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

• On 23 February, a radical armed group attacked the village of Kani Bozon, in the Region of Mopti in Mali (ERCC). The attackers used automatic weapons and explosives, burned down houses, destroyed granaries and stole livestock. The official death toll is 13 but local sources report at least 20 dead among women, elderly, children and men, and several wounded.
• Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air announced late Monday that it will be suspending all flights to and from Moldova’s main airport (Newskeek in MSN) starting March 14 linked to rising tensions with Russia.
• Russians tighten noose on Ukraine’s Bakhmut, situation ‘extremely tense’ (Reuters). Russian forces kept up their offensive in eastern Ukraine as they pressed to encircle the small mining city of Bakhmut, the scene of the toughest fighting in battlefields saturated by rain and an early spring thaw.
• Haiti’s Rural Gangs Threaten Food Production as Hunger Crisis Looms (Insight Crime). Rural gangs have clashed with police in Haiti’s primary agricultural region in the latest sign of criminal violence disrupting food production and pushing the Caribbean nation closer to an acute hunger crisis.
• Mexican troops, border residents clash after 5 shot, killed (AP News). A shooting by Mexican army soldiers left five people dead in the rough border city of Nuevo Laredo, igniting a clash between the soldiers and residents who came to the scene to protest.
• Israeli settlers stormed the town of Hawara, near Nablus in the West Bank on Sunday (WaPo), torching vehicles and houses and leaving at least one Palestinian dead.

Demonstrations

• Norway wind farm protesters block finance ministry (YAHOO!News). Indigenous campaigners demanding the removal of wind turbines from reindeer pastures in Norway expanded their protest on Tuesday, blocking access to the finance ministry as they pressed on with a demonstration at the nearby energy ministry.
• Sri Lanka outlaws strikes as anti-tax protests spread (eNCA). Sri Lanka’s government said Tuesday it was banning strikes in several key sectors, a day ahead of a planned one-day national stoppage called by unions to protest against painfully high taxes and utility bills.

Natural Disasters

• Strong winds, tornadoes and hailstorms have been affecting central USA (in particular Oklahoma and the neighbouring Kansas States) over the past 48 hours (ERCC), causing a number of severe weather-related incidents (particularly due to tornadoes) that have resulted in casualties and damage. Over the last 24 hours, nine tornadoes across both aforementioned States were reported by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
• The number of casualties has increased following heavy rain, floods and landslides that occurred in São Paulo State (particularly the northern coastal areas) over the past week (ERCC). According to media reports, 65 people have died, two are still missing and more than 4,000 have been evacuated.
• An earthquake of 5.2 M at a depth of 10 km occurred in Yesilyurt District in the Malatya Province in southern Türkiye on 27 February at 9.04 UTC (ERCC). According to national authorities, one person died, 110 people have been injured, 32 rescued, and almost 30 buildings destroyed. In Syria, UN OCHA reports human and material damage across different locations, including at least 150 injured in Northwest Syria.
• Massive forest fires rage on in eastern Cuba (Reuters). Forest fires raged on in Cuba’s eastern region on Monday, inching toward more populated ground more than a week after sparking near a national park.

Health

• Twenty-two people died in cholera outbreak post-quake in northwest Syria -civil defence (Reuters). The Syrian opposition-run civil defence said on Tuesday 22 people had died from an outbreak of cholera in the northwestern region in the aftermath of the devastating quake that hit Turkey and Syria.
• The epidemiological situation of SARS-CoV-2 in humans and animals is continually evolving (ECDC). To date, animal species known to transmit SARS-CoV-2 are American mink, raccoon dog, cat, ferret, hamster, house mouse, Egyptian fruit bat, deer mouse and white-tailed deer. Among farmed animals, American mink have the highest likelihood to become infected from humans or animals and further transmit SARS-CoV-2. Among wild animals (including zoo animals), mostly carnivores, great apes and white-tailed deer have been reported to be naturally infected by SARS-CoV-2. In the EU, no cases of infected wildlife have been reported so far. Proper disposal of human waste is advised to reduce the risks of spill-over of SARS-CoV-2 to wildlife. Furthermore, contact with wildlife, especially if sick or dead, should be minimised.

Migration

• Attacks by non-state armed groups on civil population in Northern Togo have led to about one thousand people seeking refuge in Northern Benin (ERCC). This is the first time that the spill-over of the Central Sahel crisis leads to displacement between Coastal countries.
• Chile is deploying troops (Bloomberg) to its borders with Bolivia and Peru to control a rise in illegal immigration. The move comes after a new law granted the Chilean military increased responsibility for border security.

Humanitarian

• The conflict in Yemen has triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises (ERCC). After eight years of conflict, economic decline and institutional collapse have left approximately 21.6 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.

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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