals for alleged espionage. There is increased official scrutiny of U.S. and third-country firms, such as professional service and due diligence companies, operating in the PRC. Security personnel could detain U.S. citizens or subject them to prosecution for conducting research or accessing publicly available material inside the PRC.

Security personnel could detain and/or deport U.S. citizens for sending private electronic messages critical of the PRC, Hong Kong SAR, or Macau SAR governments.

In addition, the PRC government has used restrictions on travel or departure from the PRC, or so-called exit bans, to:

• compel individuals to participate in PRC government investigations;
• pressure family members of the restricted individual to return to the PRC from abroad;
• resolve civil disputes in favor of PRC citizens; and
• gain bargaining leverage over foreign governments.

U.S. citizens might only become aware of an exit ban when they attempt to depart the PRC, and there may be no available legal process to contest an exit ban in a court of law. Relatives, including minor children, of those under investigation in the PRC may become subject to an exit ban.

The PRC government does not recognize dual nationality. Dual U.S.-PRC citizens and U.S. citizens of Chinese descent may be subject to additional scrutiny and harassment. If you are a U.S. citizen and choose to enter Mainland China on travel documents other than a U.S. passport and are detained or arrested, the PRC government may not notify the U.S. Embassy or the U.S. Consulates General or allow consular access.

Check with the PRC Embassy in the United States for the most updated information on travel to the PRC. In some limited circumstances travelers to Mainland China may face additional COVID-19 testing requirements to enter some facilities or events.

The Department of State does not provide or coordinate direct medical care to private U.S. citizens abroad. U.S. citizens overseas may receive PRC-approved COVID-19 vaccine doses where they are eligible.

Do not consume drugs in the PRC or prior to arriving in the PRC. A positive drug test, even if the drug was legal elsewhere, can lead to immediate detention, fines, deportation, and/or a ban from re-entering the PRC. PRC authorities may compel cooperation with blood, urine, or hair testing. Penalties for drug offense may exceed penalties imposed in the United States.

Demonstrations : Participating in demonstrations or any other activities that authorities interpret as constituting an act of secession, subversion, terrorism, or collusion with a foreign country could result in criminal charges. Be aware of your surroundings and avoid demonstrations.

XINJIANG UYGHUR AUTONOMOUS REGION, TIBET AUTONOMOUS REGION, and TIBETAN AUTONOMOUS PREFECTURES

Extra security measures, such as security checks and increased levels of police presence and surveillance, are common in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, Tibet Autonomous Region, and Tibetan Autonomous Prefectures. Authorities may impose curfews and travel restrictions on short notice.

If you decide to travel to Mainland China:

• Enter the PRC on your U.S. passport with a valid PRC visa and keep it with you.
• Read the travel information page for Mainland China .
• Enroll in the  Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP)  to receive alerts and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.
• Avoid demonstrations.
• Exercise caution in the vicinity of large gatherings or protests.
• Avoid taking photographs of protesters or police without permission.
• Keep a low profile.
• If you are arrested or detained, ask police or prison officials to notify U.S. Embassy Beijing or the nearest U.S. Consulate General immediately.
• Review the  China Country Security Report  from the Overseas Security Advisory Council.
• Do not consume drugs in the PRC or prior to arriving in the PRC.
• Follow the Department of State on  Facebook  and  Twitter . Follow U.S. Embassy Beijing on  Twitter ,  WeChat , and  Weibo .
• Visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) page for the latest  Travel Health Information  related to the PRC.
• Prepare a contingency plan for emergency situations.
• Review the Traveler’s Checklist .

Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) – Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution

Exercise increased caution due to the arbitrary enforcement of local laws .

Summary: Hong Kong SAR authorities have dramatically restricted civil liberties since the Government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) imposed the Law of the PRC on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong SAR on June 30, 2020. Following the Hong Kong SAR government’s enactment of its own Safeguarding National Security Ordinance on March 23, 2024, Hong Kong SAR authorities are expected to take additional actions to further restrict civil liberties.

The 2020 National Security Law outlines a broad range of vaguely defined offenses, such as acts of secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign entities. The 2024 Safeguarding National Security Ordinance builds on this framework with additional vaguely defined offenses, such as treason, insurrection, theft of state secrets, sabotage against public infrastructure, and external interference. According to the legislation, these offenses are applicable to foreign nationals within the Hong Kong SAR and to individuals, including U.S. citizens and permanent residents, located outside its borders. Under these provisions, anyone who criticizes the PRC and/or Hong Kong SAR authorities may face arrest, detention, expulsion, and/or prosecution. Hong Kong SAR authorities are attempting to enforce these provisions against individuals, including U.S. citizens and permanent residents, residing outside of their jurisdiction by offering cash rewards for information leading to their arrests in the Hong Kong SAR.

Dual Nationality: The Hong Kong SAR government does not recognize dual nationality. Dual U.S.-PRC citizens and U.S. citizens of Chinese descent may be subject to additional scrutiny and harassment. If you are a dual U.S.-PRC citizen and enter Hong Kong SAR on a U.S. passport, and you are detained or arrested, PRC authorities are under an obligation to notify the U.S. Embassy or a U.S. Consulate General of your detention and to allow U.S. consular officials to have access to you. In practice, however, U.S. consular officers may be prevented from providing consular assistance, even to those who have entered on their U.S. passports. For more information, visit Consular Protection and Right of Abode in HK(SAR) for Dual Nationals - U.S. Consulate General Hong Kong & Macau .

Demonstrations : Participating in demonstrations or any other activities that authorities interpret as constituting an act of secession, subversion, terrorism, or collusion with a foreign country could result in criminal charges under the 2020 National Security Law and/or the 2024 Safeguarding National Security Ordinance. Be aware of your surroundings and avoid demonstrations.

If you decide to travel to the Hong Kong SAR:

• Enter the Hong Kong SAR on your U.S. passport and keep it with you.
• Read the travel information page for the Hong Kong SAR .
• Be aware of your surroundings.
• If you are arrested or detained, ask police or prison officials to notify U.S. Consulate General Hong Kong & Macau immediately.
• Review the China Country Security Report from the Overseas Security Advisory Council.
• Do not consume drugs in the Hong Kong SAR or prior to arriving in the Hong Kong SAR.
• Follow the Department of State on  Facebook  and  Twitter . Follow U.S. Consulate General Hong Kong & Macau on  Facebook  and  Twitter .
• Visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) page for the latest  Travel Health Information  related to the Hong Kong SAR.
• Monitor local media, local transportations sites, and apps like  MTR Mobile  or  Citybus  for updates.

Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) – Level 3: Reconsider Travel

Reconsider travel due to a limited ability to provide emergency consular services. Exercise increased caution due to the arbitrary enforcement of local laws.

Summary:  The U.S. government has a limited ability to provide emergency services to U.S. citizens in the Macau SAR due to People’s Republic of China (PRC) Ministry of Foreign Affairs travel restrictions on U.S. diplomatic personnel.

Even in an emergency, the PRC Ministry of Foreign Affairs requires all U.S. diplomatic personnel, including those accredited to the Macau SAR, to apply for and receive visas before entering the Macau SAR. Approval takes at least five to seven days, significantly limiting the U.S. government’s ability to offer timely consular services in the Macau SAR.

Dual Nationality: The Macau SAR government does not recognize dual nationality. Dual U.S.-PRC citizens and U.S. citizens of Chinese descent may be subject to additional scrutiny and harassment. If you are a dual U.S.-PRC citizen and enter the Macau SAR on a U.S. passport, and you are detained or arrested, PRC authorities are under an obligation to notify the U.S. Embassy or a U.S. Consulate General of your detention and to allow U.S. consular officials to have access to you. In practice, however, U.S. consular officers may be prevented from providing consular assistance, even to those who have entered on their U.S. passports. For more information, visit Consular Protection and Right of Abode in HK(SAR) for Dual Nationals - U.S. Consulate General Hong Kong & Macau .

Demonstrations : Participating in demonstrations or any other activities that authorities interpret as constituting an act of secession, subversion, terrorism, or collusion with a foreign country could result in criminal charges. Be aware of your surroundings and avoid demonstrations.

If you decide to travel to the Macau SAR:

• Enter the Macau SAR on your U.S. passport and keep it with you.
• Read the travel information page for the Macau SAR .
• If you are arrested or detained, ask police or prison officials to notify Review the China Country Security Report from the Overseas Security Advisory Council.
• Do not consume drugs in the Macau SAR or prior to arriving in the Macau SAR.
• Follow the Department of State on  Facebook  and  Twitter . Follow U.S. Consulate General Hong Kong & Macau on  Facebook  and  Twitter .
• Visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) page for the latest  Travel Health Information  related to the Macau SAR.
• Monitor local media and the Macau Government Tourism Office website for updates.
• Review your flight status with your airline or at the Macau International Airport website.

Travel Advisory Levels

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U.S. recommends Americans reconsider traveling to China due to arbitrary law enforcement and exit bans

The U.S. recommended Americans reconsider traveling to China because of arbitrary law enforcement and exit bans and the risk of wrongful detentions.

No specific cases were cited, but the advisory came after a 78-year-old U.S. citizen was sentenced to life in prison on spying charges in May.

It also followed the passage last week of a sweeping Foreign Relations Law that threatens countermeasures against those seen as harming China’s interests.

China also recently passed a broadly written counterespionage law that has sent a chill through the foreign business community, with offices being raided, as well as a law to sanction foreign critics.

“The People’s Republic of China (PRC) government arbitrarily enforces local laws, including issuing exit bans on U.S. citizens and citizens of other countries, without fair and transparent process under the law,” the U.S. advisory said.

“U.S. citizens traveling or residing in the PRC may be detained without access to U.S. consular services or information about their alleged crime,” it warned.

