Passports

BEIRUT - The Syrian government appeared to make a significant concession to the opposition Wednesday, agreeing to renew the passports of millions of Syrians living abroad. A leading dissident figure had publicly pressed for the change. The state-run news service announced that the Interior Ministry had directed that expired passports be renewed for two years “regardless of the reasons that had earlier prevented their renewal, and without obtaining the necessary authorizations.” The pro-government daily Al Watan reported that the decision had been communicated to Syrian embassies abroad.

In the April 14 On the Spot column ["She Can't Wait for Her Next Passport"], reader Lisa Kim Davis of West Los Angeles expressed her concern about having her passport at the ready. Called away for business travel, often at a moment's notice, she couldn't risk having that document out of her control for the four to six weeks that regular passport processing would take. Further, a passport with less than six months until its expiration could present a problem in some countries that insist on a document that has at least three and sometimes six months until it's out of date.

For Hong Kong residents desperate to flee before China takes over in 1997, the Federal Republic of Corterra sounded perfect. The tiny Pacific island nation was described as lying between Tahiti and Hawaii, with 80,000 citizens who enjoy democratic government, a British-style legal system and no income tax. Best of all, a newspaper ad here boasted, passports are bargain-priced at only $16,000. Three local businessmen quickly paid the $5,000 application fee. Then they discovered the catch.

Question: My passport will expire at the end of August. Because I travel for my job frequently and sometimes with little advance notice, I cannot be without a passport for the four to six weeks it will take to get a new one. Also, many visas I will be applying for require a passport with at least six months left of validity, meaning I need to get a new one sooner rather than at the last minute. Is there any good way for people like me to transition to their next passport? Lisa Kim Davis West Los Angeles Answer: Yikes.

BEIJING - China is staking its claim on paper to what neighbors say is rightfully theirs. The latest territorial flap in Asia is over new Chinese passports with an outline of China that includes swaths of the South China Sea that are claimed by Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei, as well as all of Taiwan and disputed territory on the border with India. Beijing's vision of a greater China is nothing new. The disputed territories are included in official Chinese maps.

I am very grateful to "Jerry Hulse's Travel Tips" (March 5) on ways to (counteract) theft while traveling in Europe. Unfortunately I ignored his advice on the money belt, but I did duplicate all of our personal papers and travel documents. While in Paris in June my husband and I had our camera case stolen. Besides our expensive Nikon, the case also contained our passports and other travel necessities. Because we had duplicates of everything we were able to replace our passports in a few hours.

With the recession choking foreign travel, passport applications are plunging and the workload at the State Department is easing enough that those applying are getting their documents in three weeks or less. The State Department said last week that it expected to issue 12 million passports this fiscal year, about 25% fewer than last year. In early December, it was forecasting 17 million passports for the year ending Sept. 30.

WHERE: There are two ways to apply in person for a U.S. passport in Los Angeles County. In both cases, the passport is sent to you by mail. 1. U.S. Passport Agency office (open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., Monday through Friday.) Los Angeles Federal Building, 13th Floor 11000 Wilshire Blvd. West Los Angeles 2. About 50 post offices also are authorized to accept applications. Call the Passport Agency at 213-209-7075 for the location of the one nearest you.

Britain expelled a high-ranking Israeli diplomat Tuesday in retaliation for alleged misuse of British passports by Israeli agents suspected in the assassination of a senior Hamas commander two months ago in Dubai. Foreign Secretary David Miliband said the decision was made after consultations with his Israeli counterpart. The expelled official was not named, but BBC and the Times of London reported that he was the head of the Mossad intelligence agency in the Israeli Embassy. The expulsion follows an investigation by Britain's Serious Organized Crime Agency, or SOCA, into the Jan. 19 slaying of Mahmoud Mabhouh at a luxury hotel in Dubai.

The U.S. ambassador to West Germany today criticized East Germany for requiring diplomats traveling between East and West Berlin to present passports, but stopped short of delivering a formal protest to the Soviet Union, diplomatic sources said. U.S. Ambassador Richard Burt met at his West Berlin residence with the Soviet ambassador to East Germany, Vyacheslav I. Kochemasav, to discuss the policy.

