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Other Security News
COVID-19 Pandemic News

Other Security News

• US Court Denies Trump Appeal to Stop House Probe From Getting White House Records Sputnik 09 Dec 2021 -- The US District Court for the District of Columbia Circuit denied former President Donald Trump's bid to prevent the release of White House records from his administration to the US House Select Committee leading a probe into the events at the Capitol on January 6, a court ruling said.
• Russian National Sentenced for Providing Crypting Service for Kelihos Botnet US Dept. of Justice 09 Dec 2021 -- A Russian national was sentenced today to 48 months in prison for operating a "crypting" service used to conceal the Kelihos malware from antivirus software, which enabled hackers to systematically infect approximately hundreds of thousands of victim computers around the world with malicious software, including ransomware.
• State-backed China hackers targeting South China Sea claimants, US cyber firm says Radio Free Asia 09 Dec 2021 -- Throughout 2021 Chinese hackers with suspected links to the state have targeted government and private sector organizations across Southeast Asia, especially South China Sea claimants, a U.S. cybersecurity company says in a new report.

COVID-19 Pandemic News

• Calls Grow Worldwide for COVID Booster Shots VOA 09 Dec 2021 -- Health officials in the United States, Israel and other nations have for months been pushing for COVID-19 booster shots among older populations, and those calls are now growing worldwide. The issue was discussed at an extraordinary meeting at World Health Organization in Geneva convened by SAGE, the 15-member Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on vaccination.
• Vaccine hoarding will prolong COVID warns WHO, as agency mulls early Omicron data UN News 09 Dec 2021 -- Early laboratory data on the effectiveness of existing vaccines against the Omicron COVID-19 variant is useful, but it is still unclear how effective these will be in treating severely sick patients, a UN health agency panel said on Thursday.
• Omicron variant may change course of COVID-19 pandemic: WHO chief People's Daily 09 Dec 2021 -- Certain features of the Omicron variant, including its global spread and large number of mutations, suggest it could have a major impact on the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, said the chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday.
• Three doses of Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine can fight off Omicron: statement People's Daily 09 Dec 2021 -- Preliminary laboratory studies demonstrate that three doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine neutralize the Omicron variant while two doses show significantly reduced neutralization titers, the American and German vaccine developers said in a joint statement on Wednesday.

United States

• Remarks by President Biden in Meeting with Members of the White House COVID-19 Response Team on the Omicron Variant The White House 09 Dec 2021
• Pfizer Boosters Now Available to 16-, 17-Year-Olds VOA 09 Dec 2021 -- Vaccine regulators are weighing wider eligibility rules as the omicron and delta variants sicken more Americans, prompting many to seek out a third dose. Under a newly amended emergency use authorization for Pfizer and BioNTech's vaccine, which has so far been administered 276 million times in the United States, 16- and 17-year-olds can now get booster shots.

China

• Beijing administers over 2 mln COVID-19 vaccine doses to children People's Daily 09 Dec 2021 -- As of 4 p.m. Wednesday, more than 2 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines had been administered in Beijing to the city's children aged between 3 and 11, local authorities said Thursday.
• Two Chinese COVID-19 medicines receive emergency approval People's Daily 09 Dec 2021 -- The National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) has given emergency approval to the registration application of two COVID-19 medicines, BRII-196 and BRII-198.
• Chinese mainland reports 60 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases People's Daily 09 Dec 2021 -- The Chinese mainland on Wednesday reported 60 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, the National Health Commission said in its daily report on Thursday.
• North China border city reports 20 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases People's Daily 09 Dec 2021 -- The border city of Manzhouli in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region reported 20 confirmed locally transmitted COVID-19 cases from 12 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, local authorities said.
• China's Zhejiang reports 25 local COVID-19 infections amid latest outbreak People's Daily 09 Dec 2021 -- From Sunday to 3 p.m. Wednesday, east China's Zhejiang Province logged 12 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 13 asymptomatic cases in three cities amid the latest resurgence.
• Hong Kong reports no new COVID-19 cases People's Daily 09 Dec 2021 -- Hong Kong on Wednesday reported no new confirmed cases of COVID-19, with the total tally remaining at 12,471.
• China to continue dynamic zero-COVID policy to at least spring, 2022: CDC director Global Times 09 Dec 2021 -- Omicron is like a combination of the Beta and Delta variants but existing vaccines are still efficient against it despite declining efficacy, Gao Fu, Director of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, told media on Wednesday.

