The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has updated its list of destinations that it deems 'too dangerous' for UK tourists to visit, adding eight new locations this year. The total number of countries and regions on the 'banned' list now stands at 24. The FCO advises UK citizens to avoid these 24 specific countries or regions entirely. The newly added locations include Russia, Ukraine, Iran, Sudan, Lebanon, Israel, Belarus, and the Palestinian territories. This blacklist now covers a fifth of the world's landmass. In addition to the banned list, there is also a red list of places where travel should be avoided 'unless absolutely essential' [3d240703].