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

• Antisemitic acts have risen sharply in France and Belgium since the Israel-Hamas war began (Associated Press) since the Hamas attack against Israel that triggered a war in Gaza, according to the latest figures released Thursday by an independent public body fighting discrimination.
• Mexican tourist haven and silversmithing town of Taxco shuttered by gang killings and threats (AP News). The bullet-ridden bodies of two detectives were found on the outskirts of Taxco, a colonial town in central Mexico that draws throngs of tourists to its silver workshops, authorities said Wednesday.
• NATO’s largest military exercise since Cold War kicks off (Reuters). Some 90,000 troops from the United States and fellow NATO allied nations are due to join the Steadfast Defender 2024 drills that will run through May and simulate the alliance’s response to an attack on any of its members.

Demonstrations

• French farmers damage overseas goods as protests continue (Reuters). French farmers blocked highways and dumped crates of imported produce on Thursday, demanding urgent action on low farmgate prices, green regulation and free-trade policies as swelling protests moved closer to Paris. Protests are now in their second week.
• Thousands of Portuguese police protest over wages, hazard pay (MSN). Thousands of off-duty police officers in plain clothes on Wednesday protested in Lisbon for better wages, demanding the same increases in hazard pay that the outgoing government recently granted to the criminal investigation police.
• German train drivers begin their longest-ever strike (France24). German train drivers began on Wednesday their longest-ever strike, piling on travel misery for thousands of passengers in an escalating industrial dispute that economic experts warn could cost the economy up to a billion euros ($1.1 billion).

Environment

• Philippines – Heavy rainfall and floods (ERCC). Since 15 January, heavy rainfall due to the effects of the Shear Line has been affecting central and southern Philippines, particularly Mindanao Island affecting thousands of people and resulting in evacuations and damage.
• Malaysia – Floods (ERCC). Heavy rainfall has been affecting central and northern peninsular Malaysia, causing floods and resulting in displacement and damage.
• Mozambique – Severe weather (ERCC). Heavy rain and lightnings have been affecting parts of Mozambique causing severe weather-related incidents and resulting in casualties and damage.
• Brazil – Severe weather (ERCC). Heavy rainfall affected Socorro Municipality and 15 of its neighbourhoods in São Paulo State in south-eastern Brazil on 20 January, causing floods that have resulted in casualties and damage.
• Indonesia – Severe weather (ERCC). Heavy rainfall and strong winds have been affecting eastern and southern Indonesia, in particular the Sulawesi Island and the Lesser Sunda Islands, respectively since 22 January, causing a number of strong wind-related incidents that have resulted in casualties and damage.
• China – Earthquake and landslide, update (ERCC). Following the earthquake of 7.0 M that occurred in Wushi County, Aksu Prefecture, in western Xinjiang Province, north-western China on 22 January at 18.09 UTC (23 January at 2.09 local time), the number of casualties and damage is increasing.
• Tanzania – Floods (ERCC). Heavy rainfall has affected eastern Tanzania, in particular the Dar es Salaam City area, the main city of the country, since 20 January, causing floods that have resulted in casualties and damage.

Health

• Measles activity expands rapidly in Europe, Kazakhstan worst affected (CIDRAP). Measles activity is expanding rapidly across Europe, with Kazakhstan the hardest-hit country, the World Health Organization (WHO) European regional office said today, warning that large numbers of susceptible children who missed doses of measles-containing vaccine during the COVID-19 pandemic is fueling the outbreaks. Officials recently warned that Europe’s measles cases rose more than 30-fold in 2023. UK health officials late last week warned that outbreaks in the West Midlands could spread to other towns and cities unless urgent steps are taken to boost MMR vaccine uptake in at-risk areas.
• Zambia is reeling from a major cholera outbreak (AP News) that has killed more than 400 people and infected more than 10,000, leading authorities to order schools across the country to remain shut after the end-of-year holidays.
• Cholera cases soared last year, according to preliminary data from the World Health Organization (The Guardian), which recorded 4,000 cholera deaths and 667,000 cases globally. Outbreaks were deadliest in Malawi and Haiti, where the number of deaths reached 1,771 and 1,156 respectively, making it the worst outbreak in Malawi’s history.
• Highly pathogenic avian influenza killing unprecedented numbers of birds, mammals; risk to humans low but not zero. Washington Post: An unprecedented flu strain is attacking hundreds of animal species. So far, cases of humans getting seriously sick from this strain of flu are rare. But the possibility of the quickly evolving influenza virus gaining the ability to be transmitted between from one mammal to another — and eventually, to humans — has scientists concerned about the pathogen turning into another pandemic. Gavi VaccinesWork: First polar bear to die of bird flu – what are the implications? The consequences of the polar bear’s death for the species’ populations and for other large mammals cannot be predicted with a high degree of certainty. But if genetic testing reveals that the polar bear’s H5N1 remains poorly adapted to mammalian hosts, we might expect few other cases in polar bears. On the other hand, because influenza viruses are highly adaptable, ongoing surveillance of the H5N1 strain remains critically important.

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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