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

• Mali Tuareg rebels claim military base following clashes on Sunday (Reuters). Mali’s northern Tuareg rebels said on Sunday that they had seized another military base from the Malian army following fighting in the north of the country.
• Suicide bomber kills 7 in Somali tea shop, police say al Shabaab responsible (MSN). A suicide bomber set off an explosion at a shop selling tea in Somalia’s capital on Friday, killing at least seven people, a witness and medical personnel and police said.
• China Blocks Executive at U.S. Firm Kroll From Leaving the Mainland (The Wall Street Journal on MSN.com). A senior executive at U.S. risk advisory firm Kroll has been barred from leaving mainland China for the past two months, heightening concerns about the risks foreign companies face when doing business in the country.
• Ukraine’s occupied regions to be included for first time in new round of Russian conscriptions (CNN). Four occupied regions of Ukraine will be included for the first time in a new round of Russian military conscriptions this fall, Russia’s Defense Ministry announced Friday.
• Uganda’s Anti-Gay Law Causing Wave of Rights Abuses, Activists Say (U.S. News World Report). The Anti-Homosexuality Act (AHA), which was enacted in May, prescribes the death penalty for certain same-sex acts. At least six people have been charged under it, including two accused of the capital offence of “aggravated homosexuality”.
• Sweden PM asks military to help tackle violent gangs (Euronews on MSN.com). No other country in Europe is seeing anything like this,” said Ulf Kristersson, amid a surge in gang-related shootings and bombings.
• Dozens dead after blast in southwestern Pakistan at rally celebrating Islam’s prophet (ABC). Authorities in Pakistan say at least 52 people were killed and nearly 70 wounded after a powerful bomb exploded in a crowd of people celebrating the Prophet Muhammad’s birthday in the southwest of the country.
• The UN Security Council is scheduled to vote today on the authorization of a one-year military deployment in Haiti to address the country’s security crisis (AP News). The non-UN force would be led by Kenya, funded voluntarily, and reviewed after nine months, according to a U.S.-drafted resolution seen by the Associated Press.

Infrastructure

• Water reserves in Bolivia dwindle amid winter heatwave (YAHOO!News). A prolonged drought in Bolivia, combined with one of the hottest winters on record, is leaving parts of the country short of water and reducing lush farmlands to dust.
• Cuba warns of worsening blackouts as fuel crisis bites (Reuters on MSN.com). Power blackouts in Cuba are expected to increase significantly due to a lack of fuel, officials warned in a nationwide TV broadcast, worsening the country’s plight as it deals with food and medicine shortages.
• Bermuda probes major cyberattack as officials slowly bring operations back online (AP News). Bermuda’s premier said Thursday that the government is slowly restoring operations after being hit by a “very sophisticated” cyberattack a week ago. An in-depth forensic audit is underway to determine how the attack occurred, and so far, experts have not uncovered evidence that sensitive data was stolen, Premier David Burt said.
• Panama: Authorities reduced the number of ships allowed to pass daily through the Panama Canal (Reuters) from thirty-two to thirty-one due to persistent drought conditions that are expected to last until next year. Under normal conditions, thirty-six ships pass through the canal per day.

Natural Disasters

• Storm Daniel affected several countries in the Mediterranean at the beginning of September 2023 (ECDC), including countries: Bulgaria, Greece, Türkiye, and Libya. Substantial damage has been caused in the affected areas. About two weeks after Storm Daniel, a cluster of leptospirosis cases has been detected in affected areas in central Greece.
• Australia – Wildfire (ERCC). A least 85 bushfires have been affecting southern Victoria State, in south-eastern Australia since 1 October.
• Réunion (France) – Wildfires (ERCC). Wildfires have been burning across the north-western Réunion Island (France) in the area of Cap la Houssaye (Saint-Paul Municipality) on 30 September – 1 October, causing casualties, evacuations and damage.
• Guatemala – Landslide and floods (ERCC). A landslide induced by heavy rainfall occurred on 30 September across southern Chiquimula Department (south-eastern Guatemala), leading to casualties.
• Philippines – Floods (ERCC). Heavy rainfall has been affecting the Mindanao Island in southern Philippines, in particular the Davao Region, over the past few days, causing floods and flash floods that resulted in population displacement and damage.
• Greece – Severe weather and floods, update (ERCC). Heavy rainfall hit central Greece over the past few days, causing floods, triggering landslides and leading to damage and evacuations. The worst affected areas are Volos City in Thessaly Region and Evia Island.
• India – Monsoon rains, update (ERCC). The number of casualties and evacuated people continues to increase due to the monsoon rainfall that has been affecting several States of India,  resulting in severe floods and a number of severe weather-related incidents.

Health

• By the end of week 38 (ending 24 September 2023), rates of respiratory illness in the community and numbers of COVID-19 cases continued to increase in over half the EU/EEA countries reporting data (ECDC). Increased transmission of SARS-CoV-2 has translated into increases in hospital or ICU admissions and deaths in some countries, although the impact is still limited.
• Since the last update, and as of 27 September 2023, 85 human cases of West Nile virus (WNV) infection have been reported by EU/EEA countries and 9 by an EU-neighboring country (ECDC). There have been 61 outbreaks among equids and 177 outbreaks among birds reported by EU/EEA countries since the beginning of the 2023 WNV transmission season, as of 27 September 2023.
• Since the last update on 30 August 2023 and as of 25 September 2023, 69 357 new cholera cases, including 506 new deaths, have been reported worldwide (ECDC). Cholera cases have continued to be reported in western, eastern and southern parts of Africa, some parts of the Middle East, South East Asia and the Americas in recent months. The risk of cholera infection in travellers visiting these countries remains low, even though sporadic importation of cases to the EU/EEA remains possible.
• There is an outbreak of diphtheria in Mèo Vạc and Yên Minh districts, Hà Giang province, Vietnam (CDC). Vaccination against diphtheria is essential to protect against disease. If you are traveling to an affected area, you should be up to date with your diphtheria vaccines. Before travel, discuss the need for a booster dose with your healthcare professional.
• Sudan – Cholera outbreak (ERCC). On 26 September, the Federal Ministry of Health officially declared a cholera outbreak in the state of Gedaref. Suspected cholera cases have also been registered in Khartoum and South Kordofan states. Other diseases are rapidly spreading in the country including dengue fever, malaria and measles, which have a devastating impact, in particular on the most vulnerable population. Due to the conflict, about 80% of the health facilities are out of service and the ones still operating are overwhelmed and lacking staff and supplies.
• The French government has vowed action to “reassure and protect” the public as its capital Paris reports a “widespread” rise in bedbugs (CNN). Johanna Fite from the Anses department of risk assessment told CNN. She added there was an “escalation” in numbers because bedbugs were increasingly resistant to insecticides. “We are observing more and more bedbug populations which are resistant, so there is no miracle treatment to get rid of them,” Fite said.

Migration and Displacement

• Armenia/Azerbaijan – Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, update (ERCC). As of 29 September 2023, the number of displaced persons reaching Armenia via the Lachin corridor (Hakari bridge) is estimated at around 100,000. More than 70% of the presumed 120,000 inhabitants have left Nagorno-Karabakh. The situation remains unstable, although the flow of refugees is significantly decreasing.
• Number of migrants crossing Panama’s Darien Gap surpasses 400,000 to record high (Reuters). The number of people crossing the perilous Darien Gap linking Panama and Colombia has hit a record high of 400,000 in the year to September, official data showed, as migration to the United States intensified despite efforts to curb the flow.

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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