The advisory also said that Chinese authorities “appear to have broad discretion to deem a wide range of documents, data, statistics, or materials as state secrets and to detain and prosecute foreign nationals for alleged espionage.”

It listed a wide range of potential offenses from taking part in demonstrations to sending electronic messages critical of Chinese policies or even simply conducting research into areas deemed sensitive.

Exit bans could be used to compel individuals to participate in Chinese government investigations, pressure family members to return from abroad, resolve civil disputes in favor of Chinese citizens and “gain bargaining leverage over foreign governments,” the advisory said.

Similar advisories were issued for the semi-autonomous Chinese regions of Hong Kong and Macao. They were dated Friday and emailed to journalists on Monday.

The U.S. had issued similar advisories to its citizens in the past, but those in recent years had mainly warned of the dangers of being caught in strict and lengthy lockdowns while China closed its borders for three years under its draconian “zero-COVID” policy.

China generally responds angrily to what it considers U.S. efforts to impugn its authoritarian Communist Party-led system. It has issued its own travel advisories concerning the U.S., warning of the dangers of crime, anti-Asian discrimination and the high cost of emergency medical assistance.

China had no immediate response to the travel advisory on Monday.

Details of the accusations against the accused spy John Shing-Wan Leung are not available, given China’s authoritarian political system and the ruling Communist Party’s absolute control over legal matters. Leung, who also holds permanent residency in Hong Kong, was detained in the southeastern city of Suzhou on April 15, 2021 — a time when China had closed its borders and tightly restricted movement of people domestically to control the spread of COVID-19.

The warnings come as U.S.-China relations are at their lowest in years, over trade, technology, Taiwan and human rights, although the sides are taking some steps to improve the situation. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a long-delayed visit to Beijing last week and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is making a much-anticipated trip to Beijing this week. China also recently appointed a new ambassador to Washington, who presented his credentials in a meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House.

Other incidents, however, have also pointed to the testiness in the relationship. China formally protested last month after Biden called Chinese leader Xi Jinping a “dictator,” days after Blinken’s visit.

Biden brushed off the protest, saying his words would have no negative impact on U.S.-China relations and that he still expects to meet with Xi sometime soon. Biden has also drawn rebukes from Beijing by explicitly saying the U.S. would defend self-governing Taiwan if China, which claims the island as its own territory, were to attack it.

Biden said his blunt statements regarding China are “just not something I’m going to change very much.”

The administration is also under pressure from both parties to take a tough line on China, making it one of the few issues on which most Democrats and Republicans agree.

Along with several detained Americans, Two Chinese-Australians, Cheng Lei, who formerly worked for China’s state broadcaster, and writer Yang Jun, have been held since 2020 and 2019 respectively without word on their sentencing.

Perhaps the most notorious case of arbitrary detention involved two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who were detained in China in 2018, shortly after Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, Huawei Technologies’ chief financial officer and the daughter of the tech powerhouse’s founder, on a U.S. extradition request.

They were charged with national security crimes that were never explained and released three years later after the U.S. settled fraud charges against Meng. Many countries labeled China’s action “hostage politics.”

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U.S. Issues Travel Warning for China, Hong Kong — What to Know

The State Department designated both mainland China and Macau as “Level 3,” recommending travelers “reconsider travel” there. Hong Kong was classified as a “Level 2.”

WANG ZHAO/Getty Images

The U.S. Department of State re-issued a travel warning against heading to China, including Hong Kong and Macau, due to the possibility of being wrongfully detained and the arbitrary enforcement of laws.

The State Department designated both mainland China and Macau as “Level 3,” recommending travelers “reconsider travel” there. Hong Kong was classified as a “Level 2” city, recommending travelers “exercise increased caution” when going.

“The People’s Republic of China (PRC) government arbitrarily enforces local laws, including issuing exit bans on U.S. citizens and citizens of other countries, without fair and transparent process under the law,” the department wrote in its advisory, adding “PRC authorities appear to have broad discretion to deem a wide range of documents, data, statistics, or materials as state secrets and to detain and prosecute foreign nationals for alleged espionage.”

In Hong Kong, the department warned China has “demonstrated an intent” to use a 2020 national security law “to target a broad range of activities such as acts of secession, subversion, terrorism, and collusion with foreign entities.”

The renewed warning comes months after China resumed issuing international tourist visas following some of the strictest COVID-19-related restrictions in the world. For its part, Hong Kong started easing travel restrictions last year and no longer requires visitors undergo any COVID-19 testing or quarantine measures.

The State Department regularly updates its travel advisories for countries all over the world, assessing the security and health situations in each country and adjusting the classification accordingly on a scale of one (which indicates travelers should exercise normal precautions) to four (which warns Americans not to travel there). Recently, the department issued similar travel warnings for both Colombia and Jamaica .

In general, the State Department recommends American travelers enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program to receive alerts “and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.”

State Dept. warns Americans to ‘reconsider’ China travel, citing ‘risk of wrongful detentions’

W ASHINGTON – The State Department has issued an updated advisory urging Americans to “reconsider travel” to China if they don’t want to get stuck in the Communist nation “due to the arbitrary enforcement of local laws.”

While the department has issued travel advisories for China in the recent past , those were largely for pandemic-related concerns.

For example, the US previously warned travelers to avoid running afoul of Beijing’s draconian “zero-COVID” laws.

Citing “exit bans and the risks of wrongful detentions,” Washington issued the updated warning after the department “determined the risk of wrongful detention of US nationals by the [Beijing] government exists ,” according to the advisory, which was issued Friday and publicized Monday.

“The People’s Republic of China (PRC) government arbitrarily enforces local laws, including issuing exit bans on U.S. citizens and citizens of other countries, without fair and transparent process under the law,” it added.

Beijing may use restrictions on travel out of China, dubbed “exit bans,” in an attempt to “compel individuals to participate in PRC government investigations; pressure family members of the restricted individual to return to the PRC from abroad; resolve civil disputes in favor of PRC citizens; and gain bargaining leverage over foreign governments,” according to the advisory.

“US citizens might only become aware of an exit ban when they attempt to depart the PRC, and there may be no available legal process to contest an exit ban in a court of law,” the department added, saying that the Chinese government may also slap bans on family members – including minor children – of those under investigation.

The latest advisory comes as Chinese officials have interrogated and detained foreigners, “including but not limited to businesspeople, former foreign-government personnel, academics, relatives of PRC citizens involved in legal disputes, and journalists,” accusing them of violating China’s “national security laws,” according to the advisory.

“US citizens traveling or residing in the PRC may be detained without access to US consular services or information about their alleged crime … [and] subjected to interrogations and detention without fair and transparent treatment under the law,” the State Department said. “Security personnel could detain US citizens or subject them to prosecution for conducting research or accessing publicly available material inside the PRC.”

Chinese authorities “appear to have broad discretion to deem a wide range of documents, data, statistics, or materials as state secrets,” allowing them to arrest and prosecute foreigners on allegations of espionage, according to the advisory.

“There is increased official scrutiny of US and third-country firms – such as professional service and due diligence companies – operating in the PRC,” the advisory said.

If Americans choose to ignore the warning, the State Department cautions against participating in protests “or any other activities that authorities interpret as constituting an act of secession, subversion, terrorism, or collusion with a foreign country could result in criminal charges.” 

“Be aware of your surroundings and avoid demonstrations,” the advisory said.

The State Department further warned Americans in China not to consume illicit drugs during or even before traveling to the country, as “a positive drug test, even if the drug was legal elsewhere, can lead to immediate detention, fines, deportation, and/or a ban from re-entering the PRC.”

“PRC authorities may compel cooperation with blood, urine or hair testing,” it said in the advisory. “Penalties for a drug offense may exceed penalties imposed in the United States.”

The warning comes as Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is set to visit Beijing this Thursday through Sunday in the White House’s latest attempt to rebuild the US’ deeply frayed relations with China .

Her visit will follow Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s trip last month, during which he met with senior officials including Chinese President Xi Jinping.

President Biden, meanwhile, has tried to downplay the strain between Washington and Beijing, calling concerns “hysteria” during a joint news conference with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi last month.

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US warns against travel to China over ‘arbitrary’ enforcement of local laws, COVID-19 restrictions

The U.S. State Department has warned against traveling to China as the East Asian country pursues a zero-COVID policy to contain its worst outbreak in two years. The travel advisory , which was issued on Monday, urged Americans to reconsider trips to certain parts of China due to the government’s “arbitrary enforcement of local laws and COVID-19 restrictions.” The advisory specifically warned against travel plans to Hong Kong, Shanghai and Jilin Province due to “COVID-19-related restrictions, including the risk of parents and children being separated.” Additionally, it urged people to reconsider travel to Hong Kong over “arbitrary enforcement of local laws,” which reportedly came after Beijing’s imposition of the National Security Law on June 30, 2020. In mid-March, China saw its biggest COVID-19 surge in two years. But despite its zero-COVID policy, the country has struggled to contain the latest outbreak. Shanghai, which was placed on a two-stage lockdown on March 28, reported a record 26,087 cases on Sunday. The lockdown was supposed to end on April 5 but was extended to cover the entire city’s 26 million residents. In addition to Monday's advisory, the State Department ordered the departure of non-emergency employees and their family members from the U.S.’ Shanghai Consulate. It cited the “surge in COVID-19 cases and the impact of restrictions related to the PRC’s response” as reasons behind its decision. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Zhao Lijian condemned the evacuation in a regular press briefing on Tuesday. “We are strongly dissatisfied with and firmly opposed to the U.S.’ politicizing the issue of personnel departure and using it as a tool,” said Zhao. “We have made solemn representations with the U.S. side,” he added. “The U.S. should immediately stop attacking China’s anti-epidemic policies, stop politically manipulating the epidemic and stop smearing China.” The move, however, has also frustrated several Americans currently residing in China. “Many Americans in Shanghai were dismayed to hear of the previous consulate staff departures given the current situation,” Josef Gregory Mahoney, a professor of politics and international relations at East China Normal University in Shanghai, told Bloomberg . He added, “This new order will certainly increase the impression that the situation is worsening despite indications to the contrary, or that this is political posturing on behalf of the U.S., or that consulate staff — who are already rather privileged — are unable to stomach the inconveniences that others are required to endure.”

