International Policy
U.S. Coast Guard, Navy, and Royal Canadian navy personnel maintain a recently signed five-year strategic plan will establish the foundation for future coordination and joint operations.
“Whether it’s combating criminal activity by international drug cartels in the eastern pacific, or... Read More »
The Council of Europe Committee on Counter-Terrorism (CDCT) issued a statement on the importance of a coordinated response to bioterrorism.
The committee said that the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of modern societies to viral infections. The intentional use of a pathogen or... Read More »
The leaders of Costa Rica and Chile, working with the World Health Organization (WHO), are spearheading an effort to create a technology platform that aims to lift access barriers to effective vaccines, medicines, and other health products against COVID-19.
“Our proposal relies on... Read More »
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) have issued a warning to organizations conducting research on the COVID-19 pandemic.
These agencies are warning that healthcare researchers are prime targets from fraudsters from the... Read More »
Security agencies from the United States and the United Kingdom are warning healthcare policymakers and researchers to be on the lookout for cybersecurity threat campaigns amid the COVID-19 response.
Officials representing the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the... Read More »
Global health, industry, and nonprofit leaders joined this week in pledging support to defeat COVID-19, uniting them in a virtual event that recommitted to the accelerated development and delivery of vaccines, tests, and treatments.
“We will only halt COVID-19 through solidarity,” Dr. Tedros... Read More »
President Donald Trump’s pledge to halt funding to the World Health Organization (WHO) while the White House reviews its handling of the COVID-19 outbreak has drawn immediate criticism from the health community.
“We must all be allies against this threat; this is not the time to stand... Read More »
A group of Congressional lawmakers are calling on leaders of the World Health Organization, the United Nations, and the World Organization for Animal Health to ban live wildlife markets and international trade of live wildlife.
Live wildlife markets, also known as “wet” markets, create a... Read More »
A new report from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) attributes three instances of chemical weapons use in 2017 to the Assad regime in Syria.
The report from the OPCW Investigation and Identification Team (IIT) concluded that there are grounds to believe that the... Read More »
The world is at war, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told the G20 Leaders Summit this week, and every country needs to unite to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
“You have come together to confront the defining health crisis of our time: We are at war... Read More »
The World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday officially declared COVID-19 a pandemic, making it the first pandemic caused by a coronavirus.
Though WHO had already determined the novel coronavirus a matter of the highest risk globally, the new declaration ended weeks of questioning and... Read More »
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness (CEPI) welcomed this week a £20 million ($26.2 million) investment from the U.K. government while highlighting the need for upwards of $2 billion to develop a vaccine against the virus that causes COVID-19.
CEPI, a global partnership dedicated to the... Read More »
The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) is part of a new initiative to help fill gaps in pandemic preparedness that have emerged with the rapidly evolving COVID-19 coronavirus crisis.
NTI, along with other global health security organizations, is helping to launch a fund called the Global Health... Read More »
While raising the global risk surrounding the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, to very high, the World Health Organization (WHO) this week released $15 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) as a means of shoring up defenses in more vulnerable nations.
“We do not yet see evidence... Read More »
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) received notifications of nearly 190 incidents of nuclear and other radioactive materials not under regulatory control in 2019, according to the agency’s annual fact sheet.
The fact sheet was published during a recent IAEA conference on... Read More »
With cases of coronavirus (2019-nCoV) now rooted in 25 countries and afflicting more than 24,000 people, the international community is attempting to fight back with a $675 million Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan (SPRP).
While many nations have responded swiftly to the novel... Read More »
Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) CEO and Co-Chairman Ernest J. Moniz called on public and private sector leaders at last week’s 50th World Economic Forum (WEF) to work to reduce the biological risks associated with advances in technology.
Safety and security measures have not kept pace with... Read More »
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed a second U.S. case of the Wuhan coronavirus on Friday, pointing to a patient in Chicago while revealing that 63 other possible cases are being tracked across 22 states.
Though Nancy Messonnier, director of the CDC’s National Center... Read More »
Pandemic preparedness collaboration among private businesses with the public sector is critically important at this time, say experts at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, the World Economic Forum, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
“The next severe pandemic will not only... Read More »
U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation awarded $2.3 million to three groups to develop advanced technologies for homeland security.
The BIRD Foundation is an initiative funded by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) commended the Trump Administration for imposing sanctions on eight senior Iranian officials and key sectors of Iran’s economy, including steel and iron manufacturers.
“Today’s announcement of sanctions against senior Iranian officials and Iran’s... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) recently sent correspondence to U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, pressing for information regarding the legal basis used for the military operation that killed Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani.
“During your confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services... Read More »
Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Chris Coons (D-DE) recently introduced legislation designed to strengthen the U.S.-Israel strategic alliance.
The United States-Israel Security Assistance Authorization Act of 2020 authorizes $3.3 billion in annual security assistance consistent with the Memorandum... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Tom Udall (D-NM) and Rand Paul (R-KY) are urging their Senate colleagues to support their bill that would prevent going to war with Iran.
The Prevention of Unconstitutional War with Iran Act of 2019 (S.1039) affirms the constitutional role of Congress as the sole branch of government... Read More »
The U.S. Senate recently advanced a bipartisan bill designed to fight international corruption.
The Combatting Global Corruption Act (S. 1309), introduced by Sens. Ben Cardin (D-MD) and Todd Young (R-IN), would encourage greater transparency in U.S. foreign and security assistance and publicize... Read More »
Security officials from the United States and Panama struck an agreement this week that would improve collaboration between the two countries in battling security threats.
The Security Cooperation agreement will strengthen cybersecurity cooperation and policy planning, enhance customs processes... Read More »
Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA) and Rep. Brad Sherman (D-CA) introduced legislation Wednesday that would require the U.S. president to certify whether a foreign country is violating a weapons of mass destruction treaty.
The Preventing the Spread of Nuclear Weapons Act says that if these conditions are... Read More »
The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) issued a report recommending steps to improve the decision-making process for nuclear weapons use.
The President and Nuclear Weapons: Authorities, Limits, and Process specifically looks at the state of domestic and international law related to the use of... Read More »
Chemical industry officials said the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) would be at the forefront of establishing guidelines promoting safety and security.
During the recent second edition of the Workshop on Developing Tools for Chemical Safety and Security at Almaty in... Read More »
A joint effort by Duke-NUS Medical School and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has built The Nipah Virus International Conference for experts and health stakeholders to address the threat of Nipah virus collaboratively.
“There are currently no specific drugs or... Read More »
The International Criminal Police Organization, or INTERPOL, conducted a security exercise in Southeast Asia that led to various arrests and seizures of illegal goods.
The exercise, dubbed Operation Anchor, featured law enforcement agencies in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Vietnam... Read More »
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) held its Electronic Warfare Advisory Committee (NEWAC) meeting this week to discuss electronic warfare (EW) and strategies and initiatives to counter it.
Electronic warfare (EW) is a military action that exploits electromagnetic energy to provide... Read More »
The 24th session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) is gathering this week in The Hague to address new projects, encourage cooperation, and chart the progress of their shared endeavor.
“The recent use of chemical weapons, as well as the potential... Read More »
Efforts to enhance Preclearance efficiency and effectiveness served as the prime focus during the recent Preclearance Port Directors Summit in Abu Dhabi.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials met with counterparts from the Department of State and the United Arab Emirates personnel during... Read More »
The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) has released findings regarding Iran’s military capability, providing details on that nation’s defense and military goals, strategy, plans, and intentions.
“As Tehran expands its capabilities and role as both an unconventional and conventional threat... Read More »
