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 

• UN World Food Programme condemns Israeli attack on aid convoy (UN News) – Israeli airstrikes continued across Gaza overnight into Monday, while the UN World Food Programme (WFP) reported that one of its aid convoys in the war-shattered enclave was targeted by Israeli fire on Sunday. At least 16 bullets struck the convoy of three vehicles carrying eight staff members which came under fire near Wadi Gaza checkpoint. 
• Mali – Conflict, protection incidents (ERCC) – Civilians continue to be the target of attacks committed by all parties to the conflict. According to the Protection Cluster, 30 546 human rights violations have been reported up to end November in 2024, which means an increase of 175% between 2023 and 2024. 
• Three Palestinians killed in the West Bank as Israeli military operations intensify (Reuters) – Israeli forces killed at least three Palestinian militants in stepped-up operations across the occupied West Bank on Tuesday following the killing of three Israelis near a Jewish settlement, the Israeli military said. The Palestinian Health Ministry said an 18-year-old was killed overnight in an Israeli airstrike in Tamun, a town northeast of Nablus city, while a 40-year-old was shot dead in the nearby village of Taluza. 
• At least 46 kidnapped in Nigeria’s Zamfara state (Reuters) – Gunmen kidnapped at least 46 people, including women and children, in a raid on Gana town in Nigeria’s northwest Zamfara state, residents and a local traditional leader said on Tuesday. The attack, which follows a similar mass kidnapping in the state last month, occurred at about 2200 GMT on Sunday, with dozens of gunmen on motorbikes unleashing a barrage of gunfire on the community and setting fire to several homes and businesses, residents said. 
• Three miners feared dead in India’s Assam state, six others trapped (Reuters) – Three miners were feared dead inside a flooded coal mine in a remote district of India’s northeastern Assam state, authorities said on Tuesday, and the men were part of a total of nine still trapped as rescue teams worked to reach them. The mine, in an area controlled by the state government, appeared to be illegal, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on social media platform X, adding that local police had arrested one person in connection with the case. 
• A court extended the deadline of a warrant to arrest President Yoon Suk Yeol (CNN). The move is the latest part of a probe into the now-suspended president’s December declaration of martial law. Yoon previously refused to appear for questioning, and his guards blocked a first attempt to arrest him. (CNN) 

Environment 

• Ethiopia – Seismic and volcanic activity (ERCC) – More than 80 earthquakes have been reported with magnitude between 4.3 up to 5.7. The strongest one (5.7) has been recorded on 4 January at a depth of 8 km, approximately 15 km north of the aforementioned volcano. It is estimated that around 81,750 individuals have been affected. There are key concerns on emergency shelter, food assistance and clean water.  
• China, Nepal – Earthquake (ERCC) – An earthquake of 7.1 M at a depth of 10 km occurred in southern Xizang, Tibet Autonomous Region, south-western China, on 7 January at 01.05 UTC (9.05 local time). USGS PAGER estimates that up to 4,000 people were exposed to severe shaking, 15,000 to very strong shaking and 57,000 people to strong shaking. At least 13 aftershocks with a magnitude higher than 4.1 M have been recorded in the area. At least 53 people died, 62 have been injured, and several people are still trapped. 
• Haiti – Food insecurity, torrential rains destroy up to 80% of crops (ERCC) – Since the end of November have reportedly destroyed up to 80% of peas, beans, banana groves and sweet potatoes adding additional pressure on access to food for households in the South departments that already have limited coping capacity since they host over 45% (more than 367,000) of the country’s internally displaced persons (IDPs). The increase in violence since November limits population movements, hampers income-generating activities of poor households and has led to the displacement of 21,400 people more in the first seventeen days of December. 

Humanitarian 

• U.S. says Sudan’s R.S.F committed genocide in Sudan (NYT). Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said the Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary group fighting against Sudan’s military had committed acts of genocide, including a fearsome wave of ethnically targeted violence in the western region of Darfur. U.S. declares genocide in Sudan (WaPo). The war between the RSF and Sudan’s military has plunged parts of the nation of 50 million into a spreading famine, created the world’s largest refugee crisis and sucked in fighters from neighboring nations. The death toll is unknown — large parts of the country have no internet or phone network — but U.S. officials estimated last year that about 150,000 people had been killed. 
• Famine conditions are spreading as Sudan’s crisis worsens (UN News) – Human suffering in Sudan has reached devastating levels, with over 11.5 million people internally displaced and 3.2 million seeking refuge in neighbouring countries. This “man-made” catastrophe, driven by relentless conflict, has dismantled food systems and critical infrastructure, leaving millions in imminent danger, she explained.   

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

---