World Status Report
May 18, 2023
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
- Burkina Faso – Conflict, attack on civilians (ERCC). On 11 May 2023 in the evening, non-state combatants attacked the village of Tcheriba, Boucle du Mouhoun region. Local authorities reported, on 15 May, that 33 civilians gardening along a river were killed indiscriminately during the assault.
- The security situation in the Sahel remains very worrying and the spiralling crisis in Sudan is an additional source of concern, a senior UN official warned the Security Council on Tuesday (UN News). “Non-State armed groups continue to carry out large-scale attacks against civilian and military targets and engage in clashes over access to resources, territorial control and influence,” said Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, part of the political and peacebuilding affairs department, and UN Peace Operations. Countries in the Sahel are: Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Chad, The Gambia, Guinea, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Senegal.
- Curfew in Lesotho to tackle gun crime after journalist killed (Al Jazeera). Authorities in Lesotho have declared an indefinite curfew in the hope that curtailing the movement of people at night will help curb gun violence in the small southern African kingdom.
- Nigeria: four dead in attack on US convoy in southeast (Africa News). Gunmen attacked a U.S. convoy in southeastern Nigeria on Tuesday, killing four non-Americans and kidnapping three others, official sources said.
- Sudan aid needs surge as fighting rages on in Khartoum (Reuters ). The United Nations said on Wednesday more than half Sudan’s population now needed aid and protection, as civilians sought shelter from air strikes and sporadic clashes between rival military factions in the Khartoum area.
- Singapore hangs second citizen in 3 weeks for trafficking cannabis despite calls to halt executions (The Telegraph). The man had been imprisoned for seven years and convicted in 2019 for trafficking around 3.3 pounds of cannabis. Under Singapore laws, trafficking more than 1.1 pounds of cannabis may result in the death penalty.
- India Boosts Security for G20 Meeting in Kashmir After Attacks (U.S. News & World Report). India has stepped up security in the Jammu and Kashmir region because of an increase in militant attacks in the run-up to a G20 meeting on tourism in the Himalayan territory, officials said on Wednesday.
- Canadian killed in southern Mexico, 2nd tourist slain in Oaxaca in less than a week (AP News). A Canadian man was shot to death in Mexico’s Pacific coast beach town of Puerto Escondido, prosecutors said Tuesday. He was the second foreign tourist killed in the southern state of Oaxaca in less than a week.
Natural Disasters
- SOMALIA – Flash floods, displacement (ERCC). Ongoing rains have severely affected Belet Weyne district, Hirshabelle State, and Baardheere in Jubaland State. Initial estimates indicate that the flash and riverine floods have affected at least 460,470 people, displacing nearly 219,000 and killing 22.
- Italy – Severe weather, floods and landslides (ERCC). Heavy rainfall and strong winds have been affecting northern and central Italy (in particular the Emilia-Romagna and the Marche Region) over the last 48 hours, causing floods, rivers overflow and triggering landslides that have resulted in casualties and widespread damage.
- Croatia – Floods (ERCC). Since 12 May, heavy rainfall has affected several counties of Croatia, causing floods and resulting in evacuations and damage. Several rivers (including the Kupa, Una ,Sava, Mrežnica, Zrmanja and Korana Rivers) are under monitoring and authorities are taking urgent measures to mitigate the situation.
- Uganda – Floods and landslides (ERCC). Since the beginning of May, western and south-western Uganda experienced heavy rainfall across several Districts that caused floods, triggered landslides and resulted in casualties and damage.
- Myanmar, Bangladesh – Tropical cyclone MOCHA, update (ERCC). The passage of the tropical cyclone MOCHA on 14-15 May over western and northern Myanmar (Rakhine, Chin, Magway, Sagaing and Kachin states) and south-eastern Bangladesh (Chattogram Division) has caused widespread damage, with the number of casualties being larger than initial estimations.
- Indonesia – Landslides and floods (ERCC). Heavy rainfall hit parts of Indonesia over the past few days, triggering landslides, causing floods and resulting in casualties and damage.
- Global temperatures are likely to surge to record levels in the next five years (UN News), fuelled by heat-trapping greenhouse gases and a naturally occurring El Niño weather pattern, according to a new update issued by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) on Wednesday. There is a 66 per cent likelihood that the annual average near-surface global temperature between 2023 and 2027, will be more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels for at least one year. “This will have far-reaching repercussions for health, food security, water management and the environment. We need to be prepared,” said Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General of WMO.
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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