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 

• Syria detains two leaders of Palestinian Islamic Jihad (Reuters) – Syrian Arab Republic authorities have detained two senior members of the Palestinian militant faction Islamic Jihad, which took part in the October 2023 attacks on Israel from Gaza, the group’s armed wing and a Syrian official said on Tuesday. 
• Militants kill at least 26 tourists at a resort in Indian-controlled Kashmir (AP News) – Gunmen shot and killed at least 26 tourists Tuesday at a resort in Indian-controlled Kashmir, police said, in what appeared to be a major shift in a regional conflict in which tourists have largely been spared. Police blamed militants fighting against Indian rule for the attack in Baisaran meadow, some 5 kilometers (3 miles) from the disputed region’s resort town of Pahalgam. 
• Key hospital in central Haiti closes due to gang violence (Reuters) – A top hospital in Haiti is closing its doors due to worsening insecurity after gangs attacked the central city of Mirebalais, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Tuesday, marking another blow to the country’s fragile health sector. The hospital had effectively closed at the start of April, the University Hospital of Mirebalais’ deputy executive director Pierre-Marie Cherenfant told Reuters, when it began transferring patients out to other hospitals in the area. 
• China executes man who stabbed Japanese school boy (BBC) – China has executed a man for fatally stabbing a 10-year-old Japanese boy last September, the Japanese embassy in China has told the BBC. Zhong Changchun was sentenced to death in January for attacking the boy, who had been walking to a Japanese school in south-eastern Chinese city of Shenzhen. 

Infrastructure 

• The International Monetary Fund issued a warning yesterday that the global economy could face significant challenges (NPR) as President Trump’s tariffs threaten to spark a trade war. The IMF forecasted that the global economy would grow 2.8% this year, down from 3.3% in 2024. 

Environment 

• Kenya – Floods (ERCC) – As of 23 April, two missing people, one rescued person and approximately 200 displaced families across Isiolo county. Rains and floods are particularly alerting in current epidemics environment as a cholera outbreak is ongoing in the country, with four counties reporting cases (128 cases with five deaths – Case Fatality Rate 5,2%), including Nairobi, while sanitation and clean water availability in the poorest neighbourhoods is deficient. 
• Indonesia – Floods (ERCC) – On 21 April, floods hit several parts of Lampung Province (southern Sumatra), resulting in casualties and damage. Three people died in North Panjang Village (Panjang District), and nearly 2,400 families have been affected in Bandar Lampung City. Moreover, several villages reported widespread damage, including 74 flooded houses in Pugung District. 
• 6 Illegal Economies Threatening Latin America’s Ecosystems (InSight Crime) – Criminal organizations behind environmental crimes and other illicit economies in Latin America and the Caribbean are placing the region’s vast biodiversity, fragile ecosystems, and Indigenous ways of life under serious threat. 

Health 

• New agreement geared toward universal avian flu vaccine (CIDRAP) – The University of Cambridge–based DioSynVax and Singapore’s ACM Biolabs have signed a deal to jointly develop a next-generation universal avian flu vaccine with the potential for mucosal delivery. 
• Texas measles total tops 600 cases (CIDRAP) – New Mexico and Oklahoma, 2 states with Texas-related spread, also report a few more cases. 

Migration 

• Afghanistan – Forced displacement (ERCC) – The Government of Pakistan continues to implement the “Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan”, forcing Afghan citizens to return to Afghanistan. Close to 80 000 returnees had to cross the border from Pakistan to Afghanistan in April; at present approximately 4 500 Afghans are returning, per day. The immediate needs of many returnees are massive (protection, health, nutrition). Because of limited financial resources aid organisations have to tightly restrict their assistance to the most vulnerable families. 

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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