Question: My girlfriend lost her passport on March 17 on a United Airlines flight. Someone in United's customer service team called on April 10 and left me a voicemail saying they had it. I accidentally deleted the voicemail. Since then she has called multiple times and sent emails to the customer service team. Is there any way you can help? David Sudolsky Huntington Beach Answer: Help find out what happened, yes. Help get the passport back? Probably not. When you lose a passport - and about 325,000 were reported lost or stolen last year, according to the U.S. State Department - an airline will try to find the owner, and United did. United rep Charles Hobart said it contacted Sudolsky's girlfriend (the ill-starred phone call)

Anticipated federal budget cuts expected to kick in Friday have forced the cancellation of the U.S. State Department 's Passport Day on March 9. "Due to the anticipated sequestration, the Department of State must cancel 'Passport Day in the USA,' which had been scheduled for Saturday, March 9, 2013," the State Department said in an email Thursday. "We regret that we cannot offer this service as planned. " The Los Angeles Passport Agency at 11000 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 1000 (Wilshire and Veteran)

BEIRUT - The Syrian government appeared to make a significant concession to the opposition Wednesday, agreeing to renew the passports of millions of Syrians living abroad. A leading dissident figure had publicly pressed for the change. The state-run news service announced that the Interior Ministry had directed that expired passports be renewed for two years “regardless of the reasons that had earlier prevented their renewal, and without obtaining the necessary authorizations.” The pro-government daily Al Watan reported that the decision had been communicated to Syrian embassies abroad.

JERUSALEM -- Government officials in Australia vowed Wednesday to investigate the secret detention and mysterious death of a Jewish Australian immigrant who was found hanged to death in a high-security Israeli prison cell in 2010. Australian Foreign Minister Bob Carr said he would review his department's handling of the arrest and death of Ben Zygier, 34, who had immigrated to Israel and was suspected of working for Israel's spy agency, Mossad. For unknown reasons, Zygier was arrested by Israeli security officials in 2010, perhaps after running afoul of Mossad, according to a report aired Tuesday by Australian Broadcasting Corp.

Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. for the 24th annual wine event Passport to Dry Creek Valley. If you have a hankering to get up to Sonoma County this spring, this rollicking wine event could be the excuse. It takes place this year Saturday and Sunday, April 27 and 28, throughout Dry Creek Valley (70 miles north of San Francisco) and Healdsburg. And get this, if you fly into Santa Rosa on Alaska Airlines, you can check a case of wine for free. This is much more than a tasting in a tent: Events take place at more than 50 Dry Creek Valley member wineries.

Tina Turner wants to become a Swiss citizen, and love has everything to do with it. If you've been wondering what the iconic diva has been up to lately, she's been living in Kuesnacht, a Zurich suburb, since 1995. A Swiss paper wrote Friday that the 73-year-old had been granted citizenship, according to the Associated Press. The Nutbush, Tenn.-born singer has passed a local civics test and interview. PHOTOS: Celebrity domestic-abuse allegations "I'm very happy in Switzerland and I feel at home here....

The Libyan government abruptly denied entry to tourists without an Arabic translation of their passports, forcing several planeloads of foreigners to turn back on arrival and stranding at least two French tour groups. The development reflects apparent confusion in government policies, amid recent strides by Libya to promote itself as a lucrative tourist destination.

The Albanian Foreign Ministry on Thursday promised to grant passports to the hundreds of Albanians who have sought refuge in foreign embassies in the Albania capital of Tirana in a desperate attempt to flee their Communist homeland. Hundreds of additional would-be refugees gathered outside at least 12 foreign embassies on Thursday, raising the number of asylum-seekers to about 600, diplomats said.

You don't need a passport to visit Portland, Ore., but that doesn't mean you shouldn't get one. Those who book their next hotel stay at Travel Portland's website will receive a "passport" for free food items instead of free passage. And who doesn't want a free cream doughnut from Voodoo Doughnuts ? The deal: The Portland Passport is a good way to sample some of the city's artisan food stops. Receive a free one-hour beer tour and tasting at Widmer Bros. Brewing , free basket of buttermilk biscuits at the Country Cat , a free cup of seafood chowder at Salty's on the Columbia and a free ice cream cone at Salt & Straw . No extra purchase required to take advantage of the passport.

A Chino Hills residence allegedly housing women from China who want to give birth to U.S.-citizen children is on the verge of being shut down by the city after complaints about traffic and a sewage spill. The home is on a hilltop at the end of a long driveway on Woodglen Drive, an area zoned for single family houses. City officials have issued a cease and desist order, alleging that the site is being used as a hotel in a rural residential zone. They plan to take the property owner to court.