Other Security News
COVID-19 Pandemic News

Other Security News

• Leader of Oath Keepers and 10 Other Individuals Indicted in Federal Court for Seditious Conspiracy and Other Offenses Related to U.S. Capitol Breach US Dept. of Justice 13 Jan 2022 -- A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia returned an indictment yesterday, which was unsealed today, charging 11 defendants with seditious conspiracy and other charges for crimes related to the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, which disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress that was in the process of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes related to the presidential election.
• Extremist Group Leader Arrested, Charged With Sedition in US Capitol Riot VOA 13 Jan 2022 -- The founder and leader of a far-right group has been arrested and charged in federal court with seditious conspiracy for his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
• Readout of White House Meeting on Software Security The White House 13 Jan 2022

COVID-19 Pandemic News

• WHO recommends two new drugs to treat patients with COVID-19 UN News 13 Jan 2022 -- The World Health Organization (WHO) recommended on Thursday two new drugs to treat patients with COVID-19, one for patients with critical diseaseand one for non-severe cases.
• COVID-19 pandemic stalls global economic recovery: UN report UN News 13 Jan 2022 -- The UN's key report on the global economy, released on Thursday, shows that the rapid spread of the Omicron COVID-19 variant has put the brakes on a rapid recovery, counteracting signs of solid growth at the end of last year.
• WHO cautions against concurrent outbreaks of COVID-19, other diseases People's Daily 13 Jan 2022 -- The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday cautioned and urged for preparedness against concurrent outbreaks of COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases during the coming spring.

United States

• Remarks by President Biden at Virtual Meeting on Military Deployments Supporting Hospitals for the COVID-⁠19 Response The White House 13 Jan 2022
• Statement by President Joe Biden On the U.S. Supreme Court's Decision on Vaccine Requirements The White House 13 Jan 2022
• Biden Ramps Up Fight Against Coronavirus VOA 13 Jan 2022 -- U.S. President Joe Biden sympathized with coronavirus-weary Americans Thursday while ramping up the government's effort to combat the surge of the omicron variant across the country.
• Oregon Guard helps respond to COVID surge at 40 hospitals Army News 13 Jan 2022 -- The surge of COVID-19 cases prompted Oregon Gov. Kate Brown to order an increase of National Guard members assisting at hospitals around the state, boosting the number of Guardsmen on hospital relief missions from 500 to over 1,200 at 40 hospitals.
• DOD Awards Contracts to Purchase COVID-19 Antigen Over-the-Counter Test Kits in Support of POTUS' 500 Million Free At-Home COVID-19 Tests DoD 13 Jan 2022 -- Today, the Department of Defense (DoD), in coordination with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), awarded contracts to Abbott Rapid Dx North America, LLC (Orlando, Florida), iHealth Lab Inc. (Mountain View, California), and Roche Diagnostics Corporation (Indianapolis, Indiana), purchasing a combined total of 380 million over-the-counter COVID-19 test kits.
• More Active Troops to Help Take COVID-Related Pressure Off Civilian Hospitals DoD News 13 Jan 2022 -- The Pentagon announced today that an additional 1,000 active duty military personnel will be made available to help with a whole-of-government approach to combating the nationwide COVID-19 pandemic.

