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

• Myanmar – Fighting (ERCC). At 04:00 on 27 October, an alliance of ethnic armed organisations launched coordinated attacks on various Myanmar miliary outposts in northern Shan State. Fighting is ongoing around Kyaukme, Laukkai, Lashio and Kunlong districts, and near the towns of Muse and Chinshwehaw. Between 4,100 and 10,000 people have been displaced. There are civilian casualties and reports of heavy shelling.  
• Kerala attacks: India police investigate deadly blasts targeting Jehovah’s Witnesses (BBC). Police in India are investigating a series of explosions which killed three people at a Jehovah’s Witnesses meeting in the southern state of Kerala. More than 50 others were injured in the blasts on Sunday at an event held by the Christian-based religious movement near the port city of Kochi (Cochin).
• Mass arrests target LGBTQ people in Nigeria while abuses against them are ignored, activists say (NBC). Law enforcement authorities in Nigeria are using the country’s same-sex prohibition law to target the LGBTQ community while ignoring abuses against them, rights groups and lawyers say, in the wake of fresh mass arrests of gay people.
• Blasts hit two Egyptian Red Sea towns, Israel points to ‘aerial threat’ (Reuters). Projectiles hit two Egyptian Red Sea towns on Friday, sources and officials said, injuring six people and showing the risk of regional spillover from the Israel-Gaza conflict.

Demonstrations

• 2 dead in Mozambique protests over local election results, watchdog says. Police say 70 arrested (AP News). Protests in Mozambique over disputed local election results resulted in the deaths of a police officer and a civilian Friday, a corruption watchdog group said. Police reported a total of 70 arrests in four cities but not any fatalities.
• Hundreds of thousands rally across cities to support Palestinians (Reuters). Hundreds of thousands of demonstrators rallied in cities in Europe, the Middle East and Asia on Saturday to show support for the Palestinians as Israel’s military widened its air and ground offensive on the Gaza Strip. Police take control of Russia’s Dagestan airport after anti-Israeli protests (Reuters on MSN.com). Russian police have taken over an airport in the predominantly Muslim Dagestan region and arrested 60 people after hundreds of anti-Israel protesters stormed the facility on Sunday when a plane from Israel arrived, the interior ministry said on Monday. Thousands of demonstrators join banned pro-Palestinian march in Paris (France24). Thousands of demonstrators protested in Paris on Saturday in a banned march in “support of the Palestinian people” AFP correspondents saw.
• Panama orders halt to new mining projects as street protests grow (Reuters). Panama will reject all new mining projects, the president said on Friday, as his government defends a controversial contract extending operations for two decades at a major copper mine that has sparked growing protests demanding its cancellation.
• Three people were killed in a nationwide protest yesterday held by the opposing Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) (Times of India) over police action in a previous rally after supporters of the BNP and the ruling government clashed. The BNP has called for more nationwide marches after authorities arrested an opposition leader yesterday

Infrastructure

• With the Israel-Palestine crisis in its fourth week (UN News), UN aid teams on Monday highlighted the mounting pressure on north Gaza hospitals where patients and health workers remain, amid reports of expanded Israeli ground operations.
• 6 dead, 40 injured when two trains collided in southern India (ABC). Officials say 13 people were killed and 25 injured when a passenger train crashed into a stationary train in southern India.
• At least 32 people were killed in a multi-vehicle pileup on a highway in Egypt, authorities say (AP News). A passenger bus slammed into a parked vehicle on a foggy Saturday morning on a highway linking the Egyptian capital, Cairo, and the Mediterranean city of Alexandria, killing at least 32 people, authorities said. Deadly traffic accidents claim thousands of lives every year in Egypt, which has a poor transportation safety record. The crashes and collisions are mostly caused by speeding, bad roads, or poor enforcement of traffic laws.
• Ghana plunged into darkness amid country’s economic woes (CNN). Large swaths of Ghana are facing power blackouts due to gas shortages at a major power facility, the nation’s power operator said, compounding the country’s worst economic crisis in decades.
• Ecuador to impose power cuts as El Nino hits hydroelectric plants (Reuters). Ecuador will introduce power cuts for several hours a day until mid-December, the government said on Thursday, because of a strong drought that has hit production at its hydro-electric plants.

Environment

• Mexico – Tropical cyclone OTIS, update (ERCC). OTIS made landfall over the area of the coastal City of Acapulco, central Guerrero State, southern Mexico on 25 October very early in the morning (UTC) as a Cat. 5 Hurricane, with maximum sustained winds up to 270 km/h. Very heavy rainfall, strong winds and storm surges associated to its passage on 25-26 October over the Guerrero State caused floods and landslides that have resulted in casualties and severe damage.
• Indonesia – Severe weather (ERCC). Heavy rainfall and strong winds have been affecting central and northern Indonesia, in particular the Banten Province in western Java Island and the Aceh Province in northern Sumatra Island, since 26 October, causing a number of strong wind-related incidents and a landslide that have resulted in casualties and damage.
• Malaysia – Floods (ERCC). Heavy rainfall has been affecting the northern Peninsular Malaysia, particularly the Kedah State, bordering with southern Thailand, since 27 October, causing floods that have resulted in evacuations and damage.
• Philippines – Landslides (ERCC). Heavy rainfall has been affecting southern Luzon Island, central-northern Philippines, and in particular the Calabarzon Region over the past week, causing a landslide that have resulted in casualties and damage.
• Australia – Wildfires (ERCC). More than 100 wildfires have been burning across Australia, affecting particularly the States of Queensland and New South Wales.
• El Salvador declares state of emergency over coming tropical storm Pilar (Reuters). El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele declared a state of emergency on Sunday over tropical storm Pilar, which the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) says is expected to dump heavy rains and cause floods along the coast.

Health

• West Nile virus (ECDC). Since the last update, and as of 25 October 2023, 13 human cases of West Nile virus (WNV) infection have been reported by EU/EEA countries and 1 human case has been reported by an EU-neighbouring country.

Migration and Displacement

• Armenia – Population movement (ERCC). By 20 of October 101 848 people have been registered and identified by the Armenia Government platform. The registration of displaced person from Nagorno Karabakh stopped on 17 October.
• Sudan – Population movement (ERCC). Since 4/15/2023 to 10/27/2023 due to conflict, Sudan has over 4.5 million internally displaced people, and over 1 million people who have fled to neighboring countries, of which, the majority has gone to Chad (over half a million), Egypt (over 300 thousand), and South Sudan (over 300 thousand).

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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