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U.S. recommends Americans reconsider traveling to China due to arbitrary law enforcement, exit bans

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

July 3, 2023 at 17:17 JST

BEIJING--The U.S. is recommending Americans reconsider traveling to China because of arbitrary law enforcement, exit bans and the risk of wrongful detentions.

No specific cases were cited, but the advisory comes after a 78-year-old U.S. citizen was sentenced to life in prison on spying charges in May.

It also follows the passage last week of a sweeping Foreign Relations Law that threatens countermeasures against those seen as harming China interests.

China also recently passed a broadly written counterespionage law that has sent a chill through the foreign business community, with offices being raided, as well as a law to sanction foreign critics.

“The People’s Republic of China (PRC) government arbitrarily enforces local laws, including issuing exit bans on U.S. citizens and citizens of other countries, without fair and transparent process under the law,” the U.S. advisory said.

“U.S. citizens traveling or residing in the PRC may be detained without access to U.S. consular services or information about their alleged crime.” it said.

“PRC authorities appear to have broad discretion to deem a wide range of documents, data, statistics, or materials as state secrets and to detain and prosecute foreign nationals for alleged espionage,” the advisory said.

It listed a wide range of potential offenses from taking part in demonstrations to sending electronic messages critical of Chinese policies or even simply conducting research into areas deemed sensitive.

Exit bans could be used to compel individuals to participate in Chinese government investigations, pressure family members to return from abroad, resolve civil disputes in favor of Chinese citizens and “gain bargaining leverage over foreign governments,” the advisory said.

Similar advisories were issued for the semi-autonomous Chinese regions of Hong Kong and Macao. They were dated Friday and emailed to journalists on Monday.

The U.S. has issued similar advisories to its citizens in past, but those in recent years had mainly warned of the dangers of being caught in strict and lengthy lockdowns while China closed its borders for three years under its draconian “zero-COVID” policy.

China generally responds angrily to what it considers U.S. efforts to impugn its authoritarian Communist Party-led system. It has issued its own travel advisories concerning the U.S., warning of the dangers of crime, anti-Asian discrimination and the high cost of emergency medical assistance.

Details of the accusations against the accused spy John Shing-Wan Leung are not available, given China’s authoritarian political system and the ruling Communist Party’s absolute control over legal matters. Leung, who also holds permanent residency in Hong Kong, was detained in the southeastern city of Suzhou on April 15, 2021 — a time when China had closed its borders and tightly restricted movement of people domestically to control the spread of COVID-19.

The warnings come as U.S.-China relations are at their lowest in years, over trade, technology, Taiwan and human rights, although the sides are taking some steps to improve the situation. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a long-delayed visit to Beijing last week and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is making a much-anticipated trip to Beijing this week. China also recently appointed a new ambassador to Washington, who presented his credentials in a meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House.

Along with several Americans, Two Chinese-Australians, Cheng Lei, who formerly worked for China’s state broadcaster, and writer Yang Jun, have been held since 2020 and 2019 respectively without word on their sentencing.

Perhaps the most notorious case of arbitrary detention involved two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who were detained in China in 2018, shortly after Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, Huawei Technologies’ chief financial officer and the daughter of the tech powerhouse's founder, on a U.S. extradition request.

They were charged for national security crimes that were never explained and released three years later after the U.S. settled fraud charges against Meng. Many countries labeled China’s action “hostage politics.”

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Places the U.S. Government Warns Not to Travel Right Now

You may want to reconsider traveling to these countries right now.

Do Not Travel to These Countries

Getty Images

Crime, civil unrest and terrorism are common risk factors for countries that end up on the State Department's "Do Not Travel" advisory list.

In 2024, tourism across the globe is “well on track” to return to pre-pandemic levels, according to projections by UN Tourism.

Global conflicts and natural disasters , ranging from a series of coups across Africa to catastrophic earthquakes in the Middle East affected international travel patterns throughout 2023. Still, international tourist arrivals reached 87% of pre-pandemic levels in 2023, according to estimates by UN Tourism .

In January 2024 alone, about 4.6 million U.S. citizens left the country for international destinations, 17% higher than the same month in 2019, according to the International Trade Administration . But some destinations warrant more caution than others.

On Oct. 19, 2023, following the outbreak of war between Israel and Gaza and flaring tensions in the region, the U.S. State Department issued a worldwide caution advisory due to “increased tensions in various locations around the world, the potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations or violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests.” Prior to this update, the most recent worldwide caution advisory was issued in 2022 after a U.S. strike killed Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden’s successor as leader of Al Qaeda, causing “a higher potential for anti-American violence.” The worldwide caution advisory remains in effect.

The U.S. State Department also issues individual travel advisory levels for more than 200 countries globally, continually updating them based on a variety of risk indicators such as health, terrorism and civil unrest. Travel advisory levels range from Level 1, which means exercise normal precautions, to Level 4, which means do not travel there.

About 10% of countries – 19 total – have a Level 4: “Do Not Travel” advisory as of Mar. 4. In Level 4 countries, the U.S. government may have “very limited ability” to step in should travelers’ safety or security be at risk, according to the State Department. Crime, civil unrest, kidnapping and terrorism are common risk factors associated with Level 4 countries.

So far in 2024, the State Department made changes to the existing Level 4 advisories for Myanmar, Iran and Gaza, and moved Niger and Lebanon off of the Level 4 list.

Places With a Level 4 Travel Advisory

These are the primary areas the U.S. government says not to travel to right now, in alphabetical order:

Jump to Place: Afghanistan Belarus Burkina Faso Central African Republic Myanmar (formerly Burma) Gaza Haiti Iran Iraq Libya Mali Mexico North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) Russia Somalia South Sudan Sudan Syria Ukraine Venezuela Yemen

Afghanistan: The Central Asian country is wrestling with “terrorism, risk of wrongful detention, kidnapping and crime,” according to the State Department. U.S. citizens are specifically at risk for wrongful detention and kidnapping. In 2022, the government reinstituted public floggings and executions, and women’s rights are disappearing under Taliban control. The U.S. Embassy in Kabul halted operations in August 2021. Since the Taliban took control , many forms of international aid have been halted . Meanwhile, in 2023, some of the year’s deadliest earthquakes killed more than 2,400 in Afghanistan while the country continues to face a years-long extreme drought.

Belarus: Belarus, which shares a western border with Russia and a southern border with Ukraine, has been flagged for “Belarusian authorities’ continued facilitation of Russia’s war against Ukraine, the buildup of Russian military forces in Belarus, the arbitrary enforcement of local laws, the potential of civil unrest, the risk of detention, and the Embassy’s limited ability to assist U.S. citizens residing in or traveling to Belarus.” The U.S. Embassy in Minsk halted operations in February 2022.

Burkina Faso: Terrorism, crime and kidnapping are plaguing this West African nation. Terrorist attacks may target hotels, restaurants and schools with little to no warning, and the East and Sahel regions of the country are under a state of emergency. In late November 2023, hundreds died in clashes between state security forces and rebels near the country’s border with Mali. In June, more than 2 million people in Burkina Faso were displaced due to “violence linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group.”

Central African Republic: While there have not been specific incidents of U.S. citizens targeted with violence or crime, violent crime and sudden closure of roads and borders is common. The advisory states that “Embassy Bangui’s limited capacity to provide support to U.S. citizens, crime, civil unrest, and kidnapping” is a factor in its assessment. Recent data from UNICEF suggests the country has the worst drinking water accessibility of all countries in 2022.

Myanmar (Formerly Burma): Armed conflict and civil unrest are the primary reasons to not travel to this Southeast Asian country, which experienced a military coup in early 2021. Limited health care resources, wrongful detentions and “areas with land mines and unexploded ordnance” are also listed as risk factors. After Ukraine and Israel, Myanmar had the highest conflict-related death toll in 2023.

Gaza : Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization as designated by the State Department, controls much of the Gaza Strip, which shares borders with both Israel and Egypt. On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas fighters broke across the border into Israel, killing hundreds of civilians and soldiers in a brazen attack that stunned Israelis. On Oct. 10, Israel hit the Gaza Strip with “the fiercest air strikes in its 75-year conflict” according to Reuters . The conflict has since escalated into war between Israel and Hamas, with regular Israeli airstrikes leading to extensive civilian casualties in Gaza. As of mid-December, nearly 85% of Gaza’s population were displaced from their homes, according to UN estimates . The region continues to face shortages of food , water, electricity and medical supplies , with conditions deemed “far beyond a humanitarian crisis.” The State Department warns of terrorism and armed conflict within Gaza’s borders.

Haiti: In July 2023, the Department of State ordered all non-emergency U.S. government personnel and family members to leave the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince in response to the increased risk of kidnapping and violent crime in the country , as well as armed conflict between gangs and police. The travel advisory states that cases of kidnapping “often involve ransom negotiations and U.S. citizen victims have been physically harmed during kidnappings.” The travel advisory also states that “U.S. citizens in Haiti should depart Haiti as soon as possible” given “the current security situation and infrastructure challenges.” A series of gang attacks in late September 2023 caused thousands to flee their homes, and many aid groups have been forced to cut or suspend operations amid escalating violence in recent months.