Europe

• France to Initiate Nationwide Disaster 'White Plan' Amid 5th COVID Wave Sputnik 09 Dec 2021 -- France will put its health care system on a so-called "white plan" emergency footing in the coming days to mobilize resources as the country battles the fifth wave of the pandemic, Health Minister Olivier Veran said on Thursday.
• UK Could Hit 1Mln Omicron Cases by Month's End, Health Minister Says Sputnik 09 Dec 2021 -- UK Health Secretary Sajid Javid on Thursday said that the United Kingdom could see 1 million cases of the Omicron variant by the end of the month, given its rapid spread.
• Businesses, unions call for state help as UK launches Plan B virus curbs Press TV 09 Dec 2021 -- The British government has come under harsh criticism for launching Plan B coronavirus restrictions, with some critics accusing Prime Minister Boris Johnson of trying to "save his own skin" by announcing the curbs as a diversion from the week's political scandals.
• Norway Sees Record Number of Daily COVID Cases During Entire Pandemic Sputnik 09 Dec 2021 -- The majority of the Nordic nations are currently swept by a new COVID wave, and are seeing their all-time daily infection records broken or witnessing near-record figures, despite having some of Europe's highest vaccination rates and rolling out booster shots.

India

• India's Cumulative COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage exceeds 130.39 Cr India PIB 09 Dec 2021 -- With the administration of 80,86,910 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 130
• COVID-19 Vaccination Update - Day 328 India PIB 09 Dec 2021 -- India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has crossed 131 Crore landmark milestone (131,09,90,768) today
• Update on COVID-19 Vaccine Availability in States/UTs India PIB 09 Dec 2021 -- The Union Government is committed to accelerating the pace and expanding the scope of COVID-19 vaccination throughout the country
• COVID-19 UPDATE India PIB 09 Dec 2021
• Centre reviews Public Health Response to COVID-19 in the light of emergence of OMICRON and Progress of Vaccination with States/UT India PIB 09 Dec 2021 -- The five-fold strategy of Test-Track-Treat-Vaccinate-adherence to COVID Appropriate Behaviour (CAB) was highlighted as the mainstay of public health response strategy for effective and timely control and management of COVID19 and its variants by Union Health Secretary Shri Rajesh Bhushan as he reviewed the public health preparedness to the Omicron variant of COVID-19 and progress of vaccination with Health Secretaries and NHM MDs of States and UTs, through video conference (VC) today

Pakistan

• Pakistan Reports First Case of Omicron VOA 09 Dec 2021 -- Pakistan has detected its first case of the omicron variant of the coronavirus.

Iran

• COVID-19 kills 78 more Iranians over past 24 hours IRNA 09 Dec 2021 -- Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has emphasized that the country's nuclear negotiating team will stay in Vienna, Austria, as long as it is required to reach a consensus on lifting anti-Iran sanctions and reviving the 2015 nuclear deal.

Saudi Arabia

• Health Ministry Reports 45 New COVID-19 Cases and 72 Recoveries SPA 09 Dec 2021 -- The Ministry of Health announced 45 new cases of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in the past 24 hours.

Taiwan

• Taiwan reports first domestic COVID-19 case in over a month CNA 09 Dec 2021 -- Taiwan confirmed a locally transmitted COVID-19 infection Thursday evening, the first such case since early November, Health Minister Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said at a press briefing.
• Taiwan reports 16 new COVID-19 cases, no deaths CNA 09 Dec 2021 -- Taiwan on Thursday reported 16 new COVID-19 cases, all contracted overseas, and no deaths from the disease, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
• Taiwan receives 14th Pfizer-BioNTech shipment CNA 09 Dec 2021 -- Taiwan took delivery of another shipment of the Pfizer-BioNTech (BNT) COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, numbering 1.92 million doses, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

South Africa

• Telephone conversation with President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa President of Russia 09 Dec 2021 -- Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with President of the Republic of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa.
• South African Hospitals Say Omicron Symptoms Less Severe VOA 09 Dec 2021 -- As cases of COVID-19 caused by the omicron variant soar in South Africa, hospital officials monitoring the outbreak say patient reports offer compelling evidence the variant causes illness that is less severe than previous forms of the disease.
• South Africa Avoiding Lockdown Despite Spike in COVID-19 Cases VOA 09 Dec 2021 -- South Africa recorded more than 20,000 new coronavirus cases Wednesday, nearly double the number from one week earlier. The government is making a renewed push for people to get vaccinated, but so far is avoiding new lockdown measures, in an effort to protect the economy.

Other Countries

• WHO: While African COVID-19 Cases Surge, Omicron Appears Less Severe VOA 09 Dec 2021 -- The World Health Organization's Africa regional health officials said Thursday that while the new omicron variant of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19 has driven up cases dramatically, there are early indications the variant is less severe than the delta strain.
• Qatar Records 159 New Cases of Coronavirus SPA 09 Dec 2021 -- Qatar recorded 159 new infections of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), in the past 24 hours.
• Iraq Records 510 New Cases of COVID-19 SPA 09 Dec 2021 -- Iraq recorded, in the past 24 hours, 510 new infections of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), bringing the total number to 2,086,702.
• Mexico Posts 289 More COVID-19 Deaths, Bringing Toll to 295,893 SPA 09 Dec 2021 -- Mexico's health ministry on Wednesday reported 289 more deaths from COVID-19, bringing the country's death toll since the pandemic began to 295,893, Reuters reported.