When a bomb ripped through the arrival hall of Moscow's Domodedovo Airport on Monday, the news moved swiftly around the world. Well, almost around the world. The U.S. cable-news networks spent most of the day covering more important news, like the "startling revelation" of Oprah Winfrey's half-sister and the prom-like jockeying over seating arrangements for Tuesday's State of the Union address.

This could easily be a screed about the unwillingness of American news outlets, especially the first responders at the cable "news" networks, to cover global events. But let's not go there. Let's go here instead: What you don't know about global affairs can hurt you on your next international business trip.

"The major flaw with the people I manage is that their aren't intellectually curious about the countries they visit," a corporate travel manager at a Fortune 500 company said to me just weeks before the Domodedovo attack. "It's the travel equivalent of sticking your fingers in your ears and yelling 'nah, nah, nah!' They think not knowing is the same thing as not being in danger."

If you want to be safe the next time you head overseas, you need to do your own homework in world affairs. You need at least a passing familiarity with the developments driving a country's politics and safety. You've got to know what the news is, where to find it, and how it could affect your trip. Most of all, perhaps, you must understand that knowing about a country's business affairs is not the same as knowing about the day-to-day realities that infuse the nation's public affairs.

The Government Lines

If your company can't or won't provide useful international information, or if you're an independent businessperson working without a corporate safety net, your first fact-finding stop should be with the U.S. State Department. It's your tax dollars at work: State's Bureau of Consular Affairs maintains traveler's cheat sheets for every country on the planet. They cover everything from the basics (entry/exit requirements and road conditions) to hardcore intelligence about medical facilities, crime statistics, and security affairs.

The so-called consular information sheets (backed up by more time-sensitive travel "cautions" and "warnings") are naturally somewhat generic in nature. If you had checked the safety and security section of the report for the Russian Federation before Monday's airport attack, it said this: "Terrorist acts, including bombings and hostage takings, continue to occur in Russia…. In the past, terrorists targeted Russian government buildings, hotels, tourist sites, markets, entertainment venues, schools, and residential complexes, and on public transportation including subways, buses, trains, and scheduled commercial flights."

That isn't hard, actionable intelligence, of course, but it would have warned the novice visitor to Moscow that the city's airports aren't safe places to tarry. And it should alert any right-thinking businessperson that travelers to Russia should minimize their use of public facilities.

Of course, the U.S. government's assessment of other nations has been a matter of debate for decades. Some critics claim the consular sheets are political, protecting allies and overemphasizing problems in unfriendly countries. I think the current version of State's reports are largely apolitical, but your mileage may vary. Either way, though, you have other options. The foreign-affairs offices of Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland all offer similar services. They're worth consulting before you travel.

Tactical Travel Intelligence

Want more timely, breaking-news intelligence on world affairs? (And you should.) Your first stop should be the marvelous (and free) daily HotSpots report from the ASI Group, a global risk-management firm. On Tuesday, when European pundits were understandably concentrating on the Moscow bombings, HotSpots also reported on a street demonstration that turned violent in (of all places) The Hague, Netherlands. It also detailed developments in a dozen other countries that might affect business travelers. Another private provider, CountryWatch, offers free, country-specific guidance and in-depth monthly reports.

All the News That's in Print

Once upon a time, we turned to our daily newspaper for international news. No more. Smaller papers have gutted their global coverage, and even titans such as the New York Times and the Washington Post have closed overseas bureaus. And the Times, which several years ago bought out the Post's interest in the International Herald Tribune, has turned the Paris-based product into a wan "global edition" of the flagship brand.

So where do you go for traditional international news coverage? To the Web, of course. Global Post is an audacious experiment in subscriber-supported, journalist-directed news reporting. WorldNews.com is a news "aggregator" that is worth a moment or two of your time before any overseas trip.

Another useful resource: English-language newspapers published in English-speaking countries around the world and the growing number of English-language papers that originate in other global markets.

The one-time best-of-class of British papers, the right-leaning Times of London, is now behind a pay wall. But the left-leaning Guardian is a better paper now. It continues to be free on the Web and cover an admirable range of international topics.

One problem? Finding the English-language overseas papers. Surprisingly, there's no comprehensive one-stop source for links. But you'll find a range of papers here and here. And several years ago, I created the Travel Newsstand specifically to organize my own links to travel media. You'll find some useful business-travel and international-news resources in the left-hand column.

Every Picture Tells a Story

On paper or on the Web, print is great for depth and context. Sometimes, however, nothing is like being there—or watching television news about being there. All day Monday, for example, the "best" source for coverage of the Domodedovo bombing was RT, an English-language station broadcasting from Moscow.

The best collection of links to live-streaming broadcasts of English- and foreign-language news is WWITV, a staggeringly valuable free resource for international business travelers. You'll find dozens of live and prerecorded newscasts in English from around the world.

But the Web is not your only source of good international video coverage. Public broadcasting stations around the country offer a variety of English-language newscasts from the venerable BBC; France24, the French-government-supported English news channel with a Gallic twist; Deutsche Welle; and Asian, Middle Eastern, and Latin broadcasters. As they say, check your local listing for details. Also check to see if your cable or satellite provider offers LinkTV or MHz Networks, two wonderful repositories of international news programming.

The Fine Print…

Don't forget BBC America, a popular cable channel. I'm not bowled over by its signature nightly newscast, BBC America World News. It's too provincial and Americanized for my global tastes. But the network runs an early-morning block (usually three hours, usually beginning at 5 a.m.) of direct news programming from the BBC's global operation. For international business travelers, it's a much more informative way to start the day than the soft stuff served up on the U.S. network morning shows.

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Joe Brancatelli writes Portfolio.com’s business travel column, Seat 2B. Brancatelli is the former executive editor of Frequent Flyer magazine and operates the membership site JoeSentMe.com. You can reach him at jbrancatelli@portfolio.com.