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 

• Gunmen kill a judge outside a court building in the violence-torn Mexican resort of Acapulco (AP News) – The prosecutors’ office in the southern state of Guerrero said they were reviewing security camera footage to try to identify the killers. The attack killed Edmundo Román Pinzón, who served as a criminal court judge and also sat on a state appeals court. Acapulco has seen almost two decades of unrelenting violence, the result of turf battles between a number of warring drug gangs.  
• At least 110 people have died in 7 weeks of post-election protests in Mozambique (AP News) – The southern African nation, which endured a 15-year civil war from 1977 to 1992, has been beset by unrest and street protests since two prominent opposition officials were fatally shot in their car by unknown gunmen on Oct. 18. Those killings, which were called political assassinations by their party, increased tensions following a disputed Oct. 9 presidential election. Thousands of people have taken to the streets in protest against the long-governing Frelimo party, which has held power in Mozambique for nearly a half-century. 
• Young boy killed, several bus passengers wounded in West Bank terror shooting (ToI) – A young boy was fatally shot and several people were wounded in a terror attack targeting a Jerusalem-bound bus in the West Bank late Wednesday night. 
• Organized crime gangs expanded into a third of cities in Brazil’s Amazon, report finds (AP News) – Criminal gangs are operating in over a third of municipalities in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest driving a boom in violence, according to a report published Wednesday by a prominent nonprofit organization. 
• An Argentine tourist is shot in head in Rio after mistakenly driving into low-income community (AP News) – An Argentine tourist was shot in the head and chest Thursday in Rio de Janeiro after he mistakenly drove his car into a low-income community, a favela, police said. 

Infrastructure 

• South Korean president’s party divided over defiant martial law speech (Reuters) – South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s switch from contrition to defiance on Thursday over his martial law order rallied some supporters but other members of his party said it did nothing to sway their view that he must be removed from office. Yoon condemned his political opponents as “anti-state forces” that side with enemies in North Korea, said Pyongyang may have hacked the South’s elections and defended last week’s short-lived martial law order as a legal move to protect democracy. 
• Nigeria suffers power outage after grid failure (Reuters) – Nigeria’s grid is prone to failure and has this year suffered partial or total collapse at least 10 times, mainly due to faults and vandalism at power installations. Distribution companies across Nigeria, also known as Discos, said in separate statements that the grid had failed at around 1233 GMT and they hoped electricity would be restored soon. 
• Bulgaria/Romania soon to get Schengen Green Light (Politico) – The two countries will join the Schengen European free travel zone on January 1 after Austria dropped its veto to their accession. Austria had objected to their treatment of migrants arriving through the Balkans. 
• Fuel theft, violence siphoning $215 million from Ecuador oil industry (Reuters) – Organized crime groups in Ecuador are increasingly stealing fuel from state-run oil company Petroecuador to support drug trafficking operations. Criminals steal gasoline, diesel and other fuel by tapping state-owned fuel pipelines for use in making cocaine and transporting drugs. They are mounting more violent attacks on oil fields, making off with copper cabling and extorting and beating up workers, the company and its union say. 
• Russia targets Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with massive drone and missile attack (France24) – Russia on Friday launched one the heaviest bombardments on Ukraine’s energy sector in the past three years, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said, with transport networks and other key facilities also targeted. 

Environment 

• Philippines – Volcanic activity, update (ERCC) – According to the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, in the past 24 hours, Kanlaon volcano, Negros Island, central Philippines recorded two volcanic earthquakes and a sulfur dioxide flux of more than 7,000 tonnes. The National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council reports almost 18,000 displaced people, 15,334 evacuated in 27 evacuation centres, and 40,489 affected people across Western and Central Visayas regions. 
• Malaysia – Floods (ERCC) – Peninsular Malaysia, including Johor, Kelantan, Pahang, Perak, and Terengganu States continues to experience heavy rainfall and consequent floods that resulted in displacements and damage. According to the ASEAN Disaster Information Network (ADINet), in the past few days, 6,517 people have been displaced in 44 evacuation centres across the aforementioned states. 

Health 

• Report describes spread of highly drug-resistant cholera strain (CIDRAP) – Researchers say the strain, which is resistant to two of the three antibiotics recommended for treating cholera, appears to be spreading in East Africa. 
• Cases rise in unexplained DR Congo outbreak amid testing challenges (CIDRAP) – A group of 78 more samples, a variety of types, are on their way to the INRB lab in Kinshasa. The remote location, limited local laboratory capacity, poor roads, and ongoing rainy season have hindered access and delayed identification of the underlying cause. Case estimates vary, but the Africa CDC reported at least 500 cases and 32 deaths as of December 12. 
• As mpox cases rise in Africa, first doses of Japanese vaccine expected next week (CIDRAP) – Activity continues to fluctuate across different countries, with cases of novel clade 1b continuing to rise. 

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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