Iran: Terrorism, kidnapping and civil unrest are risk factors for all travelers to Iran, while U.S. citizens are specifically at risk for “arbitrary arrest.” U.S.-Iranian nationals such as students, journalists and business travelers have been arrested on charges of espionage and threatening national security. Executions in Iran rose sharply between 2021 and 2022, bringing the country’s total to nearly 580 people over the year, according to a report by Amnesty International released in May 2023.

Iraq: The State Department cites “terrorism, kidnapping, armed conflict [and] civil unrest” as cause for the country’s Level 4 distinction. Iraq’s northern borders, and its border with Syria, are especially dangerous. Since the escalation of conflict in neighboring Israel in October, there has been an increase in attacks against Iraqi military bases, which host U.S. troops and other international forces. In October 2023, non-emergency U.S. government personnel and eligible family members were ordered to leave the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.

Libya: Following the end of its dictatorship over a decade ago, Libya has been wrought with internal conflict between armed groups in the East and West. Armed conflict, civil unrest, crime, kidnapping and terrorism are all risk factors. U.S. citizens have been targets of kidnapping for ransom, with terrorists targeting hotels and airports frequented by Westerners. The U.S. Embassy in Tripoli halted operations in 2014. In mid-September 2023, floods, which some say were intensified by climate change , killed thousands in eastern Libya. Clashes between armed factions escalated across the country in the latter half of 2023, including in the capital city of Tripoli and in Benghazi.

Mali: After experiencing military coups in 2020 and 2021, crime, terrorism and kidnapping are all prevalent threats in this West African landlocked nation. In July 2022, non-emergency U.S. government employees and their families were ordered to leave the country due to higher risk of terrorist activity. A U.N. report in August 2023 said that military groups in the country, including both Mali security forces and possibly Russian Wagner mercenaries, were spreading terror through the use of violence against women and human rights abuses. Democratic elections were supposed to occur in February 2024, but Mali’s military junta postponed the plans indefinitely. In December, the U.N. officially ended a decade-long peacekeeping presence in the country, which had been among the agency’s deadliest missions, with hundreds of the mission personnel killed since 2013.

Mexico: Each state in Mexico is assessed separately for travel advisory levels. Six of the 32 states in Mexico are designated as Level 4: Colima, Guerrero, Michoacan, Sinaloa, Tamaulipas and Zacatecas. Crime and kidnapping are listed as the primary risk factors throughout the country. Nearly 112,000 people were missing across the country as of October, a number the U.N. has called “alarming.”

North Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea): U.S. passports are not valid for travel “to, in, or through” this country, home to one of the world's longest-running dynastic dictatorships. The travel advisory states that the Level 4 distinction is due to “the continuing serious risk of arrest and long-term detention of U.S. nationals.” In July 2023, a U.S. soldier fled across the border into North Korea, where he is believed to be in North Korean custody, the first American detained in the North in nearly five years. He was returned to U.S. custody in September 2023.

Russia: The travel advisory for Russia cites its invasion of Ukraine , harassment of U.S. citizens by Russian government officials and arbitrary law enforcement as a few of the reasons for the Level 4 designation. Chechnya and Mount Elbrus are specifically listed as Level 4 regions. Terrorism, civil unrest, health, kidnapping and wrongful detention are all noted as risks.

Russia Invades Ukraine: A Timeline

Somalia: A severe drought resulting from five failed rainy seasons in a row killed 43,000 people in 2022, and caused a famine amid conflict with Islamist insurgents . Violent crime is common throughout Somalia , pirates frequent its coast off the Horn of Africa, and medical facilities, where they exist, have limited capacity. Crime, terrorism, civil unrest, health and kidnapping are all risk factors. In January 2024, some passengers aboard a U.N.-contracted helicopter were taken hostage by al-Shabaab militants after the vehicle crashed in central Somalia.

South Sudan: Crime, kidnapping and armed conflict are the primary risk factors for South Sudan, which separated from Sudan in 2011, making it the world’s newest country . Weapons are readily available, and travelers have been victims of sexual assault and armed robbery.

Sudan: The U.S. evacuated its embassy in Khartoum in April 2023, and the country closed its airspace due to the ongoing conflict in the country, only permitting humanitarian aid and evacuation efforts. Fighting has escalated in the region between two warring generals seeking to gain control after a military coup in 2021 ousted the country’s prime minister. Civil unrest is the primary risk factor for Africa’s third largest country by area. Crime, terrorism, kidnapping and armed conflict are also noted. The International Criminal Court began investigating alleged war crimes and violence against African ethnic groups in the country in 2023. Millions have fled their homes due to conflict, and the U.N. has said its efforts to provide aid have been hindered by a lack of support, safety and resources. As recently as December 2023, the United Nations warned of catastrophic famine , with millions of children at-risk for malnutrition .

Syria: The advisory states that “No part of Syria is safe from violence,” with terrorism, civil unrest, kidnapping, armed conflict and risk of unjust detention all potential risk factors. U.S. citizens are often a target for kidnappings and detention. The U.S. Embassy in Damascus halted operations in 2012. Fighting in neighboring Israel has escalated since October, and the conflict has spilled over into Syria, where the U.S. has carried out air strikes following drone and rocket attacks against American troops in Syria and Iraq, triggered by the Israel-Hamas war.

Ukraine: Russian setbacks in their invasion of Ukraine buoyed hopes in Ukraine in 2023. However, Ukraine is a Level 4 country due to Russia’s invasion, with crime and civil unrest also noted as risk factors. The country’s forces shot down two Russian fighter jets on Christmas Eve 2023, in a move Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said “sets the right mood for the entire year ahead.”

Venezuela: Human rights abuses and lack of health care plague this South American nation, which has been in a political crisis since 2014. In 2019, diplomatic personnel were withdrawn from the U.S. Embassy in Caracas. Threats in the country include crime, civil unrest, kidnapping, wrongful detention and poor health infrastructure.

Yemen: Six of the nine risk factors defined by the State Department – terrorism, civil unrest, health risks, kidnapping, armed conflict and landmines – are all present in Yemen. Despite private companies offering tourist visits to the Yemeni island of Socotra, the U.S. government argues those arranging such visits “are putting tourists in danger.” Civil war and cholera are also both present throughout the country. The U.S. Embassy in Sanaa halted operations in 2015. The country has experienced a relative lull in the civil war fighting, but as peace negotiations have gotten traction, flare ups in the fighting have jeopardized progress. Most recently, the U.S. and U.K. have carried out a series of airstrikes in the country, targeting Iran-backed Houthi sites.

Other Countries to Watch

Since Jan. 1, the State Department has updated travel advisories for 17 different countries as well as for the West Bank and Gaza, adding information about specific regions or risk factors, or simply renewing an existing advisory. Travel advisory levels can change based on several factors in a nation, such as increased civil unrest, policies that affect human rights or higher risks of unlawful detention.

The State Department has given about 25 countries an assessment of Level 3, meaning it recommends people “reconsider travel” to those destinations.

On Oct. 14, one week after the deadly Hamas attack on Israel, Israel and the West Bank were both moved from Level 2 to Level 3, while Gaza remains at Level 4. The region’s travel advisory was updated in November to reflect travel restrictions for certain government employees who have not already left the area, and it was updated again on Jan. 3.

Following the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in early October, the U.S. State Department raised Lebanon ’s travel advisory level from a Level 3 to a Level 4 level due to “the unpredictable security situation related to rocket, missile, and artillery exchanges” between Israel and Hezbollah or other militant groups. In December, the U.S. Embassy in Beirut returned to normal staffing and presence, and on Jan. 29, the country was moved back to Level 3. Crime, terrorism, armed conflict, civil unrest, kidnapping and unexploded landmines are listed as the country’s primary risk factors. However, the country’s borders with Syria and with Israel, as well as refugee settlements within Lebanon, are specifically noted as Level 4 regions.

China became a Level 3 country in late 2020, with an update in December 2022 citing “the surge in COVID-19 cases, arbitrary enforcement of local laws, and COVID-19-related restrictions” as the reason for the advisory. In June 2023, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) was moved from the Level 3 to the Level 2 list, but travelers are still advised to be cautious in the area due to “arbitrary enforcement of local laws.” Meanwhile, Macau remains at Level 3.

Following an attempted coup in August 2023, Niger was elevated to Level 4 in August and the Department of State ordered all non-emergency U.S. government personnel and family members to leave the U.S. Embassy in Niamey. In early January 2024, the overall risk level for the country was lowered back to Level 3. Despite the new classification, the State Department still asks non-emergency government personnel and eligible family members to depart the country.

In mid-December 2023 there was an explosion at Guinea’s main fuel depot which has since affected access to health care and basic goods and services. The country was subsequently designated a Level 3 nation after having previously been Level 2. Concerns about civil unrest, health, crime and fuel shortages impacting local infrastructure were listed as the primary risk factors contributing to the change.

Several Level 3 countries are among the worst countries for human trafficking, as designated by the State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report . Level 3 countries on this list include Papua New Guinea, Guinea Bissau, China and Chad. There are also nine Level 4 countries designated as among the worst for human trafficking: Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia, Syria, South Sudan and Venezuela.

Over 70 countries are currently at Level 2, meaning the State Department recommends travelers “exercise increased caution” when traveling to those destinations.

Botswana became the newest Level 2 country on Feb. 26 after having previously been Level 1, with crime noted as the primary risk factor.

France, which saw nationwide protests throughout 2023, has civil unrest and terrorism noted as risk factors for its Level 2 status, and Sweden’s Level 2 status is associated with risks of terrorism.

The Level 2 travel advisory for the Bahamas was updated in January to reflect water safety concerns. The advisory warns that “activities involving commercial recreational watercraft, including water tours, are not consistently regulated” and notes that government personnel are “not permitted to use independently operated jet-ski rentals on New Providence and Paradise Islands.” It also warns visitors to be mindful of sharks, weather and water conditions. The advisory also says that crime is a primary risk factor with gang-on-gang violence contributing to high homicide rates in some areas. Visitors are asked to “be vigilant” and to not physically resist robbery attempts.

