International Policy
Federal regulatory updates to the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Program that go into effect on Nov. 21 could receive some additional muscle to knock out bad actors if recently introduced federal legislation is enacted.
“I still have concerns about fraud and abuse in the program that can only be... Read More »
The Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) released a report assessing the five new nuclear weapon systems announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Based on its analysis, NTI called for an extension of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty or START Treaty.
The report, called Russia’s New... Read More »
A group of public safety organizations recently agreed to work together to enhance global emergency communications systems that serve nearly 1 billion people.
Under the agreement, the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials, Canada (APCO Canada), the European Emergency Number... Read More »
The head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) briefed the United Nations Security Council on issues related to Syria’s chemical weapons last week.
The UN officials expressed their support for the objectives of the Chemical Weapons Convention and the work of the... Read More »
The Terrorist Financing Targeting Center (TFTC) has designated 25 targets affiliated with the Iranian regime’s terror-support networks in the region.
The designation is focused on entities supporting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Hizballah. Several of these... Read More »
Countries are not prepared for the possible international spread of new or emerging pathogens or for the deliberate or accidental release of dangerous agents, according to a new index that assesses the capabilities of 195 nations.
The Global Health Security Index is a joint project by the... Read More »
Medical professionals from 20 countries recently attended an international course on the medical management of chemical casualties at the Air Force Medical University in Xi’an, China.
Participants were trained in the advanced hospital care of the victims of toxic chemicals or chemical weapons... Read More »
The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) gave the okay for a conditional marketing authorization for V920 Ebola Zaire vaccine developed by Merck.
If affirmed by the European Commission, the vaccine will be authorized under the brand name... Read More »
Doha, Qatar, served as the site of a training initiative focusing on addressing risks arising from chemical accidents and the potential misuse of toxic chemicals in ports and maritime venues.
“We aim to raise global standards and set norms for the safety, security, and efficiency of ports and... Read More »
The United States and the United Kingdom entered into a recent agreement that will allow law enforcement agencies to demand electronic data from tech companies in either country for serious crimes.
The US-UK Bilateral Data Access Agreement would apply to serious crimes, including terrorism,... Read More »
A new report issued by leaders in international health says the world may face great risk from pathogens, including a rapidly moving, highly lethal pandemic projected to kill 50 to 80 million people and wiping out nearly 5 percent of the world’s economy.
High-impact respiratory pathogens, such... Read More »
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar co-hosted Wednesday the “Meeting of Regional Ministers of Health on Ebola Preparedness and Response” during the 74th United Nations General Assembly.
Foremost on the ministers’ minds were the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and the... Read More »
The Sept. 14 gas explosion that stoked a fire at a Russian bioweapons facility in Siberia where viruses and bacteria including smallpox, Ebola and anthrax are stored reminded the world that humans are only one catastrophic biological event away from a pandemic that could kill tens of millions of... Read More »
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar met with the Republic of Uganda President Yoweri Museveni this week to discuss a multilateral response to contain the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The United States has long had a partnership with Uganda on... Read More »
U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar led a contingent of U.S. officials on a tour last week of an Ebola treatment center in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
The delegation, which toured a facility in Butembo, DRC, observed the detection, infection prevention, and... Read More »
Faced with the rise of anti-vaccination movements in the developed world, the European Commission and the World Health Organization (WHO) hosted the first Global Vaccination Summit last week, to counter those movements and promote action against vaccine-preventable diseases.
The European... Read More »
Under Secretary for Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) and Chief Intelligence Officer David J. Glawe recently addressed the International Institute for Counter-Terrorism's (ICT’s) 2019 World Summit on Counter-Terrorism in Israel.
Organizers said the gathering serves as one of the world’s most... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) worked alongside colleagues in the United Kingdom and Canada in June to test the latest iteration of the Science Advisory Guide for Emergencies (SAGE).
SAGE is a supplemental tool that maintains scientific... Read More »
Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), lead Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said Congress and the Trump Administration must address the expiration of the UN arms embargo on Iran.
The UN arms embargo on Iran and the travel ban on Qasem Soleimani, the chief of Iran's Quds force, are set to... Read More »
Acting Deputy Secretary David P. Pekoske and Attorney General William P. Barr recently participated in the Five Country Ministerial in London, England, to address emerging global security threats.
Pekoske and Barr joined Home Affairs, Interior Security and Immigration Ministers of the Five Eyes... Read More »
The United States officially withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty last week, ending a 30-year ban on a class of weapons that both the United States and the then Soviet Union, now Russia, recognized as particularly dangerous and destabilizing.
These land-based... Read More »
As he called for immediate action to eradicate a major outbreak of Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) last week, U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) also denounced the Trump Administration for its failures to combat the growing crisis adequately.
The outbreak is now recognized by the... Read More »
The second longest outbreak of Ebola in history poses little immediate threat to the United States, officials told a U.S. Senate panel on Wednesday, but that could quickly change if the outbreak is not contained.
During a hearing titled, “Confronting Ebola: Addressing a 21st Century Global... Read More »
After nearly a year of battling an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo without success, the World Health Organization (WHO) this week declared the situation a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC).
The declaration means the outbreak now poses a considerable... Read More »
With an outbreak of Ebola continuing in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the United Nations (UN) hosted Monday a high-level meeting that reaffirmed support for their system-wide approach to combating the disease and reaffirmed support for the government-led response.
The disease has... Read More »
House legislators have adopted an amendment prohibiting U.S. sales of nuclear power equipment to Saudi Arabia without safeguards preventing nuclear weapon development.
Officials said the House adopted the language as an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, which is expected to... Read More »
South Africa’s National Institute for Communicable Diseases, in collaboration with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other global agencies, held a workshop last month addressing biosecurity and biosafety gaps.
More than 50 experts from the Southern African region met in... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) announced last week that several key provisions that he worked to advance were included in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
The Taking Back Congressional Authority Over War Authorization amendment prohibits the United States from spending funds that could... Read More »
The International Atomic Energy Agency recently confirmed Iran violated the restrictions on stockpiling enriched uranium specified in the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
In response, three Republican senators sent a letter to President Donald Trump urging the administration to put... Read More »
The healthcare community needs to address antimicrobial resistance, or future generations will be at risk, a leading health expert said at the first-ever joint meeting of G20 Finance and Health Ministers in Osaka, Japan last week.
Antimicrobial resistance occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi,... Read More »
Prosecutors from Colombia, Mexico, and the United States met in June to develop joint strategies and best practices to dismantle the transnational criminal organizations that threaten the three nations.
The meeting of the Transnational Criminal Organizations (TCO) Working Group in Cartagena,... Read More »
A collection of the world’s chemical emergency response trainers recently spent a week in the Czech Republic teaching responders how to address crises with chemical warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals.
The training was co-organized by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical... Read More »
A group of lawmakers recently introduced 22 separate Joint Resolutions of Disapproval outlining Congress’ role of approving arms sales to foreign governments.
Sens. Todd Young (R-IN), Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Chris Murphy (D-CT), Rand Paul (R-KY), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), and... Read More »
Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Director Lt. Gen. Robert P. Ashley Jr. took advantage of a recent speaking engagement to lend insight regarding Russia’s and China’s nuclear weapons capabilities and modernization.
Ashley shared the information while addressing the Hudson Institute in... Read More »
Reps. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Eliot Engel (D-NY) recently introduced legislation designed to enhance U.S.- Ukraine cooperation and address effective deterrence from Russian aggression.
The U.S.-Ukraine Security Cooperation Enhancement Act provides specific lethal military assistance including... Read More »
