Other Security News
COVID-19 Pandemic News

Other Security News

• Intelligence Agencies Accuse Iran, Russia of Trying to Use Voter Registration Data to Sow Chaos Ahead of US Election VOA 22 Oct 2020 -- U.S. intelligence agencies are accusing Iran and Russia of trying to use voter registration data in "desperate attempts" to sow chaos and confusion ahead of the November 3 U.S. presidential election.
• Iran, Russia Reject U.S. Accusations Of Election Interference RFE/RL 22 Oct 2020 -- Russia and Iran have rejected U.S. claims that the two countries have been interfering with the 2020 presidential election next month.
• Iran mission to UN rejects accusation of meddling in US election IRNA 22 Oct 2020 -- Spokesman for Iranian mission to the United Nations (UN) Alireza Miryousefi denounced accusation of Iran's meddling in the US elections.
• Iran rejects 'absurd' US accusations of meddling in presidential elections Press TV 22 Oct 2020 -- Iran's permanent mission to the United Nations has dismissed as "malign and dangerous" claims by US national security officials that the Islamic Republic is attempting to influence American voters, stressing that Tehran, unlike Washington, does not interfere in other countries' elections.
• Kremlin Expresses Regret Over US New Groundless Claims of Russian Interference in Election Sputnik 22 Oct 2020 -- The Kremlin regrets new groundless allegations that Russia is interfering in the US presidential election, presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Thursday.
• Treasury Sanctions Iranian Entities for Attempted Election Interference US Treasury 22 Oct 2020 -- Today, the Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated five Iranian entities for attempting to influence elections in the United States. The Iranian regime has targeted the United States' electoral process with brazen attempts to sow discord among the voting populace by spreading disinformation online and executing malign influence operations aimed at misleading U.S. voters.
• 'Fake News' Sites In North Macedonia Pose As American Conservatives Ahead Of U.S. Election RFE/RL 22 Oct 2020 -- A town in North Macedonia that became famous for spreading "fake news" to U.S. voters ahead of the 2016 presidential election is back at it in 2020.
• UN Extends Sanctions Against Former Tajik Commander Who Joined Islamic State RFE/RL 22 Oct 2020 -- The UN Security Council has extended sanctions against Colonel Gulmurod Halimov, a former commander of the Tajik Interior Ministry's Special Forces, known as OMON, who joined the Islamic State (IS) extremist group in Syria in May 2015 and who has been reported killed several times in recent years.
• United States Sanctions Two Hizballah Officials US Dept. of State 22 Oct 2020 -- Today, the United States is designating two Hizballah officials to maintain pressure on the group and impede its ability to operate in the financial system.
• Treasury Targets High-Ranking Hizballah Officials US Treasury 22 Oct 2020 -- Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned two members of Hizballah's Central Council.
• UK enforces new sanctions against Russia for cyber attack on German Parliament UK FCDO 22 Oct 2020 -- UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab welcomes decisive action to hold perpetrators to account for Fancy Bear cyber attack in 2015.
• EU, U.K. Slaps Sanctions On Two Russians, Entity Over Bundestag Cyberattacks RFE/RL 22 Oct 2020 -- The European Union and Great Britain have imposed sanctions against the head of Russia's GRU military intelligence agency, a unit within the agency, and one of its officers for their involvement in a 2015 cyberattack on Germany's lower house of parliament.

COVID-19 Pandemic News

• Worldwide Coronavirus Cases Cross 41.04 Million, Death Toll at 1,127,177 SPA 22 Oct 2020 -- More than 41.04 million people have been reported to be infected by the novel coronavirus globally and 1,127,177 have died, according to a Reuters tally.