China

• Hong Kong COVID-19 Tracking App Spurs Opposition VOA 13 Jan 2022 -- A new Hong Kong mandate that restaurants and other establishments require use of an app aimed at recording people's locations and telling them if they have been near a COVID-19 patient has spurred opposition from the city's pro-democracy voices.
• China Struggles to Contain Omicron Before Winter Olympics VOA 13 Jan 2022 -- The Chinese city of Tianjin ordered a second round of COVID-19 testing for all of its 14 million residents on Wednesday after an initial screening of the population found 97 positive cases. The port city is about 100 kilometers southeast of the Winter Olympics host city of Beijing.
• Tianjin's rapid COVID-19 tests help stem further Omicron spread; how did it make an impossible mission possible? Global Times 13 Jan 2022 -- Is it possible for a megacity of 14 million people to complete a citywide nucleic acid test screening against the coronavirus disease within about two days? North China's Tianjin Municipality says "Yes!"
• Omicron infection from Tianjin spills to port city Dalian after spreading to Anyang Global Times 13 Jan 2022 -- The latest COVID-19 outbreak in the northern Chinese city Tianjin has spread to at least two other cities - Anyang in Central China's Henan Province and Dalian, a port city in Northeast China's Liaoning Province, and local authorities in Dalian on Wednesday said the epidemic situation was basically under control.
• Macao tightens travel restrictions after finding close contacts with COVID-19 case reported in mainland Global Times 13 Jan 2022 -- The Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) on Thursday upgraded its COVID-19 prevention measures, requiring all personnel entering the city from the mainland via land border ports to present a negative nucleic acid test certificate taken within 48 hours starting Friday, after Zhongshan, which is about 70 kilometers from Macao, reported one positive case on Thursday and two of the close contacts of the case were found in Macao.
• N.China's Tianjin cuts off public transport to other cities amid Omicrons rampage Global Times 13 Jan 2022 -- Tianjin, a gateway to Beijing, has cut off public transportation to other cities including trains, buses and taxis, and car-hailing service as the city registered more residents with the Omicron variant.
• Beijing beefs up health monitoring of people entering the capital as Winter Olympics near Global Times 13 Jan 2022 -- Beijing has beefed up health monitoring of everyone entering to the capital to ensure that no one is missed as the capital tries to prevent a COVID-19 outbreak as Winter Olympics approaches. Now the capital city is facing threats posed by both Omicron and Delta, as well as imported cases.
• China's virus-hit Tianjin tightens measures to curb fresh outbreak People's Daily 13 Jan 2022 -- North China's Tianjin Municipality on Thursday announced it would upgrade its COVID-19 prevention and control measures in risk areas to lower the risk of the virus spreading.
• China's Zhongshan City sees 1 test positive for COVID-19 People's Daily 13 Jan 2022 -- Zhongshan City, south China's Guangdong Province, reported on Thursday that a local company employee had tested positive for COVID-19 during a nucleic acid testing in the early morning.
• Chinese mainland reports 124 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases People's Daily 13 Jan 2022 -- The Chinese mainland on Wednesday reported 124 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, the National Health Commission said in its daily report on Thursday.
• Shanghai-based pharma provides over 13 mln doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Taiwan: spokesperson People's Daily 13 Jan 2022 -- Shanghai-based Fosun Pharma provided 13.33 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines to Taiwan in 2021, a mainland spokesperson said Wednesday.
• China Records 190 New COVID-19 Cases SPA 13 Jan 2022 -- China reported 190 new coronavirus (COVID-19) cases.
• Why is China's zero-COVID-19 approach effective against Omicron variant? People's Daily 13 Jan 2022 -- Minasyan Anush, an Armenian who lives in north China's Tianjin Municipality, no longer feels anxious after receiving her negative test result for COVID-19.
• New confirmed COVID-19 cases drop to eight in China's Xi'an People's Daily 13 Jan 2022 -- Xi'an, capital of northwest China's Shaanxi Province, reported eight new confirmed locally transmitted COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, local authorities said Wednesday.
• Tianjin launches second citywide nucleic acid testing to contain Omicron spread People's Daily 13 Jan 2022 -- North China's Tianjin Municipality on Wednesday morning mobilized all residents to undergo the second round of nucleic acid testing, after the first round of citywide screening starting Sunday found 77 positive samples for COVID-19.
• Chinese experts urge booster shot to protect against Omicron People's Daily 13 Jan 2022 -- Chinese health experts have urged the public to get a booster shot for COVID-19 to protect against the Omicron variant.

Europe

• France eases Covid travel restrictions for British tourists Press TV 13 Jan 2022 -- The French government is easing travel restrictions for vaccinated travelers arriving from the UK, dropping the requirement for proof of a compelling reason to enter the country and for obligatory self-isolation upon arrival.
• Hungary To Offer Fourth COVID-19 Booster Shot RFE/RL 13 Jan 2022 -- Hungary will offer a fourth COVID-19 vaccine shot to people who ask for it, after conferring with a doctor.

