International Policy
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ordered the Commander of the U.S. Transportation Command to activate Stage I of the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAF) on Sunday.
The activation will provide the U.S. Department of Defense with access to commercial air mobility resources to help in the... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) introduced legislation Wednesday that seeks to divert a small percentage of military spending towards global vaccination efforts, vaccinating potentially an additional 30 percent of the world’s low-income population within a year.
The COVID Defense Act would... Read More »
The World Health Organization (WHO) is asking for $7.7 billion in funding for the Rapid ACT-Accelerator Delta Response (RADAR) to help stop the Delta variant and bring about an end to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The funding would allow for increased testing and better surveillance to detect and... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Ted Deutch (D-FL), Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Kathy Manning (D-NC), and Peter Meijer (R-MI) introduced Monday a resolution designed to encourage the European Union's (EU) full designation of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.
The EU solely includes Hezbollah's military wing - separate... Read More »
In a letter written to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), more than 70 U.S. representatives and senators have called for providing up to $34 billion to speed up COVID-19 vaccine production for global use.
“No investment in the fight... Read More »
Partners in COVAX, a global collaborative effort to accelerate development, manufacturing and equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines, launched the COVAX Marketplace last week to match buyers with suppliers through a secure new platform and overcome short-term bottlenecks.
The Marketplace is a... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Joni Ernest (R-IA) introduced legislation Wednesday that would require military and intelligence agencies to monitor the threat from terrorist organizations that could result from the withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan.
Ernst, a combat veteran and member of the Senate Armed... Read More »
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced it had broken ground on a new facility to strengthen countries’ abilities to tackle nuclear terrorism Monday.
According to Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of IAEA, the new IAEA Nuclear Security Training and Demonstration Centre... Read More »
The U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) reported this week that a COVAXIN adjuvant they funded, Alhydroxiquim-II, is actively aiding the COVID-19 response efforts in India, boosting the COVAXIN vaccine’s efficacy among the millions who have taken it.
Alhydroxiquim-II was originally... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) and Mark Green (R-TN) introduced last week legislation seeking to increase funding to the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI).
The measure garnered advancement in the U.S. House of Representatives last year as efforts with the executive branch continue... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Andre Carson (D-IN) introduced legislation Tuesday that would uncover the threats posed by white supremacist groups both in America and abroad.
Carson, chair of the House Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Counterintelligence, and counterproliferation, said the groups threaten national... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) has introduced the COVID Act of 2021, authorizing sanctions against the Chinese Communist Party should it fail to allow a probe into the origins of COVID-19.
The sanctions and restrictions would be applied 90 days after enactment concerning a probe of suspected... Read More »
The World Health Organization (WHO) and its COVAX partners announced they are working with a South African consortium to establish a COVID mRNA vaccine technology transfer hub.
The consortium, comprising Biovac, Afrigen Biologics and Vaccines, a network of African universities, and the Africa... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), and Jacky Rosen (D-NV) introduced legislation Thursday that would create a U.S.-Israel Artificial Intelligence Research and Development Center to further collaborate in AI and contribute to the field’s advancement.... Read More »
A group of lawmakers recently reintroduced legislation they said would require the government to develop a list of scientific and engineering institutions affiliated with the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA).
U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-FL), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Tommy... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX) and Sen. James Risch (R-ID) called on President Joe Biden to immediately impose legally mandated sanctions against the Putin regime in a letter Wednesday.
McCaul, the House Foreign Affairs Committee Lead and Risch, the Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign... Read More »
U.S. Rep. John Katko (R-NY), ranking member of the House Committee on Homeland Security, has expressed opposition to the Biden administration’s decision to lift Iranian sanctions.
In recent correspondence to U.S. Department of the Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Katko detailed what he deemed... Read More »
U.S. Rep. Bill Hagerty (R-TN) introduced legislation on Friday to redirect funds appropriated for Gaza and other Hamas-dominated areas to replenish Israel’s defense missile systems.
