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 

• DR Congo emergency: Next 24 hours are critical, warn UN agencies (UN News) – The latest reports from Goma in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) from UN teams on the ground indicate a fast-deteriorating situation on Tuesday amid an ongoing assault by M23 rebels on the provincial capital. Dead bodies lie in the streets, hospitals are overwhelmed and there has been an uptick in reports of sexual violence, rape and looting. Roads are blocked, ports are closed and those crossing Lake Kivu risk their lives in makeshift boats 
• Israeli air strike kills two militants in West Bank, Hamas says (Reuters) – An Israeli airstrike killed two Palestinian militants in the city of Tulkarm on Monday, Hamas said, underscoring Israel’s renewed focus on armed groups in the occupied West Bank since the start of the ceasefire in Gaza. Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that controls Gaza, said the two killed on Monday were members of its armed wing. Witnesses in the city said a raid was underway. 
• ICC Prosecutor urges immediate action to address atrocities in Darfur (UN News) – The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday called on the UN Security Council to act decisively to address the worsening atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur region. Criminality is accelerating in Darfur. Civilians are being targeted, women and girls are subjected to sexual violence, and entire communities are left in destruction. This is not just an assessment; it is a hard-edged analysis based on verified evidence. 
• Protesters attack embassies in Congo’s capital as security forces try to slow rebels in the east (AP News) – Congolese security forces on Tuesday tried to slow the advance of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels who say they have captured Goma after entering eastern Congo’s largest city, as U.N. officials reported an unspecified number of bodies on the streets. 

Demonstrations 

• Bangladesh train services hit as staff strike over benefits (Reuters) – Train services in Bangladesh came to a standstill on Tuesday as railway staff, demanding benefits for extra work, went on a nationwide indefinite strike that hit hundreds of thousands of people. A long-standing dispute over overtime pay and pension benefits for railway workers led to staff abstaining from work, its union said, adding that they had given the authorities until Monday to meet their demands. 

Infrastructure 

• Four-storey building collapses in Delhi’s Burari: Ten rescued, many feared trapped (TOI) – A four-storey building collapsed in Burari, north Delhi, trapping several people. The incident occurred around 6:30 pm in Kaushik Enclave. Rescue operations involve police, fire services, DDMA, and NDRF. Ten people have been rescued so far, with some hospitalized. Approximately 12-15 people are still believed to be trapped. Authorities continue rescue efforts, and assistance is being provided by local officials. 
• Trump halts foreign aid, including AIDS relief, TB funding (CIDRAP) – With a total of $100 billion spent, PEPFAR is the largest public health commitment in history by any country to address a single disease. Currently amFAR estimates PEPFAR pays for antiretroviral treatments for 222,000 people, and the tests of more than 224,000 people annually. PEPFAR also funds more than 7,000 cervical cancer screening each year and provides care for more than 3,500 women each year experiencing gender-based violence. 

Environment 

• Ethiopia – Earthquakes (ERCC) – As a result of the increase in seismic activity observed in the Fentale volcanic complex in Ethiopia since December 2024, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies reports that nearly 99,000 people have been affected across three affected regions: 60,000 in Afar, 20,000 in Oromia and 9,000 in Amhara. According to UN OCHA, approximately 75,000 people have been relocated, and the authorities are working to evacuate the remaining 25,000. 
• Indonesia – Landslides and floods (ERCC) – As of 28 January, four fatalities and four injured people have been recorded in Mamuju city, West Sulawesi province, and one more fatality has been recorded in Tasikmalaya regency, in West Java province, due to landslides. A total of 774 falmiles have been affected by floods across West Nusa Tenggara and Lampung provinces. 
• Sri Lanka – Severe weather and floods, update (ERCC) – As of 28 January, four people died, of whom two in Eastern province, one in Uva and one in North Central provinces, three people have been injured in Jaffna district of Northern province, 438 people have been displaced people across 10 evacuation centres, and 92,477 people have been affected across the whole Sri Lanka, including 56,884 in Eastern province, 29,299 in Northern province, and 4,599 in North Central province. 
• Spain, Portugal, France, Ireland, United Kingdom – Severe weather (ERCC) – In Spain, a man died in Ourense, Galicia autonomous community due to a severe weather-related road accident, and more than 13,000 people in Galicia experienced power outages on 27 January. In France, several rivers overflowed, and according to the Inter-Ministerial Crisis Management Operational Centre (COGIC), more than 200 interventions have been carried out in Ille-et-Vilaine, the worst hit department of Brittany region. 141 firefighters have been deployed. Additionally, media reports evacuated families in the Ille-et-Vilaine department due to floods; the most impacted city is Rennes. In Ireland, after the passage of storm Eowyn, one person died, more than 168,000 people are still without power, and 74,000 others are without water. 
• Extreme fire danger grips Australia’s southeast amid heatwave (Reuters) – Australia’s southeast sweltered in a heatwave on Monday, raising the bushfire risk and prompting authorities to issue fire bans for several parts of Victoria state. Media and official sources report on various risks in Australia, Bangladesh, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, France, Gaza, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Palestine, Portugal, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, and the United Kingdom. 

Health 

• UK reports H5N1 in a poultry worker (CIDRAP) – The United Kingdom’s Health Security Agency (HSA) today reported a human H5N1 avian flu infection in a person who had close and prolonged contact with a large number of sick birds on a farm, the UK’s first case since 2022. 

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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