United States

• 7 more U.S. soldiers in S. Korea test positive for COVID-19 People's Daily 22 Oct 2020 -- Seven more U.S. soldiers in South Korea tested positive for COVID-19 amid lingering worry about the virus spread here, the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) said Thursday.
• Rush Transcript: Governor Cuomo Updates New Yorkers on State's Progress During COVID-19 Pandemic New York State 22 Oct 2020
• Surge in new U.S. COVID-19 cases, topping 60,000 a day People's Daily 22 Oct 2020 -- Experts are warning that the U.S. is seeing a "rapid acceleration" of COVID-19 cases, as the country confirmed over 60,000 new cases on Tuesday, according to Johns Hopkins University tracking.
• New York state details micro-cluster strategy against COVID-19 spread People's Daily 22 Oct 2020 -- New York state on Wednesday further clarified its strategy to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, targeting the micro-cluster areas with precision while having the surrounding areas as a cushion against the impact of the virus.
• FDA Greenlights Gilead Sciences' Remdesivir as First Fully Approved US COVID-19 Treatment Sputnik 22 Oct 2020 -- The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday approved antiviral drug remdesivir as a COVID-19 treatment, making it the first approved treatment in the US for the novel coronavirus.
• COVID tightens grip on US as hospitalizations hit two-month peak Press TV 22 Oct 2020 -- The number of COVID-19 patients in US hospitals has hit a two-month peak as the nation is contending with a surge in virus infections ahead of the Nov. 3 election.
• Moderna Enrolls 30,000 Diverse Americans in Phase 3 Trials VOA 22 Oct 2020 -- Moderna Therapeutics, one of many companies conducting COVID-19 vaccine trials, said Thursday that it had completed the enrollment of about 30,000 participants for a third phase. The biotechnology firm said the participants included more than 11,000 who are people of color.
• Who's In Line for COVID-19 Vaccines? VOA 22 Oct 2020 -- The COVID-19 vaccines are coming. The question is, who gets them first? And who is next in line?
• State Officials Announce Latest COVID-19 Facts California Department of Public Health 22 Oct 2020

China

• Chinese mainland reports no new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases People's Daily 22 Oct 2020 -- No new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases were reported Wednesday across the Chinese mainland, the National Health Commission said Thursday.

Europe

• European countries set record COVID-19 daily numbers as Spain's total cases top 1 mln People's Daily 22 Oct 2020 -- Countries in Europe saw their daily coronavirus infection numbers set new records yet again on Wednesday as Spain's total cases reached 1,005,295, becoming the first country in the European Union (EU) whose COVID-19 cases have topped one million.
• Netherlands' Daily Caseload Surpasses 9,000 for First Time SPA 22 Oct 2020 -- The daily number of new coronavirus cases in the Netherlands surpassed the 9,000-mark for the first time today, on Thursday, as Dutch authorities recorded 9,283 over the previous 24 hours, 526 more than the day before, according to dpa.
• France Reports Record New COVID-19 Cases, at More than 40,000 SPA 22 Oct 2020 -- French health authorities reported 41,622 new confirmed COVID-19 cases over 24 hours today, on Thursday, an all-time daily high that was published shortly after the government announced a broad extension of the curfew put in place a week ago in Paris and other major cities, according to Reuters.
• France, Spain Become Latest Nations to Have More Than 1 Million COVID-19 Cases VOA 22 Oct 2020 -- The number of nations with more than 1 million confirmed COVID-19 cases has risen to seven.
• Britain to Deliberately Infect Volunteers With Coronavirus VOA 22 Oct 2020 -- Healthy volunteers will be deliberately infected with the coronavirus to try to speed up the development of a vaccine, under plans announced by the British government this week.
• Three New Areas in Britain Tighten COVID-19 Restrictions VOA 22 Oct 2020 -- The British health minister announced Thursday that three additional areas of the country will see tightened COVID-19 restrictions after a reported surge of new cases.
• UK reports highest ever daily coronavirus cases since start of pandemic Global Times 22 Oct 2020 -- Another 26,688 people in Britain have tested positive for COVID-19, the highest daily increase ever since the pandemic began in the country, according to official figures released Wednesday.
• German Health Institute Sounds Alarm on COVID-19 VOA 22 Oct 2020 -- The head of Germany's disease control institute sounded an alarm Thursday, warning of a possible uncontrollable spread of COVID-19 as the country reported a daily record of 11,287 new infections.
• Bulgaria reports record daily COVID-19 infections, deaths People's Daily 22 Oct 2020 -- The Bulgarian Health Ministry on Thursday reported record new COVID-19 infections and deaths of 1,472 and 29 respectively over the past 24 hours, taking the national tally of confirmed cases and death toll to 33,335 and 1,048 respectively.

