The trial for the accused Boston Marathon bomber, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, is set to begin on January 5, 2015. Expect increased activity and demonstrations near the courthouse. Travelers are advised to avoid the area.

Security forces impose a multi-layered security zone in central Delhi more than a month ahead of Republic Day on January 26th. Over 20,000 armed personnel deployed to keep a tight vigil across the city. US President Obama is scheduled as chief guest fro this event.

Activists will hold mass rallies in Dresden and Cologne on the evening of Jan. 5 to protest the perceived “Islamization of the West.” The largest crowd will likely gather in Dresden beginning at 1830 in the Cockerwiese area and proceeding to the Semper Opera House. In Cologne, supporters will stage a rally at 1800 at Ottoplatz. Expect heightened security and transport disruptions around the events and in neighboring areas. Similar demonstrations organized by offshoot anti-Islamist groups could also occur in cities throughout Germany, including in Dusseldorf, Munich, Bonn, Darmstadt, and Leipzig, but are likely to draw fewer participants.

Private taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers are threatening to launch a 48-hour strike Jan. 5 in Delhi. Organizers maintain that the strike will see an estimated 12,000 private taxis and 80,000 auto-rickshaws remain off the road. The labor action will likely cause crowded conditions on alternate mass transit such as buses and metro trains, especially during peak morning and evening travel hours.

Heavy snow expected through Saturday in the provinces of Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Manitoba, and Saskatchewan. Expect travel delays and flight cancellations.