Other Security News
COVID-19 Pandemic News

Other Security News

• Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Schiff Statement on Cancellation of Election Security Briefings by Office of the Director of National Intelligence House Speaker Pelosi 29 Aug 2020 -- Today, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA) released the following statement following the cancellation of all election security briefings for the Congress by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence:

COVID-19 Pandemic News

United States

• State Officials Announce Latest COVID-19 Facts California Department of Public Health 29 Aug 2020
• Health Officials Call On US Government to Reverse COVID-19 Test Guidelines VOA 29 Aug 2020 -- Public health departments throughout the United States are calling on the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to reverse changes the federal agency recently made to its public coronavirus testing guidelines.

China

• Xinjiang downgrades alert level indicating COVID-19 outbreak has been fully controlled: expert Global Times 29 Aug 2020 -- Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has downgraded its response level to a recent outbreak of COVID-19 in the region to low-risk as of Saturday, after no new cases have been reported for almost two weeks, leading experts to conclude that the spread of coronavirus in Xinjiang has been fully controlled.
• Four Chinese COVID-19 vaccines undergoing phase-3 clinical trials People's Daily 29 Aug 2020 -- Four Chinese COVID-19 vaccine candidates have started international phase-3 clinical trials, according to the State Council joint prevention and control mechanism against COVID-19.
• South China's Guangxi reports 1 new imported COVID-19 case People's Daily 29 Aug 2020 -- South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region reported one new imported asymptomatic COVID-19 case on Friday, the provincial health commission said Saturday.
• Mainland testing team assembled in Hong Kong to assist COVID-19 fight People's Daily 29 Aug 2020 -- Another over 160 members of the mainland nucleic acid testing team have arrived in Hong Kong Friday for the Universal Community Testing Program (UCT Program) that starts on Sept. 1.
• 35 COVID-19 patients discharged from hospitals on Chinese mainland People's Daily 29 Aug 2020 -- The National Health Commission said Saturday that 35 COVID-19 patients were discharged from hospitals after recovery on the Chinese mainland Friday.
• Chinese mainland reports 9 new imported COVID-19 cases People's Daily 29 Aug 2020 -- The Chinese mainland reported nine new imported COVID-19 cases Friday, bringing the total number of imported cases to 2,473, the National Health Commission said Saturday.
• Xinjiang's Urumqi downgrades five districts to low-risk areas for COVID-19 People's Daily 29 Aug 2020 -- Authorities in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region announced on Friday that they will downgrade five districts in the regional capital of Urumqi to low-risk areas for COVID-19 starting Saturday.
• Hong Kong reports 13 new COVID-19 cases People's Daily 29 Aug 2020 -- Hong Kong's Center for Health Protection (CHP) reported 13 new cases of COVID-19 on Friday, bringing the total confirmed cases to 4,768.
• Shanghai reports 3 new imported COVID-19 cases People's Daily 29 Aug 2020 -- Shanghai reported three new imported COVID-19 cases and no increase in domestically-transmitted cases on Friday, the municipal health commission said Saturday.

Europe

• Study Suggests UK Could See Further 85,000 COVID-19 Deaths in Winter, Reports Say Sputnik 29 Aug 2020 -- A study prepared by the UK government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergency (SAGE) suggests that in a reasonable worst-case scenario, a further 85,000 people could die from COVID-19 in the United Kingdom this winter, the BBC reported on Saturday.
• Health Secretary Hancock sounds warning on Covid-19 second wave Press TV 29 Aug 2020 -- As the UK struggles to contain the coronavirus pandemic, a senior government minister is already warning about the fallout from a "second wave" of the deadly infection.
• France Reports 5,453 New Coronavirus Cases SPA 29 Aug 2020 -- France reported 5,453 new confirmed coronavirus cases on Saturday, down from 7,379 seen today, on Friday, Reuters cited the health ministry as saying.

