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

• Syria – Military escalation in the Northeast (ERCC). Increased hostilities have been reported in Northeast Syria since 12 January. Over 80 aerial attacks left at least 6 civilians injured and resulted in extensive damage to civilian infrastructures, notably close to 100 water wells and 6 power stations, threatening access to water and electricity for over 800,000 people.
• Pakistan fires retaliatory strike at Iran, stoking regional tension (Reuters). Pakistan said it used killer drones and rockets to strike separatist Baloch militants inside Iran on Thursday, in a retaliatory strike two days after Tehran said it attacked the bases of another group within Pakistani territory. Iran’s strikes in Pakistan were part of a series of direct attacks this week by Tehran in nearby countries that also included Iraq and Syria. The strikes were rare in that they were claimed outright by Iran and not one of its proxies. 
• US in new strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen (Reuters). The U.S. military said on Wednesday its forces conducted strikes on 14 Houthi missiles that were loaded to be fired from Yemen, in the fourth day of U.S. strikes in less than a week.
• Israeli forces fighting to seize the southern Gaza’s main city are pounding areas near the biggest hospital still functioning in the enclave (Reuters). Khan Younis residents said the fighting had come closer than ever to Nasser Hospital, raising fears it would fall under siege and be shut like Shifa, the main hospital in the north.
• Russia launched 33 drones and two missiles at Ukraine overnight (Reuters), with air defenses destroying 22 drones, the Ukrainian military said, adding the drones hit residential neighborhoods in the southern city of Kherson.
• Assessing the Early Days of Ecuador’s War on Gangs (InsightCrime). In response to a wave of violence in Ecuador, the government made an unprecedented decision last week and declared war on 22 criminal groups, which it has designated as terrorist organizations. A prosecutor investigating a TV studio attack in Ecuador has been shot dead in Guayaquil (AP News). A prosecutor investigating a dramatic attack on the set of a public television channel last week was shot to death Wednesday in Guayaquil, the most dangerous city in Ecuador.

Demonstrations

• Germans protest nationwide after far-right meeting on deportation plan (Reuters). Protests against the far-right Alternative for Germany party are gaining momentum in the wake of a report that two senior party members joined a meeting to discuss plans for the mass deportation of citizens of foreign origin.
• Comoros declared a nighttime curfew (AFP) yesterday after opposition demonstrators clashed with security forces at protests. They claimed that Sunday’s election that saw the incumbent President Azali Assoumani reelected was fraudulent.

Infrastructure

• Heavy snowfall and freezing rain disrupt transport in Scandinavia and Germany (Associated Press) Heavy snow and freezing rain hit parts of northern and central Europe on Wednesday, bringing transport to a halt in some Scandinavian regions and causing major disruption at airports in Frankfurt and Oslo.
• The drop in Panama Canal traffic due to a severe drought could cost up to $700 million (AP News). A severe drought that began last year has forced authorities to slash ship crossings by 36% in the Panama Canal, one of the world’s most important trade routes.

Environment

• Indonesia – Floods (ERCC). Heavy rainfall and strong winds have been affecting East Java, Central Kalimantan and Bangka Belitung Islands Provinces causing floods and resulting in casualties and damage.
• Philippines – Floods and landslides (ERCC). In the past few days, heavy rainfall and strong winds have been affecting parts of Mindanao, southern Philippines, causing floods, triggering landslides, and resulting in casualties and damage.
• Reunion, Mauritius – Tropical cyclone BELAL, update (ERCC). Tropical cyclone BELAL made landfall over the Reunion on 15 January and passed close to Mauritius on 15-16 January, bringing heavy rainfall and strong winds, that caused floods and resulted in casualties and damage.
• France – Severe weather (ERCC). Heavy rainfall, snowfall and low temperatures have been affecting north-western France, in particular Hauts-de-France, Centre-Val de Loire and Normandy Regions, causing floods and ice conditions that have resulted in casualties and damage.
• Heavy rain from consecutive storms, most recently Storm Henk, has left wide areas of the United Kingdom under water once again (floodlist). Dozens of people have been rescued from vehicles trapped in flood waters. Firefighters and police have also carried out evacuations in parts of Northamptonshire and Worcestershire.
• A powerful storm hit the East Coast of the United States over the last few days (floodlist), causing damage and casualties as it moved north and into Atlantic Canada on 19 December 2023.
• Torrential rain in the wake of ex-Tropical Cyclone Jasper caused severe flooding in Far North Queensland, Australia (floodlist), where emergency services, police and military have rescued hundreds of people.

Health

• Mpox cases continue to be reported at a low level in the European region (CIDRAP), with 138 cases from 11 countries and areas reported over the last month, according to a joint update from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) European regional office.

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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