Drip, drip, drip . . .
(From the JAPANESE press.) Americans warned of traveling abroad at turn of 2000 .c Kyodo News Service WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 (Kyodo) -- The U.S. government cautioned Americans on Friday against traveling abroad at the end of the year or the start of the next year due to the possible mishaps that might be caused by the ''Y2K'' computer glitch. The State Department issued the notice citing possible transportation disruptions and financial problems, including malfunctioning of credit cards and ATM machines, related to the millennium bug. The department also referred to possible disruption of electricity and water services overseas. The notice did not refer to specific countries, and only said, ''It is difficult to forecast where the Y2K problem will surface.'' The department stressed that those with special medical requirements should especially take care around Jan. 1, 2000, saying they should not assume that medical facilities and services will be available at their travel destination. The notice also advised travelers to confirm with insurance companies whether they will be covered by insurance when faced with damages related to the Y2K problem. The department said it plans to provide information about how countries around the world are dealing with the problem. Specialists point to the possibility that Russia may face electrical power failures in severe cold weather due to computer problems related to the Y2K issue, and the lack of a response to the problem in the developing world. The Y2K problem involves the systemic failure of computers running on software that identifies years by their last two digits, leading computers to read ''2000'' as ''1900'' past midnight Jan. 1, 2000.
