Other Security News
COVID-19 Pandemic News

Other Security News

• Six Arrested On Federal Charge Of Conspiracy To Kidnap The Governor Of Michigan US DOJ - UASG - WDM 08 Oct 2020 -- United States Attorney Andrew Birge announced today that six men have been arrested and charged federally with conspiring to kidnap the Governor of Michigan, Gretchen Whitmer. According to a complaint filed Tuesday, October 6, 2020, Adam Fox, Barry Croft, Ty Garbin, Kaleb Franks, Daniel Harris and Brandon Caserta conspired to kidnap the Governor from her vacation home in the Western District of Michigan.
• Six Charged With Plot to Kidnap Michigan Governor VOA 08 Oct 2020 -- The FBI says it has disrupted a plot to overthrow the government of the Midwestern state of Michigan and its governor, Gretchen Whitmer, ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
• Foreign Actors Focused on US Elections and Spreading COVID-19 Lies, Official Says VOA 08 Oct 2020 -- U.S. officials who analyze and combat disinformation aimed at undermining democracies say foreign actors are now focusing on two topics: spreading falsehoods about coronavirus vaccine development and the U.S. elections.
• Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program Requests Information to Bring Venezuelan National to Justice US Dept. of State 08 Oct 2020 -- Today, the U.S. Department of State announces a reward of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Venezuelan national Samark Jose Lopez Bello for participating in transnational organized crime.

COVID-19 Pandemic News

• 36 Million People Worldwide Infected with Coronavirus VOA 08 Oct 2020 -- The world now has more than 36 million cases of the coronavirus.
• Neurological, Cardiac Issues Linger in COVID-19 Youth VOA 08 Oct 2020 -- Young people have suffered less under the COVID-19 virus than older people medically, but experts say the gap has narrowed, and so-called superspreading among the young is a factor.
• WHO Reports Record Daily Rise in Global Covid Cases SPA 08 Oct 2020 -- The World Health Organization (WHO) reported a record one-day increase in global coronavirus cases Thursday, with the total rising by nearly 339,000 in 24 hours, led by a surge of infections in Europe.

United States

• Top US General: Coronavirus Quarantine Having 'No Impact' on Readiness VOA 08 Oct 2020 -- The top-ranked military officer in the United States is warning adversaries that there has been no letup in the country's defenses even though he and other high-ranking officers have been forced to self-quarantine because of the coronavirus.
• AFICC increases COVID-19 testing capabilities at 42 medical centers US Air Force 08 Oct 2020 -- A new $33 million contract, awarded by the Air Force Installation Contracting Center's 773rd Enterprise Sourcing Squadron, is increasing COVID-19 testing at 42 military treatment facilities.
• COVID-19 infection rate in New York state hot spots 5 times that statewide: governor Global Times 08 Oct 2020 -- The COVID-19 infection rate in New York state's hot spots is five times what the rate is statewide, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Wednesday.
• Rush Transcript: Governor Cuomo Announces New Record High Number of COVID-19 Tests Reported New York State 08 Oct 2020
• Trump returns to Oval Office, while recuperating from COVID-19 People's Daily 08 Oct 2020 -- That was Trump's first appearance in the Oval Office since he returned to the White House on Monday following a three-day hospitalization after testing positive for COVID-19 last week.
• White House Does Not Think Trump Got COVID-19 From Military Families Sputnik 08 Oct 2020 -- The White House does not think that US President Donald Trump got the novel coronavirus after meeting with the families of soldiers who died while serving in the military, the White House spokesperson Alyssa Farah told reporters on Thursday.
• Pentagon Scrambles to Trace Contacts as Second Top Military Commander Gets Infected With COVID-19 Sputnik 08 Oct 2020 -- Following an event attended by a COVID-infected Coast Guard vice commander, Charles Ray, most of the US military top brass have had to quarantine themselves to prevent the further spread of the disease, which has recently affected a number of people at the White House, including the US president.
• State Officials Announce Latest COVID-19 Facts California Department of Public Health 08 Oct 2020

China

• Chinese mainland reports no new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases People's Daily 08 Oct 2020 -- No new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases were reported Wednesday across the Chinese mainland, the National Health Commission said Thursday.

