Other Security News
COVID-19 Pandemic News

Other Security News

• Two Tennessee Men Arrested for Planning Attacks on Law Enforcement Personnel and the FBI's Knoxville Field Office US Dept. of Justice 16 Dec 2022 -- A criminal complaint was unsealed today charging Edward Kelley, 33, of Maryville, Tennessee, and Austin Carter, 26, of Knoxville, Tennessee, with conspiracy, retaliating against a federal official, interstate communication of a threat, and solicitation to commit a crime of violence.
• Cybersecurity: EU holds 8th dialogue with the United States European External Action Service (EEAS) 16 Dec 2022 -- On 15-16 December 2022, the European Union and United States held the eighth EU-U.S. Cyber Dialogue in Washington, DC. This took place in the context of a dramatically deteriorated cyber threat environment due to Russia's illegal military aggression against Ukraine, which has underlined the need for enhanced transatlantic cooperation and coordination to prevent, detect and respond to malicious cyber activities and highlighted the need to ensure that critical infrastructure is secure and resilient.
• Botswana Develops Security Strategy to Counter Terrorism Threat VOA 16 Dec 2022 -- Botswana is developing a national security strategy amid fears of heightened terrorism threats.

COVID-19 Pandemic News

United States

• Department of the Army updates Total Army COVID-19 vaccination statistics US Army 16 Dec 2022 -- The U.S. Army updated COVID-19 vaccination rates and exemption requests for the Total Army as of 15 December 2022.

China

• Macau loosens quarantine policy for arriving passengers CNA 16 Dec 2022 -- Effective Saturday, Macau will ease quarantine protocols for overseas arrivals, Macau's health officials announced Friday.
• Quarantine-free travel between Hong Kong and mainland possible in 2023: HK CE Global Times 16 Dec 2022 -- As the Chinese mainland adjusts its COVID policy and scraps many of its previous restrictive measures, calls from residents of both sides for more convenient travel between Hong Kong and the mainland have been growing. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region's Chief Executive John Lee Ka-chiu said on Thursday that it is possible that Hong Kong and the mainland will realize quarantine-free travel next year.
• Raging COVID infections in China a result of multiple factors, not merely the relaxation of policy: former CDC chief epidemiologist Global Times 16 Dec 2022 -- Multiple reasons including the characteristics of new variants, cold temperatures in winter season and invalidation of previous vaccines have contributed to the raging COVID-19 infections in China in recent days, which should not be traced back merely to the relaxation of anti-epidemic policy, a former chief epidemiologist from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said on Friday at the Global Times annual conference.
• Hefei starts administering inhalable COVID-19 vaccine People's Daily 16 Dec 2022 -- Hefei, the capital city of east China's Anhui Province, recently started administering an inhalable COVID-19 vaccine.
• Chinese mainland reports 2,091 new local confirmed COVID-19 cases People's Daily 16 Dec 2022 -- The Chinese mainland on Thursday reported 2,091 locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases, the National Health Commission said Friday.
• China conducts survey on population most susceptible to COVID-19 infections People's Daily 16 Dec 2022 -- China is carrying out a survey to identify people most susceptible to COVID-19 infections, including the elderly and those with underlying diseases, an official with the National Health Commission (NHC) said on Thursday.
• China removes testing requirements for travelers arriving in Beijing Global Times 16 Dec 2022 -- China's transport ministry on Thursday released a notice to further implement optimized epidemic prevention and control measures for people arriving in Beijing, removing the requirement for them to do nucleic acid testing.
• China's State Council calls for improved logistics to safeguard delivery of epidemic prevention supplies Global Times 16 Dec 2022 -- The State Council, China's cabinet, on Thursday called for efforts to improve logistics and safeguard the delivery of epidemic prevention supplies after the country eased anti-virus restrictions.
• Multiple Chinese cities begin second booster rollout Global Times 16 Dec 2022 -- Multiple Chinese cities, including Beijing, as well as cities in Southwest China's Sichuan Province, Central China's Hunan and East China's Zhejiang and Anhui, have released the location of local vaccination sites while encouraging the public to seek out a second COVID-19 booster shot.

Taiwan

• Taiwan reports 15,416 new COVID-19 cases, 24 deaths CNA 16 Dec 2022 -- Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) reported 15,416 new COVID-19 infections Friday, all but 100 of which were domestic cases, and 24 deaths from the disease.