WASHINGTON -- The State Department notified travelers that the
government of Mongolia said it will not allow anyone to enter or
exit the southeastern province of Dornogobi, effective May 1 and
until further notice.
The quarantine of the province is intended to stop the spread of
suspected hoof-and-mouth disease among cattle.
The department said international trains are running between
Ulaanbaatar and Beijing, but the only stop in Dornogobi Province is
at the Mongolian port of entry in Zamyn Uud.
In other news, the department renewed travel warnings against
two African countries, as follows:
Republic of Congo -- U.S. citizens were again urged to defer
nonessential travel to the nation because of "unsettled" security
conditions in some regions, even though the civil conflict there
"has largely ended."The department reminded travelers that the U.S. embassy in
Brazzaville, the capital, remains closed.
Democratic Republic of the Congo (formerly Zaire) -- The
department reissued its travel warning against the country due to
continued "security and political uncertainties."Travelers who choose to visit the country should comply
voluntarily with nighttime curfews imposed by the U.S. government
on its personnel, the department said.