U.S. Issues Worldwide Travel Alert

Might need to reschedule your Afghanistan vacation plans. The State Department issued a worldwide travel alert for U.S. citizens on Friday, citing an unspecified al Qaeda threat. “Current information suggests that al-Qaida and affiliated organizations continue to plan terrorist attacks both in the region and beyond, and that they may focus efforts to conduct attacks in the period between now and the end of August,” it read. The caution follows the closing of at least 18 embassies and consulates in the Middle East and North Africa planned on Sunday and possibly beyond, depending on a threat analysis by the State Department. Officials said the threat could be tied to the end of Ramadan, a monthlong period of prayer and fasting in the Muslim faith.