Other Security News
COVID-19 Pandemic News

Other Security News

• New Mexico Elected Official Guilty of Illegally Entering Capitol on Jan. 6 VOA 22 Mar 2022 -- An elected official from New Mexico has been found guilty of two misdemeanor charges for his role in the January 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol that allegedly attempted to disrupt certification of the 2020 election results.
• Readout of CISA Call with Critical Infrastructure Partners on Potential Russian Cyberattacks Against the United States CISA 22 Mar 2022 -- Today, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency convened a three-hour call with over 13,000 industry stakeholders to provide an update on the potential for Russian cyberattacks against the U.S. homeland and answer questions from a range of stakeholders across the nation.
• Russia rejects Washington's cyberattack claims, says it doesn't engage in banditry like US Press TV 22 Mar 2022 -- Russia has dismissed the United States' accusations that Moscow might be preparing to launch cyberattacks against American assets, saying that Moscow does not engage in "banditry."
• Kremlin Rejects Biden's Claim of Looming Russian Cyberattack: We Don't Conduct State-Level Banditry Sputnik 22 Mar 2022 -- On Monday, President Biden talked up the dangers that Russian "cyber capacity" poses to the United States, and warned that Russia's President Vladimir Putin will be likely to use cyberattacks now that western sanctions over Ukraine have meant that his "back is against the wall".
• The U.S. and Canada Reestablish the Cross-Border Crime Forum DHS 22 Mar 2022 -- Guided by our shared commitment outlined in President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau's February 2021 Roadmap for a Renewed U.S.-Canada Partnership to re-establish the Cross-Border Crime Forum (CBCF), the Attorney General of the United States, Merrick Garland, and the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro N. Mayorkas, along with Canada's Minister of Justice and Attorney General, David Lametti, and Minister of Public Safety, Marco Mendicino, met today in Washington, D.C. to discuss how to enhance collaboration between our two countries to counter cross-border crime and make our communities safer.
• United States and Canada Welcome Negotiations of a CLOUD Act Agreement US Dept. of Justice 22 Mar 2022 -- The United States and Canada have entered into formal negotiations for a bilateral agreement under the Clarifying Lawful Overseas Use of Data (CLOUD) Act, to enhance the existing robust law enforcement cooperation between the two allies.
• The U.S. and Canada Reestablish the Cross-Border Crime Forum US Dept. of Justice 22 Mar 2022 -- Guided by our shared commitment outlined in President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau's February 2021 Roadmap for a Renewed U.S.-Canada Partnership to re-establish the Cross-Border Crime Forum (CBCF), the Attorney General of the United States, Merrick Garland, and the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Alejandro N. Mayorkas, along with Canada's Minister of Justice and Attorney General, David Lametti, and Minister of Public Safety, Marco Mendicino, met today in Washington, D.C. to discuss how to enhance collaboration between our two countries to counter cross-border crime and make our communities safer.
• Readout of U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland's Participation in Reestablishing the United States-Canada Cross-Border Crime Forum US Dept. of Justice 22 Mar 2022 -- This afternoon U.S. Attorney General Merrick B. Garland, along with U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security (DHS) Alejandro Mayorkas, met in Washington, D.C. with Canada's Minister of Justice and Attorney General, David Lametti and Canada's Minister of Public Safety, Marco Mendicino, to reestablish the Cross-Border Crime Forum (CBCF).
• Exclusive: New evidence shows US hijacks, monitors users' social media accounts, emails Global Times 22 Mar 2022 -- Chinese cybersecurity experts for the first time disclosed a typical weapon used by US National Security Agency (NSA) to target China. The weapon can monitor and hijack users' social media accounts, emails and communication information, the Global Times learned from a leading cybersecurity company exclusively on Tuesday.

COVID-19 Pandemic News

• Weekly operational update on COVID-19 - 22 March 2022
• Weekly epidemiological update on COVID-19 - 22 March 2022

United States

• DAF COVID-19 Statistics - March 22, 2022 US Air Force 22 Mar 2022
• White House short of key funding as U.S. braces for another COVID-19 surge: NBC People's Daily 22 Mar 2022 -- The White House is short of key funding for pandemic response as another COVID-19 surge is coming to the United States, NBC News has reported.

