October 2024 Newsletter Khadija and I just came back from Libya and Yemen. Amazingly, both have two governments that are in conflict with each other. Neither is in a hot civil war, but the factions have quite a way to go to reunite. While both countries are low in any stability index and have few tourists, they were safe where we were and extremely interesting. Libya was a new country for both of us and Yemen for me. This trip brought the number of UN countries visited to 146 for me and 144...

March 2024 Newsletter Khadija and I spent February in three countries, two on either side of the Red Sea and one in the Alps. First, we traveled to Eritrea which became a country in 1991 after a 30-year war of independence with Ethiopia. This was UN country #137 for me but Khadija had been there once before in the 1990s for work. The capital, Asmara, could be one of the world's most beautiful and livable cities with its wide streets and ubiquitous cafes serving excellent espresso. However,...