European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 31, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 a the stars and stripes saturday August 31, 1991foreign travel advisories faulted crime warnings inadequate Gao says Washington a the state department has failed to adequately warn americans of the dangers of travelling in foreign regions with High rates of violent crime according to a congressional investigation. The general accounting office report released thursday especially faulted the department for its advisories on conditions in the Bahamas Brazil Italy Kenya Mexico Trinidad and Zaire. A while it is important to keep Good relations with foreign governments and businesses we cannot and must not allow diplomatic niceties to stand in the Way of informing americans about real risks when they Are making travel plans a said rep. John Conyers d-mich., who released the report. State department officials acknowledge that its travel warnings issued since the 1970s, Are unpopular with other governments. But they say the major consideration in deciding when to Issue them is the safety of . Citizens. The Gao report recommends a Clear policy for issuing travel advisories especially for areas where crime is known to pose a threat to foreign visitors. It says warnings have been issued for some areas but not for others where crime is rampant and not All advisories include sufficient detail on the criminal threat. Among other examples the Gao complained that for 21 months ending in february 39 americans were murdered and 100 were victims of other violent crimes in Mexico but no advisory was issued. In contrast a travel advisory was issued for Kenya after one american was murdered. The state department issues several advisories each year when political turmoil terrorist threats natural disasters the threat of arrest or other conditions require caution. But the Gao report says crime is rarely covered and Many travellers Are not Awa a of the advisories. Normally about 40 warnings Are in effect but they reached a Peak of 74 during the persian Gulf War the report says. It Quot says the Telephone number for travel advisory recorded messages should be placed prominently in Public Telephone directories and in passports. Advisories also Are available at passport offices embassies various airline offices and travel agencies and some computer bulletin boards. A some of the reports suggestions already have been implemented the state department said in response to the report. New language has been drafted on travel advisories for the foreign affairs manual used by All embassies and More information about crime is being put into advisories department officials said. The governments citizens emergency Center number for recorded advisories is 202 647-5225. It allows citizens to select travel advisories on individual countries by punching numbers on the  to reduce pan am s International service new York a Delta air lines outlining plans for absorbing most of pan am  operations said it will leave the East coast shuttle mostly untouched but pan am sold International route map will lose a few destinations. A pan am has done a Good Job with the shuttle and we want to keep it just As is a Delta chairman Ronald w. Allen said in a news conference at Laguardia International  pan am shuttle becomes the Delta shuttle on sunday and Allen said passengers will detect few differences on the frequent flights Between new York Boston and Washington. But International travellers May see some changes after Delta acquires a vast pan am route Structure spanning the Atlantic Ocean and reaching throughout the Eastern hemisphere. Delta said it will initially begin serving an additional 23 cities but maps released by the Atlanta based Carrier on thursday were missing a few current pan am destinations. Cities falling off the list include Nairobi Kenya Riyadh saudi Arabia Ankara Turkey Nurnberg Germany Krakow Poland Leningrad soviet Union Belgrade Dubrovnik and Zagreb Yugoslavia and Karachi Pakistan. Pan am said some of those routes have been operated on a seasonal basis and Delta said it plans to Fly into Leningrad next summer. A there May be fewer Points on that map but Overall service will increase As a result of this acquisition a Delta spokesman Clay Mcconnell said from Atlanta chairman Ronald w. Allen gestures toward a plane while announcing Delta a planned changes to pan am a routes the foreign destinations being picked up by Delta include Athens Greece Barcelona and Madrid Spain Brussels Belgium Bombay and Delhi India Bucharest Romania Budapest Hungary Helsinki Finland Istanbul Turkey Moscow Nice France Oslo Norway Prague Czechoslovakia Rome and Milan Italy Stockholm Sweden Tel Aviv is Rael Vienna Austria Warsaw Poland and Geneva and Zurich Switzerland pan am also has Many route authorities into european african and asian cities that Are currently not in use. Delta has said it May eventually reinstate service to some of them. Delta agreed earlier this month to buy the shuttle and most of pan american world airways in a Deal that will Cost Delta $621 million in Cash but is valued at $1.77 billion by pan am creditors. The package was approved by the bankruptcy judge overseeing pan am a chapter 11 Case though Many of the International route transfers still must be approved by . And foreign aviation officials. Group ends traffic toll projection Chicago apr after 44 years the National safety Council has stopped counting How Many people die in Holiday traffic accidents. It says americans highways arc no longer More deadly during Long weekends. Beginning this labor Day weekend the Council wont project the number of travellers Likely to die on the nations roadways nor will it compile the toll afterwards. A when it the count was first started and for Many Many years there was a legitimate additional risk involved in Holiday travel a says Alan f. Hoskin statistics manager for the Chicago based Council. A if issuing an estimate helped drive that Home and got people to listen to safety messages it was a valuable activity he added. He credits the drop in Holiday traffic deaths in part to increased awareness about the dangers of driving drunk and a growing tendency to Fly rather than drive to Holiday destinations. For the three years ending in 1990, the number of traffic deaths during holidays was 1 percent higher than would have been expected during similar non Holiday periods Council figures indicate. For the three years ending a decade earlier the death toll was 15 percent higher during Holiday periods and in 1970, it was 16 percent higher the Council says. The Overall traffic death toll has been declining for years settling to 46,300 last year from a High of 56,278 in 1972. The Council began tracking Holiday traffic fatalities around 1947 at the request of news organizations Hoskin said. The Media wanted figures right away rather than having to wait for annual statistics collected from Law enforcement officials. But the completeness of the counts has been questioned within the last year he said. The figures were supplied by local authorities around the country. The Council will however continue to Issue pre Holiday safety tips which this week urged people to buckle their  pleads guilty to spitting on Burger Phoenix apr an sex Cook who spit on a hamburger As he prepared it for a police officer has pleaded guilty to Misdemeanour assault. George Juan Kuehme who entered the plea tuesday As part of a bargain with prosecutors allegedly spotted a police car at the drive up window of the Jack in the Box restaurant and spit on his Burger saying a a that a what an officer  officer Gary Underhill noticed something amiss when he bit into his jumbo Jack after leaving the fast food restaurant dec 10 and went Back to arrest Kuehme. He then sought treatment for nausea. Kuehme 20, who was fired would be sentenced to 45 Days in jail and put on probation under his plea agreement with prosecutors