World Status Report

This report intends to give the UTD Community a snapshot of international risks, and other issues as reported by the linked media and official sources from the U.S. and other countries.

More health and security information for each country can be found in the travel advisories issued by the governments of the United States, Canada, the UK, New Zealand, and Australia, and the CDC, ECDC, and WHO sites. Not all advise in these sites will apply to US travelers.

Please note the publication date of this report and go to the direct sources linked for the most up-to-date information.  The information in this report may change without prior notice.

Security

• Since former President Castillo’s removal and arrest in early December (ERCC), social unrest and nationwide protests persist. Roadblocks and violent clashes with the police have been reported in different cities and rural communities, the most recent in Juliaca (Puno). To date, the death toll raises to 39 people and a total of 119 Peruvian police officers have been injured.
• Giovanie Biha, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Officer-in-Charge of the UN Office for the region (UN News), UNOWAS noted in her report to the UN Security Council that “Operations by armed groups, violent extremists and criminal networks forced the closure of more than 10,000 schools, with millions of children affected, and some 7,000 health centres in West Africa and the Sahel region. These non-state groups are fighting among themselves for supremacy and control of resources, she said, which is pushing States to the margin and causing untold misery to millions who have fled elsewhere to safety.”
• Two further protesters are due to be executed imminently in Iran, according to the UN human rights office, OHCHR (UN News). According to OHCHR, violations of due process and fair trial guarantees have included the use of vaguely worded criminal provisions, denial of access to a lawyer of the defendant’s choice and the right to present a defence, forced confessions obtained through torture and ill-treatment, failure to respect the presumption of innocence, and denial of the right to appeal.
• A knife attacker wounded six people in an unprovoked attack in Paris’ busy Gare du Nord train station Wednesday morning before being shot by police (CBS). Several passengers and a border police officer were among the wounded, according to officials. The officer was stabbed in the back by the assailant, but was saved by a bulletproof vest, Darmanin said. Five of the victims sustained light injuries, while one was seriously injured in the shoulder blade and taken for emergency treatment, according to French media.
• Haiti awoke Tuesday stripped of its last democratically elected institution (AP) — this time, its Senate — an alarming development that solidifies what some call a de facto dictatorship nominally in charge of a country wracked by gang violence.
• A suicide bomber detonated a device in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Afghanistan’s capital city Kabul on Wednesday afternoon (News18), killing five people and wounding several others

Natural Disasters

• Following the 7.5M earthquake that stroke Maluku Islands, Indonesia on 10 January (ERCC), the authorities report that more than 150 houses have been damaged, with 121 households affected, one person injured and another one dead.
• Heavy rainfall, strong winds, thunderstorms, heavy snowfall and hailstorms continue to affect most of California and the neighbouring western Nevada since early January (ERCC), causing floods, landslides, and a number of severe weather-related incidents that have resulted in an increased number of casualties.
• A landslide event triggered by recent heavy rainfall occurred on 10 January in the Municipality of Rosas Cauca, in the western coast of Colombia (ERCC). The landslide affected a portion of the Pan-American Highway and destroyed more than 60 houses. National authorities (UNGRD) performed air rescue operations, and more than 700 individuals have been affected by the event.
• Heavy rainfall continues to affect Minas Gerais State in south-eastern Brazil (ERCC) causing floods and landslides, which have caused to fatalities.

Health

• In Uganda (UN News), a deadly outbreak of Ebola virus has been stopped in its tracks and declared officially over, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Wednesday.

Traveler mobility

• Europe has agreed on measures to be applied in aviation in response to the specific localised worsening of the COVID-19 epidemiological situation in China (ECDC), making recommendations which could potentially also be applied in other geographical regions in similar situations.

Please note the publication date of this report and go to the direct sources linked for the most up-to-date information.  The information in this report may change without prior notice.

---

Tags

---

Related Posts

---