Russia

• Russia Steels For Omicron 'Tidal Wave' As Vaccination Rates Remain Stubbornly Low RFE/RL 13 Jan 2022 -- When St Petersburg's Polytechnic University announced on December 20, 2021, that dozens of students in college accommodation had contracted COVID-19 and were self-isolating in a facility outside the city, the news immediately prompted fears that the omicron variant surging in the West since early December, and leading to rates of illness and hospitalization not seen for months, had finally taken hold in Russia.

India

• India's Cumulative COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage exceeds 154.61 Cr India PIB 13 Jan 2022 -- With the administration of over 76 lakh Doses (76,32,024) vaccine doses in the last 24 hours, India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 154
• COVID - 19 Vaccination Update - Day 363 India PIB 13 Jan 2022 -- India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has crossed 155
• Update on COVID-19 Vaccine Availability in States/UTs India PIB 13 Jan 2022 -- The Union Government is committed to accelerating the pace and expanding the scope of COVID-19 vaccination throughout the country
• v India PIB 13 Jan 2022
• India reports 247,417 new COVID-19 cases SPA 13 Jan 2022 -- India reported 247,417 new COVID-19 cases.

Iran

• COVID-19 kills 30 more Iranians over past 24 hours IRNA 13 Jan 2022 -- The number of deaths from the coronavirus pandemic in Iran increased to 132,002 with 30 more Iranians killed by the deadly disease over the past 24 hours, Iran's Health Ministry announced on Thursday.

Saudi Arabia

• Ministry of Health Reports 5,499 New COVID-19 Cases, 2,978 Recoveries in Saudi Arabia SPA 13 Jan 2022 -- The Ministry of Health (MoH) announced the registration of 5,499 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 2,978 recoveries in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia during the past 24 hours.

Taiwan

• Domestic COVID-19 cases linked to airport climb to 55 CNA 13 Jan 2022 -- Taiwan on Thursday confirmed 14 new domestic cases of COVID-19, all but one of which were linked to a wider outbreak of the disease originating at Taoyuan International Airport, and one death from the disease, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).
• Taiwan receives final shipment in AstraZeneca vaccine order CNA 13 Jan 2022 -- Taiwan took delivery of 1.4615 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, the last shipment in its total order for 10 million doses, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

Other Countries

• Africa's fourth COVID wave flattens out after six-week surge UN News 13 Jan 2022 -- After a six-week surge, Africa's fourth pandemic wave, which has been mainly driven by the Omicron variant, is flattening, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Thursday.
• Omicron Surge in Africa Showing Signs of Flattening VOA 13 Jan 2022 -- The World Health Organization reports the surge of the fast-spreading Omicron variant in Africa appears to have peaked and is flattening in most African countries.
• Morocco Records 8,338 New Cases of COVID-19 SPA 13 Jan 2022 -- Morocco recorded, in the past 24 hours, 8338 new cases of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), bringing the total number of infections to 1,025,898.
• Jordan Records 3,362 New Cases of COVID-19 SPA 13 Jan 2022 -- Jordan recorded, in the past 24 hours, 3,362 new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), bringing the total number of infections to 1,091,691.
• Kuwait Records 4,883 New Cases of COVID-19 SPA 13 Jan 2022 -- Kuwait recorded 4,883 new cases of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 451,430.
• UAE Announces 2,683 New COVID-19 Cases, One Death in Last 24 Hours SPA 13 Jan 2022 -- The Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced that it conducted 307,767 additional COVID-19 tests over the past 24 hours, using state-of-the-art medical testing equipment, according to WAM News Agency.
• Egypt Records 948 New Cases of COVID-19 SPA 13 Jan 2022 -- Egypt recorded 948 new cases afflicted with novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and 28 deaths in the past 24 hours.