Bangladesh 's Level 2 travel advisory was updated in October 2023 to add a note about the country’s general election , which took place Jan. 7, 2024. The advisory states “demonstrations intended to be peaceful can turn confrontational and escalate into violence.” The U.S. has since claimed the country’s election was not free nor fair.

In November 2023, several Level 2 travel advisories were updated with new cautionary information. The advisory for Ghana was updated to reflect threats against LGBTQI+ travelers specifically, noting “anti-LGBTQI+ rhetoric and violence have increased in recent years.” Meanwhile, the advisory for South Africa was updated in February to note that routes recommended by GPS may be unsafe with higher risk for crime.

Turkmenistan was moved off of the Level 2 list to become the newest addition to the Level 1 list on Jan. 22, meaning normal precautions are recommended but there are no risk factors causing travelers to practice increased caution.

The State Department asks travelers to pay attention to travel advisory levels and alerts , review country information pages for their destinations and read related country security reports before going abroad.

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US Warns Citizens Against China Travel Amid Risk Of Wrongful Detention; Issues Travel Advisory

Updated Jul 4, 2023, 12:04 IST

US Warns Citizens Travelling To China Over Wrongful Detention Risk; Issues Travel Advisory

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US Warns Citizens Against China Travel Amid Risk Of "Wrongful Detention"

A State Department spokesperson explained that because the Chinese government "continues to engage in this practice" of wrongful detention, "the Travel Advisory has been updated to advise US citizens to reconsider travel to Mainland China due to the risk of wrongful detention."

The updated advisory comes amid a period of heightened tensions between US and China.

Americans should reconsider travel to China due to the risk of wrongful detention, warned the US State Department in an updated travel advisory issued on Friday, CNN reported.

Although the previous advisory also listed mainland China as a "Level 3: Reconsider Travel" destination, it was due to the risk of "arbitrary enforcement of local laws".

The risk of wrongful detention was listed as a reason for US travellers to "exercise increased caution" in that advisory which was issued in March.

Advisories in late June and March noted that: "The Department of State has determined the risk of wrongful detention of US nationals by the PRC government exists in the PRC."

The updated advisory comes amid a period of heightened tensions between the United States and China.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken travelled to Beijing last month in an effort to stop relations from continuing to plummet at a time of lingering distrust. At a news conference at the conclusion of the visit, Blinken said the US and China had made "progress" toward steering relations back on track as both sides agreed on the need to "stabilize" the bilateral relationship between the two superpowers, as per CNN.

The top US diplomat said he raised the cases of the three Americans known to be wrongfully detained in China: Kai Li, Mark Swidan and David Lin, and noted that there are negotiations underway to try to secure their release.

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Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will travel to the Chinese capital this week as part of continued efforts to stabilize the relationship between China and the US.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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State Department warns Americans against traveling to China over 'risk of wrongful detentions'

Warning comes after john shing-wan leung sentenced to life in prison over spying charges.

Nikki Haley says China is 'preparing for war' with the U.S.

Nikki Haley discusses Chinese military capabilities on "Fox News Sunday."

The U.S. State Department has issued a fresh travel warning advising Americans against heading to China over selective enforcement of local laws and the "risk of wrongful detentions." 

The warning comes nearly two months after China sentenced a 78-year-old U.S. citizen to life in prison over spying charges. 

"The People’s Republic of China (PRC) government arbitrarily enforces local laws, including issuing exit bans on U.S. citizens and citizens of other countries, without fair and transparent process under the law," the State Department says. 

"U.S. citizens traveling or residing in the PRC may be detained without access to U.S. consular services or information about their alleged crime," it added, noting that "Foreigners in the PRC, including but not limited to businesspeople, former foreign-government personnel, academics, relatives of PRC citizens involved in legal disputes, and journalists have been interrogated and detained by PRC officials for alleged violations of PRC national security laws." 

CHINA SENTENCES US CITIZEN, 78, TO LIFE IN PRISON ON SPYING CHARGES  

Chinese national flags flutter at Tiananmen Square on March 10, 2023, in Beijing. (VCG via Getty Images)

The State Department is also telling Americans to watch out for so-called "exit bans" restricting travel away from China once inside its borders. 

Beijing has used those bans, it says, to coerce people into participating in government investigations, "pressure family members of the restricted individual to return to the PRC from abroad" or "gain bargaining leverage over foreign governments," according to the State Department. 

In May, John Shing-Wan Leung, who also holds permanent residency in Hong Kong, was sentenced to life in prison over alleged spying charges. 

CHINA’S UPDATED COUNTERESPIONAGE LAW IS ‘DIRECT ATTACK’ ON US CITIZENS, BUSINESSES: SEN. MARKWAYNE MULLIN

Chinese citizens wait in line for COVID testing on June 20, 2022, in Macau, one of the regions the U.S. State Department is telling Americans to avoid. (Reuters/John Mak)

Leung was detained on April 15, 2021, by the local bureau of China's counterintelligence agency in the southeastern city of Suzhou, the city’s intermediate court said in a statement at the time. 

Details of the charges have not been publicly released. 

The U.S. Embassy in Beijing told the AP it was aware of the case, but could not comment further because of privacy concerns. 

"The Department of State has no greater priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens overseas," the embassy said in an email. 

The U.S. is telling Americans to exercise increased caution when traveling to China "due to the arbitrary enforcement of local laws." (Li Zhihua/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)

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The State Department said in its travel advisory that "PRC authorities appear to have broad discretion to deem a wide range of documents, data, statistics, or materials as state secrets and to detain and prosecute foreign nationals for alleged espionage." 

It also says Americans should exercise increased caution when traveling to Hong Kong and reconsider travel to Macau due to arbitrary enforcement of local laws there as well. 

Fox News’ Landon Mion and The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Greg Norman is a reporter at Fox News Digital.

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US warns Americans against traveling to China due to risk of wrongful detention

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US recommends Americans reconsider traveling to China due to arbitrary law enforcement and exit bans

Travelers walk along a concourse at Beijing West Railway Station in Beijing, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

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BEIJING (AP) — The U.S. recommended Americans reconsider traveling to China because of arbitrary law enforcement and exit bans and the risk of wrongful detentions.

No specific cases were cited, but the advisory came after a 78-year-old U.S. citizen was sentenced to life in prison on spying charges in May.

It also followed the passage last week of a sweeping Foreign Relations Law that threatens countermeasures against those seen as harming China’s interests.

China also recently passed a broadly written counterespionage law that has sent a chill through the foreign business community, with offices being raided, as well as a law to sanction foreign critics.

“The People’s Republic of China (PRC) government arbitrarily enforces local laws, including issuing exit bans on U.S. citizens and citizens of other countries, without fair and transparent process under the law,” the U.S. advisory said.

“U.S. citizens traveling or residing in the PRC may be detained without access to U.S. consular services or information about their alleged crime,” it warned.

The advisory also said that Chinese authorities “appear to have broad discretion to deem a wide range of documents, data, statistics, or materials as state secrets and to detain and prosecute foreign nationals for alleged espionage.”

It listed a wide range of potential offenses from taking part in demonstrations to sending electronic messages critical of Chinese policies or even simply conducting research into areas deemed sensitive.

Exit bans could be used to compel individuals to participate in Chinese government investigations, pressure family members to return from abroad, resolve civil disputes in favor of Chinese citizens and “gain bargaining leverage over foreign governments,” the advisory said.

Similar advisories were issued for the semi-autonomous Chinese regions of Hong Kong and Macao. They were dated Friday and emailed to journalists on Monday.

The U.S. had issued similar advisories to its citizens in the past, but those in recent years had mainly warned of the dangers of being caught in strict and lengthy lockdowns while China closed its borders for three years under its draconian “zero-COVID” policy.

China generally responds angrily to what it considers U.S. efforts to impugn its authoritarian Communist Party-led system. It has issued its own travel advisories concerning the U.S., warning of the dangers of crime, anti-Asian discrimination and the high cost of emergency medical assistance.

China had no immediate response to the travel advisory on Monday.

Details of the accusations against the accused spy John Shing-Wan Leung are not available, given China’s authoritarian political system and the ruling Communist Party’s absolute control over legal matters. Leung, who also holds permanent residency in Hong Kong, was detained in the southeastern city of Suzhou on April 15, 2021 — a time when China had closed its borders and tightly restricted movement of people domestically to control the spread of COVID-19.

The warnings come as U.S.-China relations are at their lowest in years , over trade, technology, Taiwan and human rights, although the sides are taking some steps to improve the situation. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a long-delayed visit to Beijing last week and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is making a much-anticipated trip to Beijing this week. China also recently appointed a new ambassador to Washington, who presented his credentials in a meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House.

Other incidents, however, have also pointed to the testiness in the relationship. China formally protested last month after Biden called Chinese leader Xi Jinping a “dictator,” days after Blinken’s visit.

Biden brushed off the protest, saying his words would have no negative impact on U.S.-China relations and that he still expects to meet with Xi sometime soon. Biden has also drawn rebukes from Beijing by explicitly saying the U.S. would defend self-governing Taiwan if China, which claims the island as its own territory, were to attack it.

Biden said his blunt statements regarding China are “just not something I’m going to change very much.”

The administration is also under pressure from both parties to take a tough line on China, making it one of the few issues on which most Democrats and Republicans agree.

Along with several detained Americans, Two Chinese-Australians, Cheng Lei, who formerly worked for China’s state broadcaster, and writer Yang Jun, have been held since 2020 and 2019 respectively without word on their sentencing.

Perhaps the most notorious case of arbitrary detention involved two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who were detained in China in 2018, shortly after Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, Huawei Technologies’ chief financial officer and the daughter of the tech powerhouse’s founder, on a U.S. extradition request.

