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 

• South Sudan – Worsening situation (ERCC) – At least seven people were killed and 20 injured in an attack on old-Fangak, a town in the greater Upper Nile region. The attack destroyed the last remaining, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) run, hospital and pharmacy and hit the adjacent market. Months of clashes between President Salva Kiir’s forces and those loyal to the first vice-president Riek Machar, who was arrested in March, have stoked fears of a return to the civil war that ended in 2018 after claiming some 400,000 lives. 
• Paramilitaries carry out drone attack on Red Sea port city (AP News) – Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces launched a drone attack Sunday targeting a military airbase and civilian facilities in the coastal city of Port Sudan, the military said. No casualties were reported in what is the first known attack by the Rapid Support Forces on the Red Sea city. 
• Ten dead after tourist boats capsize in China (BBC) – At least 10 people have died and 70 have been hospitalised after strong winds caused four tourist boats to capsize in southwestern China. Sudden strong winds caused the boats to capsize in a river in Qianxi city in Guizhou on Sunday, leading 84 people to fall into the water, according to state media reports. The death toll jumped from nine after the body of one missing person was found on Monday.  
• 13 workers kidnapped from a Peruvian gold mine are found dead (AP News) – The bodies of 13 security guards kidnapped from a major Peruvian gold mine just over a week ago were found Sunday, Peru’s Interior Ministry said, their deaths coming as violence escalates in the Andean nation’s crucial mining industry. 
• Vehicle crashes into entrance at Manila airport, killing 2 people including a young girl (AP News) – A vehicle crashed into an entrance at Manila’s airport on Sunday morning, leaving two people dead including a young girl, officials said. The Philippine Red Cross said the girl was 4 years old, but Secretary of Transportation Vivencio Hizon said she was 5 years old. 
• Gaza tensions flare over dwindling supplies as blockade persists, aid worker says (Reuters) – Fights are erupting over dwindling supplies in Gaza, a United Nations aid official said on Friday, as Israel’s total blockade on supplies into the enclave hit the two-month mark. 

Demonstrations 

• Protesters in Haiti demand new government and more security as anger over gangs spreads (Associated Press) – Dozens of protesters marched up the hills of Haiti’s capital on Sunday demanding an end to persistent gang violence as they called on the country’s prime minister and transitional presidential council to resign. 

Infrastructure 

• Cable theft in Spain delays thousands of high-speed rail passengers (Associated Press) – Thousands of rail passengers in Spain were hit with delays after the cable used in the signaling system of the high-speed line between Madrid and Seville was stolen at four locations, Spanish rail authorities said Monday. 
• Water Scarcity Is a Boom For Mexican Organized Crime (InSight Crime) – Authorities in the Mexican state of Michoacán are employing satellite technology to counter water theft, spotlighting the growing threat posed by criminal groups exploiting an increasingly scarce and valuable natural resource. 

Environment 

• Thailand – Floods and flash floods (ERCC) – According to the ASEAN Disaster Information Network (ADINet), two people died in Pattani Province, southern Thailand due to flash floods. More than 1,000 people and 269 houses have been affected across several provinces, including Pattani, Lampang, Samut Sakhon, Phrae, Lamphun, and Surin. 
• Malaysia – Floods (ERCC) – The ASEAN Disaster Information Network (ADINet) reports, as of 5 May, a total of nearly 1,650 evacuated people. In detail, 1,627 people were evacuated across five evacuation centres in the Keningau district and the Beaufort district, both in the Sabah state, and 16 people were evacuated in one evacuation centre in the Cameron Highlands district in the neighbouring Pahang state.  

Health 

• FAO calls for action amid foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks (UN News) – Greater awareness and action are needed as Europe and parts of the Middle East grapple with fresh outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) which can have devastating impacts on both animal health and regional economies, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned on Monday. FMD is a highly contagious viral disease affecting cloven-hoofed animals, including cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, and various wild species.  
• Measles Outbreak Response dashboard (JHU). The number of confirmed measles cases continues to grow in the U.S., with a total of 944 cases reported in 29 states so far this year. With the largest outbreak in West Texas. 
• The Americas report 2,318 cases by mid-April (WHO). From 1 January to 18 April 2025, a total of 2318 measles cases, including three deaths, were confirmed in the WHO Region of the Americas, an 11-fold increase compared to the 205 cases of measles reported in the same period in 2024. 
• Europe reports 127,350 cases in 2024 (WHO). According to an analysis by WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 127,350 measles cases were reported in the European Region for 2024, double the number of cases reported for 2023 and the highest number since 1997. 
• Enhancing the response to avian influenza in the US and globally (The Lancet). The Global Virus Network (GVN), representing virologists from more than 40 countries, this week published a comprehensive analysis on the ongoing North American H5N1 avian influenza outbreak, including a call-to-action for world governments to strengthen their mitigation measures. 

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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