WASHINGTON -- The State Department said the U.S. embassy in
Portugal receives frequent reports of petty thefts from the
following areas:
In the Lisbon area, pickpocketing and purse snatching occur in
buses, restaurants, the airport, trains, train stations and trams,
particularly the No. 28 tram to the Castle of Sao Jorge.Thefts in Sintra, Cascais, Mafra and Fatima include car
break-ins in parking areas at tourist attractions and restaurants.
"Special care should be taken in parking at the Moorish Castle and
Pena Palace in Sintra, and beachfront areas of Guincho, Cabo da
Roca and Boca do Inferno."Petty crimes and organized gangs are not common in the Azores.
The advice was part of the department's newly issued consular
information sheet on Portugal.Morocco was the subject of another new information sheet, which
reminded travelers the government does not interfere with minority
Christian or Jewish worship, but does prohibit and has arrested and
expelled U.S. citizens for proselytizing or encouraging conversion
from the Muslim faith.
The department reissued its sheet on the Marshall Islands,
adding information that customs authorities strictly prohibit the
import of firearms, ammunition, explosives and indecent
publications.
On Haiti, presidential elections in November will dominate the
rest of the year and historically have been violent.
On Italy, a new sheet reminds travelers "it is almost impossible
to obtain an itemized hospital bill from public hospitals, as
required by many U.S. insurance companies, because the Italian
National Health Service charges all-in-one rates."
Other new information sheets were issued for Grenada, Kiribati
in the western Pacific, Oman and Turkmenistan.
The complete sheets may be viewed at travel.state.gov/travel_warnings.html.