They were charged with national security crimes that were never explained and released three years later after the U.S. settled fraud charges against Meng. Many countries labeled China’s action “hostage politics.”

Traveling Abroad? US Warns Against These Countries

U.S. travel advisories are issued in four levels: exercise normal precautions, exercise increased caution, reconsider travel, and do not travel.

By NBC New York Staff • Published May 9, 2023 • Updated on May 10, 2023 at 10:52 am

What to know.

The U.S. Department of State issues travel advisory levels for more than 200 countries -- continually updating them.

Drug trafficking, crime, terrorist threats and civil uprisings are some of the factors behind the travel advisory levels given to the countries on the list.

Are you planning a trip abroad? Do you wonder if your destination is safe?

Get Tri-state area news and weather forecasts to your inbox. Sign up for NBC New York newsletters.

With the recent deaths of a 9-year-old New York City boy who was shot and killed less than an hour after arriving in the Dominican Republic for a spring break family trip and the discovery of a missing man from Indiana who was found dead in a clandestine burial pit in Mexico after a traffic accident led to his alleged murder are just some of the recent headlines that has caused pause for some people to travel abroad.

However, the safest way to travel, is to be aware ahead of time of where one is going and the precautions one should take.

Man dies after setting himself on fire outside Manhattan courthouse where Trump faces hush money case

Botched Botox injections sicken at least three people in NYC: What to know about symptoms

As of Tuesday, May 9, there are 18 countries that were issued a Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory by the State Department. Level 4 is the highest level in the advisory system due to the likelihood that travelers may encounter life-threatening risks.

"This is the highest advisory level due to greater likelihood of life-threatening risks. During an emergency, the U.S. government may have very limited ability to provide assistance. The Department of State advises that U.S. citizens not travel to the country or to leave as soon as it is safe to do so. The Department of State provides additional advice for travelers in these areas in the Travel Advisory. Conditions in any country may change at any time," according to the State Department .    

The countries under the Level 4 advisory (and the dates when there listings were updated) are:

Meanwhile, 29 other countries are at Level 3: Reconsider Travel. This level, according to the State Department, encourages travelers to avoid certain places due to safety and security risks.

When it comes to this level, the State Department says: "Avoid travel due to serious risks to safety and security. The Department of State provides additional advice for travelers in these areas in the Travel Advisory. Conditions in any country may change at any time."

The countries under a Level 3: Reconsider Travel advisory (and the dates when their listings were updated) are: 

The rest of the countries on the list are at a Level 2 and Level 1.

According to the State Department, a country with a Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution advisory warns travelers to aware of their surroundings and also to be cognizant that conditions could change at any time.

"Be aware of heightened risks to safety and security. The Department of State provides additional advice for travelers in these areas in the Travel Advisory. Conditions in any country may change at any time," the description for Level 2 reads.

Meanwhile, places with a Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions advisory have the lowest advisory level when it comes to security risk.

"This is the lowest advisory level for safety and security risk. There is some risk in any international travel. Conditions in other countries may differ from those in the United States and may change at any time, the State Department's website says when it comes to Level 1.

However, there are two countries on the list, as of Tuesday, that have a travel advisory that is out of the ordinary: Israel, the West Bank and Gaza as well as Mexico. These two countries have an "Other" advisory level and were given that level within the past year in October and March.

In the instance of Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, its travel advisory reads , that there are terrorist groups, lone-wolf terrorists and other extremists plotting possible attacks, with some areas having more risk than others.

The State Department warns travelers not to travel to "Gaza due to terrorism, civil unrest, and armed conflict." It also warns travelers to "exercise increased caution when traveling to: Israel due to terrorism and civil unrest" as well as "West Bank due to terrorism and civil unrest."

Mexico's travel advisory warns of "violent crime -- such as homicide kidnapping, carjacking, and robbery," which according to the State Department is both widespread and common in the country.

Mexico's warning is broken down specifically by region, as follows, as outlined by the U.S. State Department :

Do Not Travel To:

• Colima state  due to  crime  and  kidnapping .
• Guerrero state  due to  crime .
• Michoacan state  due to  crime  and  kidnapping .
• Sinaloa state  due to  crime  and  kidnapping
• Tamaulipas state  due to  crime  and  kidnapping.
• Zacatecas  state due to  crime  and  kidnapping .

Reconsider Travel To:

• Baja California  state due to  crime  and  kidnapping .
• Chihuahua state  due to  crime  and  kidnapping .
• Durango state  due to  crime .
• Guanajuato state  due to  crime  and  kidnapping .
• Jalisco state  due to  crime  and  kidnapping .
• Morelos state  due to  crime .
• Sonora state  due to  crime  and  kidnapping .

Exercise Increased Caution When Traveling To:

• Aguascalientes  state due to  crime .
• Baja California Sur state  due to  crime .
• Chiapas state  due to  crime .
• Coahuila state  due to  crime .
• Hidalgo state  due to  crime .
• Mexico City  due to  crime .
• Mexico State  due to  crime .
• Nayarit state  due to  crime.
• Nuevo Leon  state due to  crime  and  kidnapping .
• Oaxaca state  due to  crime .
• Puebla state  due to  crime  and  kidnapping .
• Queretaro state  due to  crime .
• Quintana Roo state  due to  crime  and  kidnapping .
• San Luis Potosi state  due to  crime  and  kidnapping .
• Tabasco state  due to  crime .
• Tlaxcala stat e due to  crime .
• Veracruz state  due to  crime .

Exercise Normal Precautions When Traveling To:

• Campeche state
• Yucatan state

For additional information the countries listed, or those in Level 1 or 2, visit the U.S. Department of State's website, or click here.

This article tagged under:

• Breaking News
• Russia-Ukraine
• Donald Trump
• Bryan Kohberger
• Prince Harry

US warns Americans AGAINST traveling to China because of the risk if being wrongfully detained and arbitrary exit bans

• Advisory comes after a 78-year-old U.S. citizen was sentenced to life in prison on spying charges in May 
• China recently passed a broadly written counterespionage law 
• Advisory warns: U.S. citizens in China 'may be detained without access to U.S. consular services or information about their alleged crime' 

By Associated Press

Published: 03:34 EDT, 3 July 2023 | Updated: 15:03 EDT, 3 July 2023

View comments

The U.S. recommended Americans reconsider traveling to China because of arbitrary law enforcement and exit bans and the risk of wrongful detentions.

No specific cases were cited, but the advisory came after a 78-year-old U.S. citizen was sentenced to life in prison on spying charges in May.

It also followed the passage last week of a sweeping Foreign Relations Law that threatens countermeasures against those seen as harming China´s interests.

China also recently passed a broadly written counterespionage law that has sent a chill through the foreign business community, with offices being raided, as well as a law to sanction foreign critics.

The U.S. recommended Americans reconsider traveling to China - above passenters at the Beijing Capital International Airport

'The People´s Republic of China (PRC) government arbitrarily enforces local laws, including issuing exit bans on U.S. citizens and citizens of other countries, without fair and transparent process under the law,' the U.S. advisory said.

'U.S. citizens traveling or residing in the PRC may be detained without access to U.S. consular services or information about their alleged crime,' it warned.

The advisory also said that Chinese authorities 'appear to have broad discretion to deem a wide range of documents, data, statistics, or materials as state secrets and to detain and prosecute foreign nationals for alleged espionage.'

It listed a wide range of potential offenses from taking part in demonstrations to sending electronic messages critical of Chinese policies or even simply conducting research into areas deemed sensitive.

Exit bans could be used to compel individuals to participate in Chinese government investigations, pressure family members to return from abroad, resolve civil disputes in favor of Chinese citizens and 'gain bargaining leverage over foreign governments,' the advisory said.

Similar advisories were issued for the semi-autonomous Chinese regions of Hong Kong and Macao. They were dated Friday and emailed to journalists on Monday.

Accused spy John Shing-Wan Leung was sentenced to life in prison for espionage

The U.S. had issued similar advisories to its citizens in the past, but those in recent years had mainly warned of the dangers of being caught in strict and lengthy lockdowns while China closed its borders for three years under its draconian 'zero-COVID' policy.

China generally responds angrily to what it considers U.S. efforts to impugn its authoritarian Communist Party-led system. It has issued its own travel advisories concerning the U.S., warning of the dangers of crime, anti-Asian discrimination and the high cost of emergency medical assistance.

China had no immediate response to the travel advisory on Monday.

Details of the accusations against the accused spy John Shing-Wan Leung are not available, given China´s authoritarian political system and the ruling Communist Party´s absolute control over legal matters. Leung, who also holds permanent residency in Hong Kong, was detained in the southeastern city of Suzhou on April 15, 2021 - a time when China had closed its borders and tightly restricted movement of people domestically to control the spread of COVID-19.

The warnings come as U.S.-China relations are at their lowest in years, over trade, technology, Taiwan and human rights, although the sides are taking some steps to improve the situation. 

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken made a long-delayed visit to Beijing last week and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen is making a much-anticipated trip to Beijing this week. China also recently appointed a new ambassador to Washington, who presented his credentials in a meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House.

Advisory warns that U.S. citizens traveling to China 'may be detained without access to U.S. consular services or information about their alleged crime'

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken (left) made a long-delayed visit to Beijing last week where he met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping (right)

Other incidents, however, have also pointed to the testiness in the relationship. China formally protested last month after Biden called Chinese leader Xi Jinping a 'dictator,' days after Blinken's visit.

Biden brushed off the protest, saying his words would have no negative impact on U.S.-China relations and that he still expects to meet with Xi sometime soon. Biden has also drawn rebukes from Beijing by explicitly saying the U.S. would defend self-governing Taiwan if China, which claims the island as its own territory, were to attack it.