China

• Experts: Herd Immunity, Vaccinations Needed as COVID Restrictions Relaxed in Hong Kong VOA 22 Mar 2022 -- Since the pandemic began, Hong Kong has adopted Beijing's approach of a "zero-Covid" policy. This has previously been enforced with quick measures to eradicate infections and lengthy quarantines for arrivals.
• China issues more targeted testing guideline under dynamic zero policy, no longer requires mass testing Global Times 22 Mar 2022 -- China on Tuesday revised its guideline on nucleic acid testing, which no longer requires citywide testing but regional testing, in order to make its epidemic prevention and control measures more targeted under the dynamic zero-COVID policy amid the worst outbreak in two years, which has spread to 28 provinces and regions.
• Average age of Omicron patients is 40.6 years old in Shanghai's latest outbreak Global Times 22 Mar 2022 -- The majority of infected persons amid this round of Omicron outbreak in Shanghai are young and middle-aged people with good health, a Shanghai government official said on Tuesday. There was a large disparity in the proportion of confirmed cases and asymptomatic infections, which is related to Omicron characteristics, human immunity and mass vaccination, the authorities noted.
• Factbox: What you need to know about Jilin's COVID-19 fight People's Daily 22 Mar 2022 -- Northeast China's Jilin Province, hit hard by a COVID-19 resurgence, is making every effort to rein in the virus. Here is what you need to know about the epidemic control efforts in the province.
• Over 4 mln more COVID-19 vaccine doses administered on Chinese mainland People's Daily 22 Mar 2022 -- The amount of COVID-19 vaccine doses administered on the Chinese mainland grew by around 4.03 million on Monday, with the total number exceeding 3.23 billion, data from the National Health Commission showed Tuesday.
• Chinese mainland reports 2,281 new local COVID-19 cases People's Daily 22 Mar 2022 -- The Chinese mainland on Monday reported 2,281 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases, the National Health Commission's Tuesday report showed.
• Tens of millions under lockdown in China amid rising COVID-19 wave Radio Free Asia 22 Mar 2022 -- China's latest COVID-19 wave continued to rise on Tuesday, with confirmed and locally transmitted cases in Shanghai rising for the fifth day in a row, as the authorities struggled to contain the highly contagious omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
• China encourages differentiated funeral services amid COVID-19 outbreak People's Daily 22 Mar 2022 -- The Ministry of Civil Affairs has urged policy adjustments and differentiated epidemic prevention measures in advance of this year's Tomb-sweeping Day, which falls on April 5, due to the latest COVID-19 resurgence.
• China temporarily includes COVID-19 antigen tests in medical insurance People's Daily 22 Mar 2022 -- China has brought antigen tests into its medical insurance as an interim measure against COVID-19, according to the National Healthcare Security Administration.

India

• India's Cumulative COVID-19 Vaccination Coverage exceeds 181.56 Cr India PIB 22 Mar 2022 -- India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has exceeded 181.56 Cr (1,81,56,01,944) as per provisional reports till 7 am today. This has been achieved through 2,14,38,677 sessions.
• COVID - 19 Vaccination Update - Day 431 India PIB 22 Mar 2022 -- India's COVID-19 vaccination coverage has crossed 181.85 Crore (1,81,85,58,263) today. More than 27 lakh (27,30,436) Vaccine Doses have been administered till 7 pm today. More than 50 lakh (50,32,055) vaccine doses have been administered to 12-14 years age group so far. More than 2.20 Crore (2,20,04,536) Precaution Doses for the identified categories of beneficiaries (HCWs, FLWs and Over 60 years) for COVID vaccination have been administered so far. The daily vaccination tally is expected to increase with the compilation of the final reports for the day by late tonight.
• Update on COVID-19 Vaccine Availability in States/UTs India PIB 22 Mar 2022 -- The Union Government is committed to accelerating the pace and expanding the scope of COVID-19 vaccination throughout the country. The nationwide COVID 19 vaccination started on 16th January 2021. The new phase of universalization of COVID-19 vaccination commenced from 21st June 2021. The vaccination drive has been ramped up through availability of more vaccines, advance visibility of vaccine availability to States and UTs for enabling better planning by them, and streamlining the vaccine supply chain.
• COVID-19 UPDATE India PIB 22 Mar 2022

  Iran

• COVID-19 kills 73 more Iranians over past 24 hours IRNA 22 Mar 2022 -- The number of deaths from the coronavirus pandemic in Iran increased to 139,735 with 73 more Iranians killed by the deadly disease over the past 24 hours, Iran's Health Ministry announced on Tuesday.

Taiwan

• Taiwan reports 89 new COVID-19 cases, including 10 domestic CNA 22 Mar 2022 -- Taiwan on Tuesday reported 89 new COVID-19 cases -- 10 domestically transmitted and 79 that originated abroad -- and no new deaths from the disease, according to the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

Other Countries

• Thailand Aiming for Endemic Status as More Travel Restrictions Lifted VOA 22 Mar 2022 -- Thailand is pushing to downgrade from pandemic status within three months after having some coronavirus travel restrictions lifted recently.