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 

• Ukraine launches big strikes on Russian cities (Reuters) – Ukraine struck Russian regions with a major drone and missile attack overnight, damaging factories in at least three cities, officials and media said. 
• Syria emergency: Four children a day killed by leftover explosives (UN News) – Syria’s lethal legacy of landmines and other explosives left over from years of conflict has led to the deaths of over 100 children in the last month alone, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday, calling on the international community to urgently support country-wide demining projects. In the last nine years, at least 422,000 incidents involving unexploded ordnance – or UXO – were reported in 14 governorates across Syria, with half estimated to have ended in tragic child casualties. 
• Militants kill at least 40 farmers in Nigeria’s Borno state (Reuters) – Suspected Islamist militants killed 40 farmers in an attack on the Dumba community in Nigeria’s northeastern Borno State on Sunday, a senior state official said on Monday. The militants were believed to belong to the armed group Boko Haram and its offshoot Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), who have been waging a deadly insurgency in northeast Nigeria since 2009 that has displaced millions and killed thousands, with Borno at its epicenter. 

Demonstrations 

• Bolivians march four days to protest against economic hardship (France24) – Thousands of supporters of Bolivia’s ex-president Evo Morales marched around 100 kilometers to La Paz, protesting against economic hardship and demanding the resignation of incumbent leader Luis Arces. 

Environment 

• Japan – Earthquake (ERCC) – A 6.8 M earthquake at a depth of 36 km occurred offshore 10 km east of the eastern coast of Miyazaki prefecture, Kyushu island, southern Japan on 13 January at 12.19 UTC. Following this seismic event, a small tsunami has been recorded over the eastern coast of Miyazaki prefecture, one of 20 cm across Miyazakiko and another of 20 cm Nicinanshi Aburatsu as registered by the JMA. According to media, one person was slightly injured in Kyushu while some trains have been stopped, and a prefecture road has been blocked. 
• Brazil – Landslides (ERCC) – Since 11 January, several landslides have been triggered by heavy rainfall in Minas Gerais state, central-eastern Brazil, resulting in casualties and damage. As of 14 January, ten fatalities, including nine in Ipatinga municipality and one in Santana do Paraiso municipality, eastern Minas Gerais state, and one person is missing in Bethania city. In addition, one house has been destroyed and several roads have been affected. 
• Australia – Landslide (ERCC) – On 13 January at 21.45 UTC, a landslide occurred in the McCrae suburb of Melbourne, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria State, southern Australia resulting in casualties, evacuations and damage. Following this event one person was injured, a house has been destroyed, and people living in six nearby houses have been evacuated. 

Health 

• Transmission of monkeypox virus clade I overall risk remains low (ECDC) – The first instances of confirmed transmission of monkeypox virus (MPXV) clade I among close contacts of imported cases within the EU/EEA have been reported by Germany and Belgium. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) is in contact with national public health authorities in these countries regarding this recent development. The overall risk for the EU/EEA population remains low, as assessed in the rapid risk assessment published by ECDC on 16 August 2024. 
• Uganda – Cholera outbreak (ERCC) – On 10 January, the Minister of Health of Uganda declared a cholera outbreak in Lamwo district, close to neighbouring South Sudan currently battling a serious cholera outbreak. In the following days, the number of suspected cases with cholera-like symptoms has increased sharply to 67 in just one week, of whom 12 tested positive for cholera, 26 were discharged, one person died and 40 patients are still admitted for treatment at the health facility. 

Migration 

• UN migration agency says gang violence in Haiti leads to tripling of internally displaced people (AP News) – The U.N. migration agency says internal displacement in Haiti, largely caused by gang violence, has tripled over the last year and now surpasses 1 million people — a record in the Caribbean nation. 

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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