Biden said his blunt statements regarding China are 'just not something I´m going to change very much.'

The administration is also under pressure from both parties to take a tough line on China, making it one of the few issues on which most Democrats and Republicans agree.

Along with several detained Americans, Two Chinese-Australians, Cheng Lei, who formerly worked for China´s state broadcaster, and writer Yang Jun, have been held since 2020 and 2019 respectively without word on their sentencing.

Perhaps the most notorious case of arbitrary detention involved two Canadians, Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor, who were detained in China in 2018, shortly after Canada arrested Meng Wanzhou, Huawei Technologies´ chief financial officer and the daughter of the tech powerhouse's founder, on a U.S. extradition request.

They were charged with national security crimes that were never explained and released three years later after the U.S. settled fraud charges against Meng. Many countries labeled China´s action 'hostage politics.'

Share or comment on this article: US warns Americans against traveling to China

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• Advisory out against travel to the US

China issued a travel advisory on Monday, urging its citizens in the United States to better watch out for their own safety and calling on those who are going to visit the US to heighten their vigilance against US "sting operations".

The US, plagued frequently by gun violence and discrimination against Asian people, has been harassing and interrogating Chinese citizens entering and leaving the US, using various excuses, said the notice issued by the Foreign Ministry's Department of Consular Affairs and the Chinese embassy in the US.

Recently, the US maliciously smeared China's efforts to repatriate corrupt fugitives and recover illegal proceeds, and has even resorted to judicial means to willfully detain Chinese citizens, the notice said.

Also, the US has scapegoated China on fentanyl-related issues, resorting to "sting operations "against and extraterritorial abduction of Chinese nationals, as well as prosecution of them.

The notice called on Chinese citizens in the US to closely follow the local security situation. Those who are on a temporary visit to the US should be careful not to fall victim to US "sting operations", it said.

The notice came 10 days after the US State Department updated a travel advisory concerning China.

Rebuking the US advisory, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Monday that China welcomes people and companies of all countries to travel and do business in China, and is committed to protecting their safety and legitimate rights, including their freedom of entry and exit.

China is a country committed to the rule of law, and its government departments make decisions based on law and facts when conducting security reviews of foreign companies, Mao said.

The spokeswoman slammed the US for abusing entry reviews and for detention of Chinese citizens, saying that the US has been hampering the entry of Chinese citizens.

In 2021, the US refused to issue visas to at least 2,000 Chinese students majoring in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, Mao noted.

Also, the number of visas the US issued to Chinese students in the first 10 months of last year saw a 38 percent year-on-year drop, according to the spokeswoman.

Mao urged the US to stop its wrongdoing at once, stop disrupting practical cooperation between the two countries, stop arbitrary detentions and abuse of process against Chinese businesses and individuals, and earnestly protect the legitimate and lawful rights and interests of Chinese businesses and nationals in the US.

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• China issued a travel advisory on Monday, urging its citizens in the United States to better watch out for their own safety and calling on those who are going to visit the US to heighten their vigilance against US "sting operations".

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Middle East crisis: Blinken calls for calm as Iran official says no plan for immediate retaliation to reported Israeli missile strike – as it happened

This live blog is now closed. For the latest on the Middle East crisis, you can read our coverage here .

• 19h ago This day so far
• 21h ago Afternoon summary
• 21h ago EU imposes sanctions on four Israeli settlers
• 22h ago US sanctions on entities that raised funds for West Bank settlers
• 22h ago Man arrested in Paris after police cordon off Iranian consulate due to reported bomb threat
• 23h ago Blinken says conversations on Rafah at senior levels with Israel continue
• 24h ago Israeli 'aggression' on Iran is an escalation against the region, Hamas official says
• 1d ago Blinken: Hamas standing in the way of a Gaza ceasefire
• 1d ago Blinken: G7 is 'committed to de-escalating'
• 1d ago Israel gave US last-minute warning about drone attack on Iran, Italian foreign minister says
• 1d ago Israel's far-right national security minister criticised for online post about Israel and Iran
• 1d ago EU Commission president calls on Israel and Iran to refrain from escalation
• 1d ago US vetoes Palestinian request for full UN membership
• 1d ago No plan for immediate retaliation against Israel, senior Iranian official says
• 1d ago Summary of the day so far
• 1d ago IAEA says no damage to Iran's nuclear sites
• 1d ago Summary so far
• 1d ago US officials confirm Israel carried out operation against Iran
• 1d ago Nuclear sites unharmed - Iran state TV
• 1d ago Iran fires defence batteries - state-run IRNA news agency
• 1d ago Iran suspends flights over several cities
• 1d ago Welcome and opening summary

Blinken: G7 is 'committed to de-escalating'

Antony Blinken , the US secretary of state, addressed the press today at the conclusion of the G7 meeting of foreign ministers in Capri , Italy .

On behalf of the G7, he condemned Iran ’s cruise missile and drone attack on Israel that prompted an airstrike today on Isfahan , that the US says it has confirmed was carried out by Israel . It hasn not yet been confirmed by Israel or Iran.

“We’re committed to Israel’s security,” Blinken said. “We’re also committed to de-escalating.”

He noted that despite the tensions with Israel and Iran , “we remain intensely focused on Gaza”.

This day so far

It is currently 7pm in Gaza , 8pm in Tel Aviv, and 8.30pm in Tehran.

Here is a summary of what has happened so far:

the Iranian foreign minister, Hossein Amirabdollahian, said that drones reportedly fired by Israel at the Iranian city of Isfahan did not cause “any damage or casualties”, as reported by Iranian media.

The US Congress is pushing forward a $95m national security package that would provide additional aid to Israel following Israel’s reported airstrike in Iran. The bill overcame a massive hurdle with the support of Democrats in the House of Representatives. If approved this weekend, it will be sent to the Senate.

A spokesperson for the Iranian foreign ministry denounced the US’s veto of a Palestinian request to the UN security council, blocking the world body’s recognition of a Palestinian state. Iranian diplomat Nasser Kanani called the veto “irresponsible” and “unconstructive”.

Thank you for reading the latest updates on the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.

Drones reportedly fired by Israel at the city of Isfahan in Iran caused no damage or casualties, said the Iranian foreign minister, Reuters reported.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian gave remarks on the drone attack while speaking with envoys of Muslim nations in New York.

“The Zionist regime’s media supporters, in a desperate effort, tried to make victory out of their defeat, while the downed mini-drones have not caused any damage or casualties,” Amirabdollahian said, according to Iranian media.

Here is an analysis of what Israel’s latest attack on Iran means for the political survival of the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu , from the Guardian’s Bethan McKernan.

In the aftermath of Iran’s unprecedented salvo of missiles and drones fired directly at Israel at the weekend, Benny Gantz, a centrist member of the Israeli war cabinet, said that the country would respond “in the place, time and manner it chooses”. On Friday morning, that turned out to be explosions in the central Iranian city of Isfahan . Although no Israeli official has claimed responsibility for what seem to have been drone strikes on a military installation , Tehran, which retaliated after an airstrike on its consulate in Damascus, has downplayed the incident. The limited response may have for now staved off the threat of regional war. Unclaimed drone attacks on a military site in Isfahan are unlikely to satisfy supporters or critics of Israel’s longtime leader, Benjamin Netanyahu , or restore the level of deterrence Israel enjoyed in the region before the Hamas attack of 7 October. “Netanyahu, who has been threatening to attack Iran for 20 years, has realised a dream, or at least part thereof. The question is what about us, the people,” defence analyst and columnist for the leftwing Israeli daily Haaretz, Amos Harel, wrote on Friday. Meanwhile, Netanyahu ally and the far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, reacted with just one word – “Feeble!” – in a post on X, formerly Twitter. The Israeli prime minister may have achieved several short-term wins here. The muted Iranian reaction has soothed an anxious Israeli public before the week-long Passover holiday. Israel has also struck while it still has international diplomatic support for such an action, before the sense of urgency wanes and the world’s focus returns to the war in Gaza and its deepening famine …

Read the full article here .

A spokesperson for the foreign affairs ministry of Iran condemned the US’s veto to block full United Nations membership for Palestine, calling the decision “irresponsible”, AFP reported.

The US vetoed the Palestinian request to the UN security council, blocking the world body’s recognition of a Palestinian state.

The US was the only country to oppose the request on the 15-member security council. Twelve nations were in favor. The UK and Switzerland abstained.

“Washington’s action exposed the fraudulent nature of US foreign policy and its isolated position,” Iranian diplomat Nasser Kanani said.

Kanani added that Washington’s veto was “irresponsible” and “unconstructive”.

The US Congress is pushing forward a $95bn national security package that would provide additional aid to Israel following Israel’s airstrike in Iran.

The bill was moved forward in the House of Representatives following a critical procedural vote, the Associated Press reported. The legislation would also provide humanitarian support to Taiwan and Ukraine.

Aid for the international conflict between Russia and Ukraine has received faltering support from far-right conservatives, threatening the bill’s passage.

With the latest procedural obstacle cleared, the bill could be approved by the House this weekend and then sent to the Senate.

Afternoon summary

It has gone 5pm in Gaza , 6pm in Tel Aviv and 6.30pm in Tehran. Here is a summary of the day’s events so far:

Speaking publicly at the G7 meeting in Capri, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, declined to elaborate further on the reported Israeli attack on Iran, except to say his country had not been involved. “I’m not going to speak to that except to say that the United States has not been involved in any offensive operations,” Blinken said.

Blinken said while the Gy was “committed” to Israel’s security, “we’re also committed to de-escalating ”. “What the G7 is focused on, and it’s reflected in our statement and in our conversation, is our work to de-escalate tensions, to de-escalate from any potential conflict,” he said. “You saw Israel on the receiving end of an unprecedented attack, but our focus has been on, of course, making sure that Israel can effectively defend itself, but also de-escalating tensions and avoiding conflict. That remains our focus.”