India

• India records 77,266 new COVID-19 cases, 1,057 deaths in single day Global Times 29 Aug 2020 -- India's COVID-19 tally reached 3,387,500, and deaths reached 61,529 on Friday, showed the latest data released by the federal health ministry.
• Total Recoveries in India surpass 26 lakh India PIB 29 Aug 2020 -- A significant feature of India's management of COVID-19 cases is the growing rate of recovered patients. Higher number of patients are recovering and being discharged from hospitals and home isolation (in case of mild and moderate cases). These recoveries are being achieved because of adherence to the "National Standard Treatment Protocol" by all health facilities across the country as well as by regular daily monitoring of positive cases under home isolation.
• Unprecedented upsurge in testing, India crosses a new peak of 4 cr tests.htm India PIB 29 Aug 2020 -- In its fight against COVID-19 since January 2020, India has crossed another peak. The cumulative tests have seen an unprecedented upsurge and surpassed 4 crore today.
• Controversy Rages as India Presses Ahead With College Entrance Tests Amid Pandemic VOA 29 Aug 2020 -- India is grappling with whether entrance examinations for engineering and medical colleges should take place amid a pandemic as it prepares to hold the twice-postponed tests for an estimated 2.5 million students.

Iran

• COVID-19 kills 110 more Iranians over past 24 hours IRNA 29 Aug 2020 -- Iran's Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said on Saturday that some 110 more Iranians have died from coronavirus disease (COVID-19) over the past 24 hours.

Saudi Arabia

• Health Ministry: COVID-19 daily Confirmed Cases Down to less than 1,000, Recoveries Stood at 1,038 SPA 29 Aug 2020 -- The Ministry of Health announced in a statement here today that 987 new confirmed cases of novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) have been reported, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, bringing the total number to 313,911 cases, including 21,630 active cases undergoing treatment.

Taiwan

• Taiwan confirms new imported case of COVID-19 CNA 29 Aug 2020 -- A Taiwanese man tested positive for COVID-19 on Saturday after having returned from the Philippines two days earlier, bringing to the number of cases in Taiwan to date to 488.

Other Countries

• Egypt records 223 new COVID-19 cases, tally hits 98,285 Global Times 29 Aug 2020 -- Egypt registered on Friday 223 new COVID-19 infections, raising the total cases in the country to 98,285, Egyptian Health Ministry said in a statement.
• Countries in Himalaya region urged to enhance cooperation to fight COVID-19 Global Times 29 Aug 2020 -- Under the growing threat of COVID-19 pandemic in the Himalaya region, Chinese experts say it's important for countries, such as Nepal and India, to enhance cooperation to fight the coronavirus, boost trade cooperation and people-to-people exchange, which will benefit the region's development.
• Palestine records 2 deaths, 724 new COVID-19 cases: health officials Global Times 29 Aug 2020 -- Palestine recorded two deaths and 724 new COVID-19 cases in the Palestinian territories in the last 24 hours, a senior Palestinian official announced on Friday.
• Turkey reports 1,517 new COVID-19 cases, 265,515 in total Global Times 29 Aug 2020 -- Turkey confirmed 1,517 new COVID-19 cases on Friday, raising the total diagnosed patients to 265,515, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said.
• Brazil registers 855 new deaths from COVID-19 SPA 29 Aug 2020 -- Brazil registered 855 deaths from COVID-19 in the prior 24 hours, the health ministry said on Friday, taking the total death toll to 119,504.
• Diplomats Warn Zimbabwe Against Using COVID-19 to Restrict Citizen Rights VOA 29 Aug 2020 -- President Emmerson Mnangagwa's ruling party has dismissed as "rubbish" a statement by Western diplomats warning Zimbabwe's government not to use the COVID-19 pandemic as a pretext to stifle citizens' rights. The statement was delivered while more than a dozen citizens are in hiding for fear of persecution or prosecution for organizing an anti-government protest.
• COVID-19 No Match for Southeast Asia's Booming Drug Trade VOA 29 Aug 2020 -- A string of mammoth drug busts and low street prices for methamphetamine across Southeast Asia this year suggest COVID-19 has done little to stem the flood of illegal drugs washing over the region, even as the pandemic seals borders.