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Other Security News
COVID-19 Pandemic News

Other Security News

• Trump Downplays Suspected Russia-led Hack VOA 19 Dec 2020 -- U.S. President Donald Trump is downplaying the severity of a massive cybersecurity breach by suspected Russian operatives that has exposed the networks of government agencies and private sector companies, contradicting the assertions of his secretary of state and lawmakers briefed on the matter.
• Trump Downplays Cyberattack, Doubts Russian Involvement RFE/RL 19 Dec 2020 -- U.S. President Donald Trump has downplayed the seriousness and impact of a widespread cyberattack and cast doubt on whether Russia was to blame in his first public comments on the incident.
• Trump Says Hacking Attack on US Blown Out of Proportion, Points Finger at China Sputnik 19 Dec 2020 -- Earlier this week, reports emerged that hundreds of US federal government entities and companies had been targeted in a massive hacking attack, which was instantly blamed on a foreign actor by US media. The Washington Post, in particular, claimed a hacking group with links to Moscow was behind it, but provided no evidence to back the allegation.
• British organizations hit by 'complex' cyber attack Press TV 19 Dec 2020 -- A major cyber attack that has hit US government agencies is also believed to have affected a small number of British organizations.

COVID-19 Pandemic News

• More Than 75 Million Global Coronavirus Cases VOA 19 Dec 2020 -- More than 75 million people around the world have contracted the coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center data early Saturday.
• Global Pandemic Hit Migrants Hard, IOM Chief Says VOA 19 Dec 2020 -- The head of the U.N. Migration Agency says the coronavirus pandemic's lockdowns, travel restrictions and border closures have affected migrants worldwide, leaving 3 million people stranded, perhaps without jobs.

United States

• Operation Warp Speed Goes on Offense Against COVID-19 DoD News 19 Dec 2020 -- With vaccines going into arms across the nation, Operation Warp Speed is on the offense against the coronavirus pandemic that is attacking the United States, Army Gen. Gus Perna, the chief operating officer of the effort, said.
• State Officials Announce Latest COVID-19 Facts California Department of Public Health 19 Dec 2020

China

• High-risk groups to get COVID-19 vaccines: medical authority Global Times 19 Dec 2020 -- China is to give people in high-risk COVID-19 groups coronavirus vaccine first, aiming to build a herd immunity protection chain through an active immunization program, said a senior official of the national medical authority on Saturday.
• COVID-19 vaccines proven to protect people from infections for over half a year Global Times 19 Dec 2020 -- COVID-19 vaccines are able to protect people from infections for more than half a year, but whether people can achieve life-long or 5-10 years immunity via vaccination is not yet certain, said a senior Chinese health official on Saturday.
• Beijing raises risk level to medium for a hotel in Chaoyang district starting from Saturday Global Times 19 Dec 2020 -- Beijing raised its COVID-19 emergency risk level for the Dashanzi branch store of Hanting Hotel in Chaoyang district and other stores in the building to medium from Saturday, Beijing's Center for Disease of Control and Prevention (CDC) announced on Saturday.
• China ready to further cooperate with WHO for global origin-tracing of COVID-19: FM spokesperson Global Times 19 Dec 2020 -- China stands ready to continue to strengthen cooperation with the World Health Organization (WHO) to advance the global origin-tracing of COVID-19, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a daily press briefing Friday.
• Chinese mainland reports 3 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases People's Daily 19 Dec 2020 -- China's National Health Commission said Saturday that it received reports of 17 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases on the Chinese mainland Friday, including three domestically transmitted cases and 14 imported ones.
• Chinese mainland reports 14 new imported COVID-19 cases People's Daily 19 Dec 2020 -- The Chinese mainland reported 14 new imported COVID-19 cases Friday, bringing the total number of imported cases to 4,093.

Europe

• Britain Imposes Tougher Coronavirus Lockdown Measures VOA 19 Dec 2020 -- British Prime Minister Boris Johnson imposed new coronavirus lockdown measures in England Saturday, reversing initial plans to ease restrictions during the holiday season after a new strain of the coronavirus was detected in the country.
• Boris Johnson cancels Christmas for London and southeast England Press TV 19 Dec 2020 -- Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has effectively cancelled family Christmas celebrations in the capital London and across the entire south east of England.
• London Mayor Warns of 'Toughest Christmas Since The War' Ahead of Tier 4 Restrictions Sputnik 19 Dec 2020 -- Christmas this year is going to be the toughest since the Second World War for Londoners as the UK capital city is preparing to go under the strictest bundle of coronavirus-related restrictions, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said on Saturday.
• Southeast Europe Hit By Traffic Jams Despite COVID-19 Travel Restrictions RFE/RL 19 Dec 2020 -- Despite travel restrictions, huge traffic jams have been reported on the borders between Slovenia and Croatia as well as Hungary and Serbia.

Russia

• Sputnik V Developer Expects Up to 80% of Russians to Be Inoculated Against COVID-19 By Autumn Sputnik 19 Dec 2020 -- Up to 80 percent of the Russian population may be inoculated against COVID-19 by autumn 2021, Gamaleya research centre head Alexander Gintsburg said in a television programme Saturday.

India

• On a steady decline, India's Active Caseload further contracts to 3.08 Lakh India PIB 19 Dec 2020 -- Steadily following the trend set over the past few weeks, India's active caseload has fallen to 3.09% of the total active cases.
• India Crosses 10M Mark as Infections Slow VOA 19 Dec 2020 -- Even as new infections slip to the lowest levels in three months, on Saturday, India crossed the 10 million mark of total infections since the pandemic began, second behind the U.S. mark of 17 million, according to Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center.

Iran

• COVID-19 kills 175 more Iranians over past 24 hours IRNA 19 Dec 2020 -- Some 175 more Iranians have died from coronavirus disease (COVID-19) over the past 24 hours, Iran's Health Ministry spokeswoman Sima Sadat Lari said on Saturday.
• President says no cities "red" on COVID-19 disease list IRNA 19 Dec 2020 -- President Hassan Rouhani announced here on Saturday that none of the cities in the country remained on the red list regarding the coronavirus pandemic.
• Iran expands new COVID-19 cash handouts to 10 million more people Press TV 19 Dec 2020 -- The Iranian government says new COVID-19 cash handouts will be available to an extra 10 million people as it intensifies efforts to mitigate the economic impacts the coronavirus pandemic.

Saudi Arabia

• 158 New Confirmed COVID-19 Cases, 149 Recoveries Reported, in Saudi Arabia SPA 19 Dec 2020 -- The Ministry of Health announced in a statement here today that 158 new confirmed cases of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) have been reported, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, bringing the total number to 360,848, including 3,014 active cases undergoing treatment.

Taiwan

• Taiwan reports four new imported cases of COVID-19 CNA 19 Dec 2020 -- Four additional imported COVID-19 cases were reported in Taiwan on Saturday, boosting the number of total cases to 763 in the country since the pandemic hit Taiwan in early 2020, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

Other Countries

• 1,254 New COVID-19 Cases, 823 Recoveries, 4 Deaths, in UAE SPA 19 Dec 2020 -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced that it conducted 136,132 additional COVID-19 tests over the past 24 hours, using state-of-the-art medical testing equipment, Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.
• UN Report: Ukrainian Measures to Slow COVID-19 Are Inadequate VOA 19 Dec 2020 -- A report submitted to the U.N. Human Rights Council criticizes Ukraine's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and warns that the Russian-backed conflict in eastern Ukraine threatens efforts to curb the pandemic.