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

• Sudan – Heavy fighting (ERCC). The seven-day ceasefire agreed between warring parties in Jeddah was supposed to enter into force late on 22 May but airstrikes and clashes are still reported. Over 1 million people have been internally and externally displaced since the beginning of the conflict.
• Chad : escalating violence in Eastern Logone (ERCC). Since the beginning of May, several security incidents have occurred in Eastern Logone (“Logone Oriental”, in the South of the country). On 17 May, an assault in the village of Mankade led to the killing of an estimated total of 13 civilians. 6 of the assailants also died during the confrontation with Chadian Security and Defence Forces. 
• Iraqi Kurdish authorities closed their only border crossing with Syria on May 17 (Al-Monitor), disrupting trade, travel, medical trips and diplomatic visits in and out of northeast Syria. The sudden closure also prompted many humanitarian organizations to withdraw their international staff from the region. Iraqi Kurdish authorities did not give an official reason for closing the border. But previous instances were all linked to political tensions between two main Kurdish parties.
• Mexico Drone Attacks Spike After CJNG, Familia Michoacana Alliance (InSight Crime). An increase in drone strikes in parts of Mexico’s southwestern state of Guerrero has seen hundreds of residents driven from their homes, with an alliance between two major criminal groups blamed for the rise in this tactic.

Demonstrations

• Protesters in Ethiopia’s Tigray demand Eritrean troops withdraw (Al Jazeera). Thousands of people demonstrated on Tuesday in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region to demand the return of people displaced by a two-year war there and the withdrawal of outside forces now that the conflict has ended.

Natural Disasters

• Colombia – Severe weather and floods (ERCC). On 16 May, heavy rainfall hit Puerto Triunfo Municipality in the Antioquia Department (north-western Colombia) causing floods and leading to widespread damage. The severe weather conditions affected also the Municipalities of Belmira, Sopetrán and Frontino.
• Spain – Floods (ERCC). Heavy rainfall has been affecting southern and south-eastern Spain (in particular Andalusia, Murcia and Valencia Regions) over the last 48 hours causing floods and flash floods, that have resulted in evacuations, injuries and damage.
• Italy – Severe weather, floods and landslides, update (ERCC). According to the Italian Civil Protection, as of 23 May, the number of evacuated stands at 23,000 people (most of them in Ravenna Province) following the severe weather that hit the Emilia Romagna Region in the past week. In addition, a total of 14 people died, of whom seven were in Ravenna Province, six in Forlì-Cesena Province and another in Bologna Province.
• Mexico – Volcanic eruption (ERCC). The activity of Popocatépetl volcano, located in the States of Puebla, Morelos, and Mexico (central Mexico) is still ongoing and the authorities raised the yellow alert from Phase 2 to Phase 3.
• Thailand – Severe weather (ERCC). On 22 May, heavy rainfall and strong winds occurred in Sam Ngam District in Phichit Province, central Thailand causing severe weather-related incidents and damage.
• India scorched by extreme heat with monsoon rains delayed (ABC). Swathes of India are bracing for more scorching heat, with New Delhi under a severe weather alert, as extreme temperatures strike parts of the country

Health

• Avian flu outbreaks in the Americas expand to Paraguay (CIDRAP). Paraguay’s first detections come on the heels of Brazil’s first H5N1 detections in wild birds. Countries are increasingly considering poultry vaccination (Reuters) as a control tool.
• Chinese authorities are preparing new vaccines (WaPo) for variants of coronavirus that have caused COVID-19 cases to rise in the country. Some Chinese hospitals have begun advising residents to resume wearing masks and suggested elderly and immunocompromised patients take extra precautions.

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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