US issues worldwide travel alert

The US state department has said it is issuing a global travel alert because of an un-specified terror threat. The move comes shortly after the US announced it would be closing several embassies, including ones in Israel, Egypt, Turkey, Algeria, Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Bangladesh on Sunday due to safety fears. In a statement, the state department said the potential for an attack is particularly strong in the Middle East and North Africa. It read: "Current information suggests that al-Qa'ida 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."