World Status Report
March 26, 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
- Tulum security minister killed in drive-by shooting (Mexico News Daily) – The security minister in the Caribbean coast resort town of Tulum died in the hospital on Saturday after he was shot on Friday night, state authorities said. José Roberto Rodríguez Bautista, a navy captain turned police chief, was shot in the La Veleta neighborhood of Tulum and transferred to a hospital in serious condition, the Quintana Roo Attorney General’s Office (FGE) said in a statement on Saturday morning.
- Israeli military intercepts missile launched from Yemen (Reuters) – The Israeli military said it had intercepted a missile over Israel on Monday that had been launched from Yemen, according to a statement. The Houthis, undeterred by waves of US strikes since March 15, fired two ballistic missiles toward Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, the group’s military spokesman said in a televised statement early on Tuesday.
- Israeli strikes in southwestern Syria kill 6 people as troops clash with residents (AP) – An Israeli strike Tuesday in southwestern Syria killed at least six people as Israeli troops occupying the area clashed with local residents, Syria’s Foreign Ministry and a war monitor reported.
- South Sudan on brink of renewed civil war, UN warns (Al Jazeera) – South Sudan is on the brink of a renewed civil war as violence between rival factions escalates, the United Nations has warned.
Demonstrations
- Protesters demanding greater accountability march in North Macedonia over deadly nightclub fire (Associated Press) – Thousands of protesters marched through North Macedonia’s capital Skopje late Monday to demand greater accountability over a nightclub fire that killed 59 people and injured scores of others.
- Sixth night of protests in Turkey as Erdogan hits out at unrest (BBC) – Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has blamed opposition parties for provoking a “movement of violence” as protests in the country continued for a sixth night.
- Thousands gathered in Belgrade (Reuters) to remember a NATO bombing campaign in 1999 and protest against the development of a luxury compound by an investment company set up by Jared Kushner, the son in law of the US President.
Environment
- Ecuador – Floods and oil spillover (ERCC) – As of 25 March, an UNDAC team will be deployed to Ecuador and will be supported by technical experts from the Joint Environment Unit of OCHA and UNEP. Prompted by a landslide, the oil spill is reportedly impacting access to safe water and livelihoods as well as generating health hazards for 500,000 people who depend on the affected river system.
- Philippines – Floods and landslides (ERCC) – As of 25 March, one fatality in the Llorente town, Eastern Samar province. In addition, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD DROMIC) reports, as of 24 March, more than 7,500 displaced people and a total of approximately 174,200 affected people across Eastern Samar, Western Samar, Northern Samar, and Leyte provinces.
- Brazil – Floods (ERCC) – Heavy rainfall has been affecting western Brazil, in particular, the Acre State, bordering with Peru and Bolivia over the last week, causing floods and river overflows that have resulted in population evacuation and damage. As of 25 March, more than 2,800 displaced people and a total of approximately 52,800 affected people across the Acre state.
- Residents in South Korea’s Andong city advised to evacuate as wildfires spread (AP News) – Officials in the South Korean city of Andong on Tuesday advised residents to evacuate to safe areas as firefighters struggled to contain wildfires that have ravaged southern regions since last week, forcing thousands to flee and destroying likely hundreds of structures, including a 1,300-year-old Buddhist temple.
Health
- Southern Africa – Cholera outbreaks (ERCC) – As of 22 March- resulting in a cumulative 8,411 cases and 322 deaths across 14 provinces, with a global case fatality rate of 3.8%. Angola faces its largest cholera outbreak since 2006, more than 67,000 cases. In Mozambique, the Ministry of Health reported 57 new cholera cases in the last 24 hours – as of 24 March – bringing the total to 2,035 cases and 46 fatalities since October 2024. The most affected provinces are Nampula (87% of cases) and Zambézia (13%) with a case fatality rate of 2.4%.
- UK reports H5N1 in a sheep on poultry-outbreak farm (CIDRAP) – The UK Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA) today announced the country’s first avian flu detection in a sheep, on a farm in Yorkshire where an outbreak had been confirmed in captive birds.
- Cambodia reports third fatal human H5N1 case of the year (CIDRAP) – Cambodia’s human cases, many involving people who had contact with sick poultry, have been on rise since 2023.
- Romania’s measles crisis: What’s driving Europe’s biggest outbreak? (Euronews) – A yearslong measles outbreak has exploded in Romania, fueled by anti-vaccine rhetoric, a floundering medical system, and conflicting health guidance. The rest of Europe is far from immune.
Humanitarian
- Yemen: One in two children severely malnourished after 10 years of war (UN News) – In Yemen, a decade of conflict has proved catastrophic for the country’s children living under the threat of airstrikes and staggeringly high malnutrition rates, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday. More than half of the country’s population of close to 40 million people relies on humanitarian assistance.
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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