World Status Report
January 31, 2025
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
- Congo’s leader calls for massive military mobilization as Rwanda-backed rebels expand their control (AP News) – Congo’s leader called for a massive military mobilization to help fight Rwanda-backed rebels who were attempting to seize more territory in the country’s east, as a crucial meeting of neighbors asked the Congolese government to talk with the rebels. Rwanda’s leader also threatened to “deal” with any confrontation with South Africa regarding the conflict.
- Israel releases Palestinian prisoners after delay over chaotic hostage handover (Arab News) – Hamas freed three Israeli and five Thai hostages in Gaza on Thursday and Israel began releasing 110 Palestinian prisoners after delaying the process in anger at the swarming crowds at one of the hostage handover points.
- A Russian drone strikes an apartment building in Ukraine, killing at least 6 (AP News) – A Russian drone blasted a hole in an apartment building in northeastern Ukraine during a nighttime attack, killing at least six people and wounding nine others, officials said Thursday. Four people were rescued from the rubble, and a child was among the wounded, it said, adding that 120 people were evacuated.
Demonstrations
- Protesters pelt Malaysian embassy with eggs over Indonesian migrant worker shooting (AP News) – Dozens of Indonesians, angered over the fatal shooting of an Indonesian migrant worker in neighboring waters, threw eggs on Thursday at the Malaysian embassy in Indonesia’s capital. A 50-year-old migrant worker was shot dead and four others wounded on Jan. 24 after the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency opened fire on their boat for alleged trespassing in the waters off Tanjung Rhu Beach in Selangor state.
Environment
- Malaysia – Floods (ERCC) – In the past few days the Sabah and Sarawak states, located in the Malaysian Borneo, are experiencing heavy rainfall and floods that resulted in casualties and damage. According to media, at least five people died while more than 7,500 people have been evacuated, 5,385 in Sarawak and 2,240 people have been affected in the Sabah state.
- Indonesia – Landslide (ERCC) – Heavy rainfall has been affecting northern Indonesia since 29 January, triggering landslides that have resulted in casualties and damage. As of 30 January, according to the ASEAN Disaster Information Network, one person died, 45 people have been displaced, 115 people have been affected by a landslide.
Health
- Hospital nurse in Uganda dies in country’s first Ebola outbreak in 2 years (AP News) – A nurse in Uganda has died of Ebola in the first recorded fatality since the country’s last outbreak of the disease ended in early 2023, a health official said Thursday. The 32-year-old male nurse was an employee of Mulago Hospital, the main referral facility in the capital, Kampala, Diana Atwine, permanent secretary of the health ministry, told reporters Thursday.
- Mpox outbreak in DR Congo, neighboring countries underscores threat of clade 1b (CIDRAP) – Though the current African outbreak also features sexual transmission, household transmission is also taking place at a high rate.
- Experts in the US and Europe are increasingly sounding the alarm of a pandemic threat as H5N1 bird flu continues to circulate among livestock and other mammals, including humans. They are urging countries to bolster their surveillance and containment measures (Politico) to prevent the virus from evolving (NPR) to become more dangerous to people.
Humanitarian
- Syria: Hostilities and aid challenges persist across devastated country (UN News) – Humanitarians warned on Thursday that Syria continues to face major security and aid challenges in the northeast and beyond, in the uncertain aftermath of the overthrow of the Assad regime.
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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