Foreign ministry tightens Thailand travel advice

The Dutch foreign ministry on Friday issued new travel guidelines for Thailand which would appear to follow the arrest of a Lebanese man with suspected links to Hezbollah militants.

The US had advised its citizens in the Thai capital Bangkok to be on the alert over a possible terrorist threat, just hours before the arrest was made following an Israeli tip-off.
Dutch travellers are now being urged to take special care in public places where there are large numbers of western tourists.
Elections
Following last year’s elections, the ministry advised Dutch tourists to avoid demonstrations and said all but essential travel to the four southern states should be avoided.
The BBC says Bangkok has been hit by several small scale bombs in recent years in what are thought to have been politically motivated attacks, and Thai Islamist insurgents regularly carry out attacks in the southern provinces.
However, attacks on or by foreigners are rare, the broadcaster said.