The legislation, the Emergency Resupply for IRON DOME Act of 2021, was co-sponsored by 21 other Congressmen and... Read More »
In a letter to President Joe Biden last week, more than 40 U.S. representatives sought to use the impending G7 Summit as an opportunity to call for five quick, immediate actions to guarantee COVID-19 vaccines were administered worldwide.
The group, led by U.S. Reps. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), Tom... Read More »
The leaders of the international organizations for financing, health, and trade are urging government leaders to finance a new $50 billion roadmap to help end the pandemic and spur global economic recovery.
Leaders of the International Monetary Fund, World Bank Group, World Health Organization,... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA) and Conor Lamb (D-PA) sought legislative action on foreign nations’ health efforts last week, introducing the Never Again International Outbreak Prevention Act to establish new monitoring and reporting mandates, sanctions, and an investigation of the World... Read More »
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) officials said the agency has partnered with South Korea to conduct a civil aviation security technology field demonstration.
DHS personnel said the agreement with the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport of... Read More »
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) launched a new survey this week to assess the vaccine manufacturing capacity and capabilities of Africa, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, to better inform ahead of future epidemics.
“While incredible efforts were... Read More »
U.S. Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) called on the Senate to double the funding for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) through his amendment to the Endless Frontiers Act.
Sasse said increasing DARPA’s funding to $7 billion a year for the next five years would allow America to compete... Read More »
Bavarian Nordic A/S and Johnson & Johnson (J&J) announced this week that they will support World Health Organization (WHO) led efforts to contain the spread of Ebola in West Africa through the donation of up to 200,000 doses of J&J’s vaccine regimen.
The partnership owes to the fact that... Read More »
As part of a World Health Organization (WHO) early access clinical program in Sierra Leone, up to 200,000 vaccine regimens from Johnson & Johnson will be distributed among children and adults.
Donated to the WHO for the program, the vaccine regimen already received prequalification from the WHO... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) reintroduced legislation this week to counter politically motivated abuse of INTERPOL by authoritarian regimes.
The Transnational Repression Accountability and Prevention (TRAP) Act establishes domestic priorities for responding to INTERPOL... Read More »
The World Health Organization (WHO) added the Sinopharm COVID-19 vaccine produced by Beijing Bio-Institute of Biological Products Co Ltd. to the list of vaccines approved for emergency use worldwide last week, giving a potential new source and new boost for efforts by the COVAX... Read More »
Bloomberg Philanthropies will award up to $50,000 each to 18 cities in low and middle-income countries that are part of the Partnership for Healthy Cities and planning vaccine distribution rollouts with high-risk populations emphasized.
Vaccine preparedness activities, including communication... Read More »
A new United States-based public-private partnership, the Global Task Force on Pandemic Response, announced last week that it will work with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s U.S.-India Business Council and the U.S.-India Strategic Partnership to lend immediate aid to India’s COVID-19... Read More »
Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee for an annual Worldwide Threat Assessment hearing this week, Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) Director Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier called attention to the activities and competition offered by China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran.
At a national... Read More »
Responding to the spiraling COVID-19 situation in India, Pfizer Inc. announced this week that it will provide more than $70 million worth of medicines to the country immediately, with assistance from government and non-governmental organization partners.
“We are donating enough medicines to... Read More »
U.S. Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) introduced legislation to ensure the United States is positioned to lead international standards-setting Thursday.
The bill would counter the Chinese government's influence and work to protect American jobs. Specifically, the... Read More »
A group of lawmakers recently forwarded correspondence to the three companies producing COVID-19 vaccines, seeking their plans to expand COVID-19 vaccines access globally.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Jeffrey A. Merkley (D-OR), and Christopher S.... Read More »
While the COVID-19 pandemic has illustrated the dangers of ill-prepared public health initiatives, a new case study-based report from the global Resolve to Save Lives initiative and its president and CEO Dr. Tom Frieden highlights the numerous ways that governments can invest in and prioritize... Read More »