Europe

• French cities of Lyon and Lille to Go on Maximum COVID-19 Alert Level - Minister SPA 08 Oct 2020 -- The French cities of Lyon, Lille, Grenoble and Saint-Etienne will go on maximum coronavirus alert level from next Saturday, Reuters cited French Health Minister Olivier Veran as saying today, on Thursday.
• EU to Buy Half-a-Million Remdesivir Doses VOA 08 Oct 2020 -- The executive branch of the European Union announced Thursday it has signed a deal with pharmaceutical company Gilead to buy 500,000 treatment courses of Remdesivir, an antiviral drug shown to be effective in treating symptoms of COVID-19.
• EU Contracts with Johnson & Johnson on Possible COVID-19 Vaccine VOA 08 Oct 2020 -- The European Union on Thursday concluded a deal with an American drugmaker to supply up to 400 million doses of its potential COVID-19 vaccine, bringing its total vaccine supply to 1.1 billion doses for the bloc's 450 million people.
• Germany Sees 'Worrying' Jump in COVID-19 Cases VOA 08 Oct 2020 -- Germany's health officials said Thursday new COVID-19 cases are spreading at the fastest rate since April.

Russia

• 'The Chief Doctor Won't Answer': Amid Surge, Russian Medical Workers Seek Missing COVID Hazard Pay RFE/RL 08 Oct 2020 -- In early June, ambulance paramedic Tamara Ivanova was called into work from her vacation and ordered to undergo a coronavirus test with the rest of the medical workers in her village some 40 kilometers from the Novgorod region town of Staraya Rusa.
• Russian Orthodox Church Leader Quarantined After Contact With Person Infected With Coronavirus RFE/RL 08 Oct 2020 -- The leader of the Russian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Kirill, is in quarantine after being in contact with a person infected with the coronavirus.

India

• India's COVID-19 tally rises to 6,835,655, death toll 105,526 Global Times 08 Oct 2020 -- India's COVID-19 tally reached 6,835,655 and the death toll rose to 105,526 on Thursday as 78,524 new cases were detected and 971 patients died during the past 24 hours, according to the latest data released by the federal health ministry.
• 35 States/UTs performing more than 140 Tests/day/million population India PIB 08 Oct 2020 -- India has demonstrated an exponential increase in the COVID-19 testing infrastructure since Jan 2020. The country's testing capacities have multiplied manifold. More than 15 lakh samples can be tested every day.

Iran

• Official: COVID-19 kills 230 more in Iran IRNA 08 Oct 2020 -- Iran's Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said on Thursday that some 230 more Iranians have died from coronavirus disease (COVID-19) over the past 24 hours bringing the total deaths to 27,888.

Saudi Arabia

• Health Ministry Spokesman: 561 Recoveries from COVID-19 in Saudi Arabia, Tally at 323,769 SPA 08 Oct 2020 -- The Ministry of Health said in a press conference here today that 421 new confirmed cases of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) have been reported in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, bringing the total number to 338,132 cases, including 9,391 active cases receiving necessary medical care.

Taiwan

• Taiwan reports one new imported case of COVID-19 CNA 08 Oct 2020 -- Taiwan confirmed one new case of COVID-19 on Thursday, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 524 since the pandemic began, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

Other Countries

• Nepal reports record daily spike in COVID-19 cases Global Times 08 Oct 2020 -- The COVID-19 situation in Nepal is worsening as the government reported Wednesday a record single day spike of 3,439 cases.
• Brazil's COVID-19 cases top 5 million Global Times 08 Oct 2020 -- Brazil on Wednesday said 31,553 COVID-19 cases were reported over the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide total to 5,000,694.
• Peru Issuing Second Round of Coronavirus Aid Funds VOA 08 Oct 2020 -- Millions of Peruvians affected by the coronavirus pandemic will begin receiving their second Universal Family Bonus worth $223 starting Saturday.
• Australia Warns COVID-19 Border Closures Could Last Into Late 2021 VOA 08 Oct 2020 -- In a further blow to the travel industry, Australia is warning its international borders are likely to stay closed because of COVID-19 restrictions until "late next year." Foreign nationals were banned in March to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, and Australian citizens must get official permission to leave the country.