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 

• Israel carries out biggest Ramallah raid in years (Reuters). Israeli forces raided the Palestinian administrative capital of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank overnight, killing a 16-year-old in a refugee camp during their biggest such operation into the city in years, Palestinian sources said on Monday 
• Pressure mounts for inquiry into Israeli troops firing on Gazans waiting for aid (Reuters). Pressure mounted on Israel on Friday over the deaths of dozens of Palestinians during a confused incident in the Gaza Strip in which crowds surrounded a convoy of aid trucks and soldiers opened fire, with several countries backing a U.N. call for an inquiry.
• Burkina Faso says 170 dead in village ‘executions’ (BBC). Some 170 people including women and children have been “executed” in attacks on three villages in Burkina Faso, a public prosecutor has said.
• Haiti declares state of emergency amid violence, inmates on the run (Reuters). Haiti’s government declared a state of emergency on Sunday evening, following violent clashes in the capital that have damaged communications and led to two prison breaks as a major gang leader seeks to oust Prime Minister Ariel Henry.
• Fighting returns to capital of Ethiopia’s Amhara region (Reuters). Ethiopian government forces battled militiamen on Friday in the capital of the Amhara region, Bahir Dar, the regional administration and residents said, in the first fighting there since the early days of the conflict last year.

Demonstrations

• Indian farmers plan to enter New Delhi to intensify protests (Reuters). Indian farmers are planning to escalate their protests from Wednesday by entering the capital New Delhi by bus and train, and increasing their numbers at border points that are currently blocked by tractors.
• An online protest movement exposes corruption in Uganda. Officials and others are rattled (AP). Abuse of public funds. Failing hospitals. Potholes in the streets of Kampala, the capital of Uganda. These and other issues feature in an online protest campaign that is rattling government officials and others in this East African country where street protests are practically outlawed — and where corruption is widespread and often deadly.
• South Korea says to start legal action against doctors over walkout (Reuters on MSN.com). South Korea’s health minister said on Monday authorities will start inspecting hospitals in order to take legal action against trainee doctors who have ignored an ultimatum to end a walkout over government plans to increase medical school admissions.
• Germany: Union calls another Lufthansa ground staff strike (dw on MSN.com). Trade union Verdi has called for airport ground staff to strike on Thursday and Friday of this week. It’s the latest in a series of such actions affecting planes and trains. German train drivers to launch new ‘strike wave’ from Thursday (Reuters on MSN.com). German train drivers will launch a wave of strikes from Thursday morning, the head of the GDL union told reporters on Monday, saying that the failure of wage negotiations with national rail operator had left the union with no other option.

Infrastructure

• Newly enlarged NATO starts drill in Finland, Norway and Sweden in defense of its Nordic turf (The Associated Press on MSN.com). NATO will kick off an exercise on Monday to defend its newly expanded Nordic territory when more than 20,000 soldiers from 13 nations take part in drills lasting nearly two weeks in the northern regions of Finland, Norway and Sweden.

Environment

• Pakistan – Floods (ERCC). Persistent heavy rains since 27 February in northern Balochistan continue to cause damage and casualties. The National Disaster Management Authority reported, 250 houses damaged, three children died, and 21 individuals injured.  
• Afghanistan – Severe weather (ERCC). Heavy snowfall, heavy rainfall and low temperatures have been affecting most of Afghanistan over the last 48 hours, causing several severe weather-related incidents that have resulted in casualties and damage. The worst affected provinces are: Badghis, Badakhshan, Faryab, Jawzjan, Kandahar, Helmand and Sari Pul. 
• Indonesia – Landslides (ERCC).Heavy rainfall has been affecting central Indonesia, particularly the Java Island over the past few days, triggering landslides that have resulted in casualties and damage. 
• India – Severe weather (ERCC). Heavy rainfall, strong winds, hailstorms, thunderstorms and lightning have been affecting Madhya Pradesh State in central India since 27 February, causing casualties and damage. 
• Brazil – Severe weather and floods (ERCC). As of 1 March, according to media reports, Acre State, which borders with Peru and Bolivia, remains the most affected with at least 5,402 people sheltering in 57 evacuation centres and 30 families having completely lost their livelihoods. One of the main bridges over the Acre River connecting Brazil to Bolivia was flooded. 
• Burundi – Severe weather (ERCC). Heavy rainfall, strong winds and hailstorms have been affecting north-eastern Burundi, particularly the Muyinga Provinces since 2 March, causing a number of severe weather-related incidents that have resulted in casualties and damage. 
• Italy – Severe weather (ERCC). Heavy rainfall, heavy snowfall and strong winds have been affecting north-western Italy, in particular Aosta Valley, Piedmont, Liguria, Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany Regions over the last 72 hours, causing floods, landslides, snow avalanches and several severe weather-related incident that have resulted in population evacuation and damage. 
• Iceland – Volcanic unrest (ERCC). On 2 March at 15:55 UTC, an intense microseismic activity related to magma movement occurred east of Sýlingarfell Hill, on the Reykjanes Peninsula in south-western Iceland.
• Vietnamese capital Hanoi tops list of most polluted cities (Reuters on MSN.com). The streets of Vietnam’s capital city Hanoi were enveloped in thick smog on Monday which dramatically reduced visibility due to air pollution caused by high levels of particulates from vehicle emissions and construction-linked fine dust.

Health 

• Amid measles outbreaks, U.K. launches vaccination ad campaign to boost childhood immunizations (Statnews). LONDON – Facing a growing outbreak of measles, the U.K. on Thursday unveiled an advertising campaign aimed at boosting vaccination rates in children, which have steadily fallen over the past decade and took an even greater dip during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. 
• Why Measles Cases Are Rising Right Now (Time). Last year, cases of measles—a serious, vaccine-preventable disease that’s highly contagious—jumped by 79% around the world. Most of them were in children. That trend is continuing this year, threatening to reverse an impressive 73% drop in measles deaths worldwide from 2000 to 2018.  
• Shortage of Cholera Vaccines Spurs Africa CDC’s Quest for Local Manufacturing of Medical Products (Health Policy Watch). Six African countries are currently categorised as being in an “acute cholera crisis” – the DRC, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, which account for three-quarters of cases, according to the latest Africa CDC cholera report. 
• Dengue fever: Brazil rushes out vaccine as climate change fuels unprecedented surge (BMJ). Health authorities in Brazil are rushing out limited supplies of a recently approved vaccine as they struggle to contain an unprecedented surge in dengue fever. Brazil has recorded 512 000 dengue cases so far this year—more than three times the number recorded for the same period last year. 
• Peru declares health emergency as dengue outbreak ‘imminent’ (Reuters). Peru declared a health emergency across most of the country on Monday as a heat wave and heavy rains have led to a spike in dengue fever cases. 
• Gaza: Worst famine fears realised as 10th child reportedly ‘starves to death’ (UN News). Repeated warnings from humanitarians over desperate food insecurity and imminent famine in Gaza came into focus on Friday amid reports from the enclave’s authorities that a tenth child had died from malnutrition and dehydration. 

Migration 

• Ethiopia (ERCC). Ethiopia is facing constant overlapping crises – conflicts, natural hazards, and outbreaks of epidemics. The 2-year conflict in northern Ethiopia, which ended in November 2022, saw hundreds of thousands reportedly killed and millions displaced. Further conflicts are now affecting other regions. 
• Sudanese continuing to flee into Chad: UN refugee agency (UN News). The UN refugee agency, UNHCR, raised increasing concern on Friday that more refugees will cross into Chad from Darfur in the coming weeks amid a worrying lack of food and other essentials. 

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. 

---

Tags

---

Related Posts

---