India

• India's Active Cases below 10% of Total Cases since the last three days India PIB 22 Oct 2020 -- India trend of steadily decreasing active cases continues unabated. The Active Cases have been sustained below 10% of the total cases for the last three days suggesting only 1 in 10 cases are active COVID19 patients across the country.
• India's Festive Season Poses Fresh Risk as Pandemic Crosses Peak VOA 22 Oct 2020 -- India heads into its monthlong Hindu festival season with some good news -- a government-appointed committee of experts says that the COVID-19 pandemic is past its peak and will have run its course by February as daily infections tumble by more than one-third in the world's second-worst-hit country.

Iran

• COVID-19 kills 304 more Iranians over past 24 hours IRNA 22 Oct 2020 -- Iran's Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said on Thursday that some 304 more Iranians have died from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) over the past 24 hours.

Japan

• Tokyo's new COVID-19 cases remain in triple digits for 3rd straight day People's Daily 22 Oct 2020 -- Tokyo reported 185 new daily COVID-19 cases on Thursday, rising from 150 infections confirmed the previous day, bringing the cumulative total in the capital to 29,520.

Saudi Arabia

• Ministry of Health: 401 New Confirmed Cases of COVID-19 Reported in Saudi Arabia SPA 22 Oct 2020 -- The Ministry of Health said in a statement today that 401 new confirmed cases of Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) have been reported in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, bringing the total number to 343,774 cases, including 8,343 active cases receiving necessary medical care. Of these, there are 791 critical cases, while the health condition of the rest is stable.

Taiwan

• Taiwan records 4 new imported COVID-19 cases CNA 22 Oct 2020 -- Taiwan confirmed four new imported cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, two of them from Indonesia and one each from the Philippines and Turkey, bringing the total number in the country to 548, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
• Local COVID-19 vaccine ready by mid-2021 at earliest: expert CNA 22 Oct 2020 -- A Taiwan-developed COVID-19 vaccine will be available by the middle of next year at the earliest, Academia Sinica President James C. Liao (???) said Thursday.

NATO

• Czech Republic requests international assistance in their response to COVID-19 NATO 22 Oct 2020 -- On 22 October the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC) received a request for international assistance from Czech Republic to transport 60 medical ventilators to Czech Republic to help in the fight against COVID-19.

Thailand

• Thailand gradually reopens borders after arrival of Chinese tourists People's Daily 22 Oct 2020 -- Thailand will gradually open its borders to foreign tourists after the arrival of the first batch of Chinese tourists in the country on Tuesday.
• Thailand aims to reduce quarantine for tourists to 10 days People's Daily 22 Oct 2020 -- Thailand's Ministry of Public Health on Wednesday said in its daily press conference that it aims to reduce quarantine for tourists from 14 days to 10 days.

Brazil

• Brazilian President Cancels Health Minister's Plan to Buy Chinese Vaccine Against Coronavirus VOA 22 Oct 2020 -- Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro said he has canceled a deal to buy a Chinese-developed vaccine against the coronavirus, a day after his health minister announced Brazil would purchase millions of doses of CoronaVac.
• Brazilian health minister tests positive for COVID-19 People's Daily 22 Oct 2020 -- Brazilian Minister of Health General Eduardo Pazuello tested positive for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on Wednesday and will remain isolated at his residence, local press confirmed.

Other Countries

• Mongolia adds 1 more COVID-19 case to 328 People's Daily 22 Oct 2020 -- Mongolia on Thursday confirmed one more COVID-19 case, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 328, according to a statement by the country's Health Ministry.
• Tunisia reports 1442 new COVID-19 cases SPA 22 Oct 2020 -- Tunisia reported today 1442 new cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) and 29 deaths.
• Millions of New Rapid COVID Antigen Test Kits Headed to Africa VOA 22 Oct 2020 -- New rapid coronavirus testing, soon to be available throughout Africa, could be a "game changer" for the continent, the World Health Organization said Thursday.
• COVID-19 'Right Under Control' in Australia, Experts Say VOA 22 Oct 2020 -- As Australia's most populous state eases more COVID-19 restrictions, experts say the nation has brought the epidemic "right under control." One leading commentator says he "can't find another country that has smashed the virus" as well as Australia.
• Nearly 300,000 Bangladeshis return to overseas workplaces amid COVID-19 People's Daily 22 Oct 2020 -- Nearly 300,000 Bangladeshis have returned to their workplaces abroad till the middle of October since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.