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

• Military officers in Gabon announced on television today that they have seized power in the country (Reuters), hours after election authorities declared long-standing President Ali Bongo Ondimba the winner of Saturday’s vote. If the coup is successful, it would be the eight in the West and Central Africa since 2020.
• Mali – Conflict (ERCC). The humanitarian situation is deteriorating across the country due to the intensification of conflict. Protection risks are exacerbated and hit the most vulnerable populations.
• Hundreds of thousands trafficked into online criminality across SE Asia (UN News). Criminal gangs in southeast Asia are using torture and abuse to force hundreds of thousands of people into an online scam operation which generates billions of dollars per year, the UN rights office (OHCHR) said on Tuesday.
• Fighting in Ethiopia’s Amhara kills at least 183, UN says (Reuters on MSN.com). Fighting between Ethiopia’s military and militiamen in the Amhara region has killed at least 183 people, the UN human rights office said on Tuesday, providing the most comprehensive independent death toll to date of the month-long conflict.
• More than 60 people detained after a gay wedding in southern Nigeria (ABC). Police in Nigeria said Tuesday they detained at least 67 people celebrating a gay wedding, in one of the country’s largest arrests targeting outlawed homosexuality.
• As the popular belief spreads that migrants are to blame for the fires that have ravaged Greece (EuroNews), self-organised civilian ‘militias’ are hunting them down.
• Drones targeted 6 regions in biggest attack on Russian soil in 18 months, Russian officials say (The Associated Press). Russian officials accused Ukraine of targeting six Russian regions with drones early Wednesday in what appears to be the biggest drone attack on Russian soil since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine 18
• 6 men killed in ambush in southern Mexico town near Guatemala border known for migrant smuggling (AP News). Prosecutors in southern Mexico said Tuesday that at least six men were killed in an apparent ambush in a township near the Guatemalan border that is known as a migrant smuggling route.
• Mexico sends 1,200 more troops to Michoacan state after weekend of cartel violence (AP News). State prosecutors said three convenience stores and five trucks and cars had been set afire, a tactic often used by drug cartels in the state to block roads and enforce extortion demands.
• Taiwan warns of ‘sharp increase’ in tensions as Chinese planes cross median line (Reuters on MSN.com). Taiwan’s defence ministry warned on Tuesday of a possible “sharp increase” in military tensions after reporting renewed Chinese military activity including fighter jets crossing the sensitive median line of the Taiwan Strait.

Demonstrations

• Thousands take to Colombia’s streets to protest 50% increase in gasoline prices (AP News). Thousands of protesters on cars and motorbikes took to the streets of Colombia’s main cities on Monday to reject recent hikes in gasoline prices that have drastically increased the price of fuel in the South American country.
• Protests erupt in Libya over contact with Israel (YAHOO!News). Libya does not recognise Israel, as Tripoli backs the Palestinian cause. Protests broke out in the capital Tripoli and some other cities following news of the meeting. Roads were blocked, tires burnt and demonstrators waved the Palestinian flag, though the protests appear to have been relatively small.

Natural Disasters

• Italy, France- Severe weather (ERCC). Heavy rainfall, strong winds, thunderstorms and snowfall have been affecting northern Italy and the neighbouring eastern France over the past 48 hours, triggering landslides, causing floods and a number of severe weather-related incidents that have resulted in evacuations and damage.
• Greece – Wildfires (ERCC). Wildfires have been burning across Greece since 19 August, prompting evacuations and causing casualties and widespread damage.
• China – Floods (ERCC). Over the past few days, heavy rainfall has been affecting south-eastern China, resulting in evacuations and damage.
• Pakistan – Floods (ERCC). Since 17 August, weeks of heavy monsoon rain flooded Sutlej River in Pakistan. The high flood destroyed levees and villages at several places, displacing more than 162,257 people and submerging 153,231 acres of land with standing crops. Rescue operations evacuated more than 10,500 villagers and 1,809 cattle heads to safety.
• Guatemala – Severe weather, update (ERCC). The humanitarian impact continues to increase in most parts of Guatemala following the rainy season that has been affecting the country since May 2023.
• United States, Cuba – Tropical cyclone IDALIA, update (ERCC). Tropical cyclone IDALIA passed close to the western coast of Cuba on 29 August with registered winds of 175km/h and is moving north-east over the north-eastern Gulf of Mexico. According to the United Nations, following the passage of IDALIA,  8,000 people have been evacuated and 189,000 people have been affected, most of them in Pinar del Río Province (western Cuba).
• Philippines, Taiwan, China – Tropical cyclone SAOLA, update (ERCC). Typhoon SAOLA crossed the Luzon Strait moving west-northwest over the north-eastern South China Sea. In the Philippines, almost 49,000 people have been displaced (of whom over 35,000 evacuated) and more than 196,000 affected across seven regions of the country. In Taiwan, media report suspended classes and work in some southern and eastern areas.

Health

• Since 13 July 2023, and as of 21 August 2023, avian influenza A(H5N1) has been detected in 25 fur farms in Ostrobothnia (Finland) in foxes, raccoon dogs, and minks (ECDC). Transmission between foxes or other infected mammals and humans has not been observed so far. Exposed people should be monitored for 10–14 days and tested if symptoms occur.
• On 25 August 2023, the State District Sanitary Inspector in Rzeszów, Poland, reported an ongoing outbreak of Legionnaires’ disease involving 113 confirmed cases and seven deaths (ECDC). Epidemiological and environmental investigations are underway to determine the source of the outbreak and to control it.
• By the end of week 33, (ending 20 August 2023), there is evidence of increasing COVID-19 transmission in more than half of EU/EEA countries reporting data (ECDC), although levels remain low with limited impact on severe disease to date.
• West Nile Virus, Chikungunya and Dengue (ECDC). Since the last update, and as of 23 August 2023, 104 human cases of West Nile virus (WNV) infection have been reported by EU/EEA countries and 15 by EU-neighbouring countries. In 2023, and as of 23 August, approximately 320 000 cases and over 340 deaths have been reported worldwide as a result of chikungunya virus disease. Most of the cases were located in South America. In 2023, and as of 23 August, over 3.7 million cases and over 2 000 dengue-related deaths have been reported globally.
• Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – Epidemics (ERCC). Mpox cases in DRC are on the rise and continue to spread geographically. They have now been reported in 17 of the country’s 24 provinces. The main caseloads are found in Equateur, Mai Ndombe, Tshopo, Sankuru, and Maniema Provinces.

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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