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

• The UN Secretary-General said on Wednesday that he did not believe that there was an opportunity yet (UN News), to organise “a serious peace negotiation” between the warring parties in Ukraine, nearly a year on from Russia’s full-scale invasion.
• The ongoing collapse of the rule of law and judicial independence in Afghanistan is “a human rights catastrophe” (UN News), UN-appointed independent human rights experts warned on Friday.
• Search for missing activists intensifies in western Mexico (AP News). Concern grew in Mexico Thursday over the fate of two environmental and community activists who disappeared five days ago in a dangerous corner of western Mexico.

Demonstrations

• Mass demonstrations against the government continue to heavily affect Peru (ERCC). In the five weeks of protests, 45 people have been killed in confrontations with security forces, according to Peru’s human rights ombudsman. Peru closes Machu Picchu as anti-government protests grow (AP News). Peru indefinitely shut the famed ancient ruins of Machu Picchu on Saturday in the latest sign that anti-government protests that began last month are increasingly engulfing the South American country.
• Strike at Berlin airport to ground flights on Wednesday, operator says (Reuters). The operator of Germany’s BER airport in the capital Berlin expects a strike planned for Wednesday to ground all regular passenger flights, the airport operator told Reuters on Monday.
• Turkish Muslims protest Quran-burning in Sweden (AP News). Outrage over a Quran-burning protest in Sweden produced a second day of protests in Turkey, reflecting tensions between the two countries.
• Over 100,000 protest against Netanyahu’s government in Israel (Axios on MSN.com). Over 100,000 people across Israel on Saturday rallied against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government amid growing anger over the ruling coalition’s plans to weaken the Supreme Court and other democratic institutions.
• France pension reform: New strike planned as more than a million join protests (France24). More than a million people took to the streets in France on Thursday to protest the government’s plans to raise the retirement age to 64 pension reform, while public transport, schools and much of the civil servicewere disrupted by strikes.

Infrastructure

• Major Power Breakdown in Pakistan, Parts of Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi Without Electricity (CNN-News18. Pakistan’s major cities including capital Islamabad suffered a major power outage on Monday morning and authorities have said that it could take at least 12 hours to restore electricity.

Natural Disasters

• Widespread floods and river overflow due to heavy rainfall have been affected several parts of Mali from December 2022 to mid-January 2023 (ERCC), resulting in displacement and damage.
• Almost 2 million people have been affected by heavy rain and strong winds due to the combined effects of low-pressure area (ERCC), the northeast monsoon, and shear line across 14 regions of the Philippines.
• Tropical Storm CHENESO affecting northern and central Madagascar on 19-23 January (ERCC), has led to casualties and damage.
• The death toll has increased following the avalanche that occurred on 17 January (ERCC), in Nyingchi City (Nyingchi County, Autonomous Region of Tibet, south-western China).
• Floods and several landslides have been reported across Santa Caterina State in southern Brazil (ERCC), resulting in casualties and damage.
• Floods caused by heavy rainfall and river overflow have been affecting parts of Serbia (ERCC), resulting in casualties.

Health

• As of 17 January 2023, and since the last update on 11 January 2023, Austria has reported two new cases of diphtheria (ECDC). Since the beginning of 2022, and as of 17 January 2023, there have been 240 cases of diphtheria among migrants reported by eight EU/EEA countries.
• Since the last update, 6 808 suspected cholera cases, including 90 fatalities, have been reported in Haiti (ECDC). In 2023 and as of 12 January, a total of 3 355 suspected cholera cases, including 44 deaths, have been reported in the country. In 2022, there were 20 593 suspected cholera cases including 253 fatalities.
• An outbreak of cholera has been reported in the Dominican Republic. In 2023, and as of 15 January (ECDC), a total of eight cholera cases have been reported in the Dominican Republic.
• Health officials in Massachusetts reported yesterday (CIDRAP) that they have detected a novel strain of gonorrhea  with resistance or reduced susceptibility to the antibiotics used for treatment of the sexually transmitted infection (STI). It’s the first detection of the strain in the United States.
• Over the weekend, China announced there have been nearly 60,000 COVID-related hospital deaths since early December through January 12 (AP), including 5,503 deaths due to respiratory failure caused by COVID-19 and 54,435 deaths from other conditions combined with COVID-19. China rang in the Lunar New Year (Reuters) with its people praying for health after three years of stress and financial hardship under the pandemic, as officials reported almost 13,000 new deaths caused by the virus between January 13 and 19.
• Brazil’s ministry of health has declared a medical emergency in the Yanomami territory, the country’s largest indigenous reservation bordering Venezuela, following reports of children dying of malnutrition and other diseases caused by illegal gold mining.
• In its latest situation report on mpox (WHO), the World Health Organization (WHO) said cases since its last update on Jan 5 have risen 1%, and, of 11 countries reporting increases, the largest was in Mexico.

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.

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