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

• Russian missiles target Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Kharkiv, killing at least 6 and wounding dozens (Associated Press). Russian missiles targeted Ukraine’s two biggest cities on Tuesday morning, damaging apartment buildings and killing at least six people after Moscow shunned any deal to end the almost two-year war that is backed by Kyiv and its Western allies.
• 21 Israeli troops are killed in the deadliest attack on the military since the Gaza offensive began (AP). Palestinian militants carried out the deadliest single attack on Israel’s forces since the Hamas raid that triggered the war, killing 21 soldiers, the military said Tuesday, a significant setback that could add to mounting calls for a cease-fire.
• US and UK launch fresh strikes on Houthis in Yemen (BBC). The US and UK have conducted a fresh series of joint air strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, targeting a Houthi underground storage site and missile and surveillance capabilities used by the Iran-aligned group against Red Sea shipping, the Pentagon said
• Once tranquil Costa Rica eyes Salvadoran-inspired response to crime surge (Reuters). Long a byword for laidback environmental tourism, Costa Rica is now wrestling with a surge in violence so striking that its government is borrowing a page from nearby El Salvador, which took draconian steps to tackle its own crime problems.

Demonstrations

• Farmer protests spread across rural France; one dead in roadblock accident (Reuters). French farmers in tractors and trucks expanded their roadblocks on Tuesday, resulting in numerous traffic jams as well as one fatal accident, as unions urged the government to address their demands for lower costs and regulation.

Environment

• France – Snow avalanche (ERCC). On 20 January, a snow avalanche occurred in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc Municipality, in Haute-Savoie Department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Region, southeastern France, resulting in casualties.
• United Kingdom, Ireland – Severe weather (ERCC). Over the past few days, severe weather, characterised by strong winds and heavy rainfall, has been affecting northern part of the United Kingdom and Ireland, causing severe weather-related incidents that resulted in casualties and damage.
• China – Earthquake in Xinjiang Province (ERCC). An earthquake of 7.0 M at a depth of 13 km occurred in western Xinjiang Province, north-western China on 22 January at 18.09 UTC (23 January at 2.09 local time). According to media reports, at least six people have been injured, 47 houses collapsed and 78 others have been damaged.

Health

• Somalia – Cholera outbreak (ERCC). Nine deaths resulting from Acute Watery Diarrhea (AWD)/cholera, as well as additional 474 identified cases, were reported in the second week of January 2024. The current Case Fatality Ratio (CFR) of 1.9% is above the World Health Organization (WHO) emergency threshold (≥1%). Most cases were reported in Hirshabelle State, which suffered from massive flooding over the period from October to December 2023. 

Humanitarian

• Amid continuing heavy fighting in Gaza on Tuesday morning including reported attacks on hospitals in the southern city of Khan Younis (UN News), UN humanitarians expressed deep concern for patients and others seeking treatment who had “no way in and out”.
• Hundreds of Afghan women were forced to quit their jobs or have been arrested and denied access to essential services in the last quarter of 2023 (UN News), a UN report revealed on Monday, as Taliban officials continue undermining their basic human rights.
• The human rights expert appointed by the UN High Commissioner to monitor Sudan (UN News), Radhoune Noucier, told UN News on Monday that everything from basic human rights to the economy and the legal system, have been decimated by the on-going war between rival militaries.

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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