WASHINGTON: The United States has warned its citizens about the dangers offoreign travel Wednesday, with a four-point safety ranking system forcountries and an interactive world map.

Ten war zones and failed states are ranked Level Four, “Do Not Travel”:Afghanistan, Central African Republic, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mali, Somalia,South Sudan, Syria and Yemen.

North Korea is also Level Four, with the additional restriction that US lawprohibits American travelers from using their passports there, effectivelybanning visits.

But some of the other country ratings may raise eyebrows — or internationalanger — even if the State Department says it is only presenting existingadvice in a new format.

Officials insisted the change was to make advice clearer to US travelers,but the travel warning system has long been controversial and often offendsforeign capitals.

“These are not political documents. These are simply based on ourassessment of the security situation,” senior consular official MichelleBernier-Toth said.

Major European allies like Britain, France and Germany are Level Two,“exercise increased caution,” while authoritarian Uzbekistan gets LevelOne, “exercise usual precautions.”

On Tuesday, US senators heard State Department officials say someone knownto the Cuban government has a mystery weapon that they use to cause braintrauma to Americans in Havana.

But Cuba is ranked only Level Three, “Reconsider Travel.”

Officials insisted the change was to make advice clearer to US citizensthat plan to travel.

Some countries have complained in the past that warnings exaggerate dangersand damage tourism, or suspect they have been subjected to a US diplomaticrebuke.

But each warning is accompanied by a country page on the travel.state.govwebsite, explaining what specific threats have been identified and why theadvice has been given.

Western European capitals, for example, while prosperous and politicallystable, have seen recent attacks by Islamist militants in areas popularwith tourists.

Mexico, a Level Two country, has complained in the past that US alerts hurttourism, but the site gives a detailed breakdown of areas to avoid becauseof drug cartel violence.

The United States itself is not rated in the new system.

But as a rough guide, America’s per capita murder rate of 4.88 per 100,000people puts it between Cuba at 4.72 (“reconsider travel”) and Somalia at5.56 (“do not travel”).