At a separate news conference moments before Blinken, Italy’s foreign minister, Antonio Tajani, said the US was “informed at the last minute” but did not elaborate.

Air defence systems over several Iranian cities were activated, state media reported , after the country’s official broadcaster said explosions were heard near the city of Isfahan , home to sites associated with Iran’s nuclear program, including its underground Natanz enrichment site.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says there is no damage to Iran’s nuclear sites. In a post on X, the agency said it continues to monitor the situation very closely and calls for extreme restraint from all sides, stressing that “nuclear facilities should never be a target in military conflicts”.

French police arrested a man who had threatened to blow himself up at Iran’s consulate in Paris on Friday afternoon. A police source told Reuters that the man was seen at about 11am (9am GMT) entering the consulate, carrying what appeared to be a grenade and explosive vest. The man exited the consulate and was not actually carrying explosives, the source said.

Four Israeli extremist settlers in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem have been today sanctioned by the EU along with two entities over alleged “serious human rights abuses against Palestinians”.

The US also added to its settler-related sanctions today by imposing sanctions on two entities that the US said helped raise tens of thousands of dollars for two violent extremists in the West Bank already targeted with US sanctions.

The Turkish foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, on Friday spoke by phone to his Iranian counterpart, Hossein Amirabdollahian, at Iran’s request to discuss regional developments , a Turkish diplomatic source told Reuters. The source did not provide further details.

German airline group Lufthansa has suspended flights to Israel and Iraq until early Saturday. Lufthansa subsidiary Austrian Airlines also decided as a “precautionary measure” to suspend flights to Jordan’s capital Amman, as well as Erbil and Tel Aviv on Friday “to comprehensively reassess the security situation”. Both Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines had already suspended their flights to and from Tehran up until the end of the month.

Polish national airline LOT canceled flights on Friday to Tel Aviv and Beirut due to the unstable situation in the region, a spokesperson was quoted as saying by state news agency PAP.

Here’s a look at the area targeted last night in what the US has confirmed as an Israeli military operation in Iran:

EU imposes sanctions on four Israeli settlers

The individuals on the list are: Neria Ben Pazi , 31. According to the EU’s official journal, the reason for the listing was that Ben Pazi “established four of the most violent outposts in the West Bank in 2019”. He was “one of the main perpetrators of the forced displacement of a Bedouin community of Wadi Seeq near Ramalah. His actions “have been likened to torture”, the official journal said, including an attack on 12 October last year in which Palestinians were “severely beaten, handcuffed and photographed in their underwear” as well as “urinated on”.

Another Israeli, Yinon Levi , 32, is accused of “multiple violent acts” including storming and damaging houses of Palestinian families and setting dogs on farmers.

Also on the list is Meir Mordechai Ettinger , 33, “considered a leading figure of the Hilltop Youth, a radical youth group consisting of members known for violent acts against Palestinians and their villages in the West Bank.

According to the official journal he was involved in a deadly arson attack in 2015, that killed two parents and their 18-month-old baby, for which he was detained without charge that same year.

Another member of the group, Names as Elisha Yered , born in 2001, was reported to engage in settler violence through so-called “price tag attacks” including “physical and psychosocial harassment, beatings, murder and demolition of property, against Palestinians is of a systematic nature”.

The journal says he was “part of a group of armed settlers” involved in an attack last year near Ramallah which led to the death of the 19-year-old Palestinian Qusai Jammal Mi’tan and wounded several other Palestinians”.

One of the two entities named is Lehava , which the EU’s official journal describes as a “radical right-wing Jewist supremacist group” which “uses violence and incites violence against Palestinians, Christians and Messianic Jews”. According to the journal, Lehava “organises violent protests against Jewish Muslim weddings and the LGBQTi community”.

The other entity is named as Hilltop Youth , described by the journal as “a radical group consisting of members known for violent acts against Palestinians and their villages in the West Bank”.

The judgment can be read here: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:L_202401172

US sanctions on entities that raised funds for West Bank settlers

The US treasury department announced today that the US is imposing sanctions on Mount Hebron Fund and Shlom Asiraich – two entities that the US said helped raise tens of thousands of dollars for two violent extremists in the West Bank already targeted with US sanctions.

Mount Hebron Fund launched an online fundraising campaign that raised $140,000 for settler Yinon Levi after he was sanctioned in February for leading a group of settlers that assaulted Palestinian and Bedouin civilians, burned their fields and destroyed their property, the Treasury said.

Shlom Asiraich raised $31,000 for David Chai Chasdai , who the US said had initiated and led a riot that included setting vehicles and buildings on fire and causing damage to property in Huwara , resulting in the death of a Palestinian civilian.

“Mount Hebron Fund and Shlom Asiraich generated tens of thousands of dollars for extremists responsible for destroying property, assaulting civilians, and violence against Palestinians,” said Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo. “Such acts by these organizations undermine the peace, security, and stability of the West Bank. We will continue to use our tools to hold those responsible accountable.”

The US has previously sanctioned five settlers and two unauthorized outposts in the West Bank.

At least 34,012 Palestinians have been killed and 76,833 others have been injured by Israel ’s military offensive since the 7 October, Gaza ’s health ministry said on Friday.

The Hama s-run health ministry does not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants.

Man arrested in Paris after police cordon off Iranian consulate due to reported bomb threat

French police arrested a man who had threatened to blow himself up at Iran’s consulate in Paris , police said, Reuters reported.

A police source had told Reuters the man was seen at about 11 am (0900 GMT) entering the consulate, carrying what appeared to be a grenade and explosive vest.

The man exited the consulate and was not actually carrying explosives, a police source said.

You can follow more updates from Lili Bayer in the Europe live blog here:

Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan on Friday spoke by phone to his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amirabdollahian at Iran ’s request to discuss regional developments, a Turkish diplomatic source told Reuters.

The source did not provide further details.

Blinken says conversations on Rafah at senior levels with Israel continue

Further to the comments by Blinken already reported on the blog, there are some more lines from Reuters on what the US secretary of state said on the topic of Gaza .

At a press conference on Friday after a gathering of G7 foreign ministers on the southern Italian island of Capri , Blinken told reporters “we cannot support a major military operation in Rafah”. He said conversations on Rafah , in the southern Gaza Strip , continue at senior levels with Israel .

Blinken said he believed that “Israel’s objectives can be achieved” without a Rafah offensive. He added: “We are committed to achieving a Palestinian state with necessary guarantees for Israel.”

Qatar expressed regret on Friday over the failure of the UN security council to adopt a draft resolution recognising a Palestinian state through full membership of the UN (see 08:14 BST ), according to Reuters.

The United Arab Emirates said on Friday that granting Palestinians full membership in the UNwould be “an important step to boost peace efforts in the region”, the state-run WAM news agency reported.

German airline group Lufthansa has suspended flights to Israel and Iraq until early Saturday.

Services by airlines of the group to Tel Aviv in Israel and Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan were suspended until 5am GMT due to the “current situation”, a spokesperson told AFP.

Lufthansa subsidiary Austrian Airlines also decided as a “precautionary measure” to suspend flights to Jordan ’s capital Amman , as well as Erbil and Tel Aviv on Friday “to comprehensively reassess the security situation”.

“Austrian Airlines continuously monitors and assesses the security situation in the Middle East and is in close contact with the authorities,” Austrian Airlines said in a statement sent to AFP.

Both Lufthansa and Austrian Airlines had already suspended their flights to and from Tehran up until the end of the month.

“Today’s flight 151/152 to Israel from Warsaw and to Beirut 143/144 have been cancelled,” Krzysztof Moczulski told PAP, according to a Reuters report. Moczulski said decisions about future flights would be made on an ongoing basis.

US secretary of state Antony Blinken repeatedly declined to confirm a reported Israeli attack on Iran on Friday, saying Washington has not been involved in any offensive operations and it was committed to de-escalating tensions in the region, reports Reuters.

“I’m not going to speak to that except to say that the United States has not been involved in any offensive operations,” Blinken said at a news conference capping a gathering of G7 foreign ministers on the southern Italian island of Capri . According to Reuters reporters, the top US diplomat kept repeating the same response, almost verbatim, when he was asked about the issue several times at the news conference.

At a separate news conference moments before Blinken, Italy’s foreign minister Antonio Tajani said the US was “informed at the last minute” but did not elaborate (see 11:58 BST ).

Explosions echoed over the Iranian city of Isfahan in the early hours of Friday in what sources described as an Israeli attack, say Reuters, but Tehran played down the incident and indicated it had no plans for retaliation – a response that appeared gauged towards averting region-wide war.

Israel said nothing about the incident. It had said for days it was planning to retaliate against Iran for Saturday’s strikes, the first direct attack on Israel by Iran in decades of shadow war waged by proxies which has escalated throughout the Middle East .

United Nations secretary general António Guterres said on Friday that “it is high time to stop the dangerous cycle of retaliation in the Middle East,” his spokesperson said in a statement.

“The secretary general condemns any act of retaliation and appeals to the international community to work together to prevent any further development that could lead to devastating consequences for the entire region and beyond,” Stéphane Dujarric said, accroding to Reuters.

Iran has been trying to reassure people that the country did not face a major threat after airstrikes were carried out in the Isfahan province on Friday.

A news anchor said everything was “back to normal” in a report aired on Press TV, the Iranian state broadcaster’s English-language outlet.

In another clip, said to be filmed in Isfahan and published by Iranian media, an unidentified person is heard saying there had been no damage to the area.

Officials in Washington said Israeli forces were carrying out military operations against Iran but did not describe the character or scale of those operations. Israel and Iran are yet to confirm the source of the strikes.

• Israel-Gaza war
• Middle East crisis live
• Palestinian territories
• Middle East and north Africa

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