International Policy
Sens. Rob Portman (R-OH), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Tom Cotton (R-AR), and Bill Hagerty (R-TN) recently reintroduced a measure they said is designed to address foreign influence.
The Foreign Influence Transparency Act would require organizations such as the Chinese government-run Confucius Institutes... Read More »
Legislation that would formally end the authorizations for the Gulf and Iraq wars was introduced in the U.S. Senate this week.
Sens. Todd Young (R-IN) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) reintroduced their bipartisan legislation to repeal the 1991 and 2002 Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMF) against... Read More »
A group of Senators introduced legislation supporting President Joe Biden’s efforts to rejoin the Iran Nuclear Deal, also called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
The Iran Diplomacy Act Full says the United States and Iran should promptly return to full compliance with all of... Read More »
A bill was introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives to ensure that the U.S. strengthens partnerships with international allies to combat cyberattacks in a unified approach.
The Cyber Diplomacy Act of 2021 (H.R. 1251), sponsored by Michael McCaul (R-TX), would also advocate for the State... Read More »
Rep. Mark Green (R-TN) has introduced five bills to address the Chinese Communist Party's malign influence.
Officials said the legislation, previously introduced by Green in the 116th Congress, includes the Bring American Companies Home Act, the Our Money in China Transparency Act, the Secure... Read More »
With money appropriated by Congress last year, President Joe Biden pledged a total of $4 billion to the global COVAX initiative to get poorer nations access to COVID-19 vaccines.
The announcement, made during a virtual G7 Summit, also encouraged partners within that group of wealthy nations to... Read More »
The World Health Organization (WHO) formally approved emergency authorization for AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, allowing two versions of it to be distributed through the global COVAX program.
AstraZeneca-SKBio is producing the two vaccines in the Republic of Korea and the Serum Institute of... Read More »
In its first-ever global assessment of country health information systems, released this week, the World Health Organization (WHO) noted that while two-thirds of low-income countries have some form of system to report causes of death, there is a widespread need for improvement.
This has been... Read More »
The UK Government has ordered 40 million more doses of Valneva’s adjuvanted COVID-19 vaccine candidate for supply in 2022.
This increases the total doses of the Valneva vaccine ordered by the UK Government to 100 million. Plus, the UK Government retains options for possibly a further 90... Read More »
A bipartisan group of U.S. Senators introduced a bill that seeks to shut down international commercial wildlife markets.
The Preventing Future Pandemics Act would direct the State Department to work with international partners to shut down commercial wildlife markets and stop the associated... Read More »
According to a new study by the International Chamber of Commerce Research Foundation, the global economy stands to lose as much as $9.2 trillion if governments fail to ensure developing economy access to COVID-19 vaccines.
The study demonstrates the economic case to invest in the Access to... Read More »
The Nuclear Threat Initiative applauded the Biden Administration for extending the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) with Russia for an additional five years.
The New START agreement was reached in 2011 with Russia to reduce nuclear arms in both countries. The 10-year agreement was... Read More »
Sens. Todd Young (R-IN) and Ben Cardin (D-MD) have reintroduced a measure they said would make efforts to address global corruption a national security priority.
The Combating Global Corruption Act would raise the profile of fighting international corruption noting the violation erodes trust and... Read More »
COVAX announced last week that a new purchase agreement with Pfizer-BioNTech will secure up to 40 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine for rollout, offering the potential to deliver at least 2 billion doses of vaccines, equitably, by year’s end.
“Today marks another milestone for COVAX:... Read More »
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials said an agreement reached between the United States and the United Kingdom would strengthen supply chain security.
“This arrangement will take U.S.-UK cooperation on supply chain security to the next level,” William A. Ferrara, executive... Read More »
President Joe Biden has returned the United States to the fold of the World Health Organization (WHO), dispatching his Chief Medical Adviser, Dr. Anthony Fauci, to address the body and make that return official.
“I am honored to announce that the United States will remain a member of the World... Read More »
The World Health Organization (WHO) hosted a virtual forum last week to identify knowledge gaps and set research priorities for vaccines against COVID-19.
At the forum – attended by more than 2,800 scientists from 130 countries – the participants discussed the safety and efficacy of existing... Read More »
With £2.5 million in funding from UK Research and Innovation, an arm of the government, the G2P-UK National Virology Consortium has been founded to study the threats posed by new SARS-CoV-2 variants increasingly cropping up across the world.
The effects of these mutations have yet to be fully... Read More »
An indictment was unsealed in Central Islip, N.Y., last week, charging 14 leaders in MS-13 who are known as the Ranfla Nacional, which operated as the organization’s board of directors, directing MS-13’s criminal activity for almost two decades.
The indictment charges the defendants with... Read More »
Reps. Brian Mast (R-FL) and Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) have re-introduced legislation they said imposes sanctions on foreign persons, agencies, and governments assisting Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, or affiliates.
The Palestinian International Terrorism Support Prevention Act requires the... Read More »
The Israel-U.S. Binational Industrial Research and Development (BIRD) Foundation has awarded two projects a total of $1.5 million to address homeland security threat detection and 3D mapping technologies.
The BIRD Homeland Security (HLS) program is a joint initiative funded by the Department of... Read More »
Valneva SE and the European Commission (EC) are discussing the possibility of the specialty vaccine company supplying up to 60 million doses of its inactivated, adjuvanted COVID-19 vaccine, VLA2001, for use throughout Europe.
“Today’s announcement helps to ensure that millions of Europeans... Read More »
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) is honoring National Human Trafficking Awareness Month as a means of drawing attention to the international crime and the work of law enforcement to deter human trafficking, bring traffickers to justice, and aid... Read More »
The World Health Organization (WHO) issued emergency use validation for the Pfizer/BioNTech Comirnaty mRNA vaccine last week, ending 2020 by issuing the first such validation for a COVID-19 vaccine.
The global organization’s declaration will allow countries to expedite their regulatory... Read More »
The nations of Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras have all signed the Asylum Cooperation Agreement (ACA) with the United States, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced.
In 2019, more than 71 percent of migrants apprehended at the U.S. Southwest border came from El Salvador,... Read More »
Law enforcement officials in the United States and worldwide have taken down a virtual private network (VPN) called “Operation Nova” that had been allegedly assisting cybercriminals.
United States Attorney Matthew Schneider said the investigation revealed three domains— INSORG.ORG;... Read More »
On behalf of 190 participating economies, the global COVAX initiative has secured access to nearly 2 billion COVID-19 vaccine candidates and plans to begin dispensing those doses early next year to protect vulnerable groups.
While most of the vaccine candidates involved are still under... Read More »
In a new report, the Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) warns of the risks related to the digitization and automation upgrade plans for U.S. nuclear weapons systems.
The report, U.S. Nuclear Weapons Modernization: Security and Policy Implications of Integrating Digital Technology, calls on the U.S.... Read More »
As the world deals with the ongoing chaos and death inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic, INTERPOL is warning of a new threat to global hopes: organized crime networks are targeting COVID-19 vaccines, both physically and online.
In a global Orange Notice alert to the organization’s 194 member... Read More »
With the temporary approval of the Medicines & Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the United Kingdom has become the first country to initiate an emergency use authorization (EUA) for a COVID-19 vaccine created by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech.
Earlier studies showed the vaccine to be 94.1... Read More »
The U.S. government awarded $7 million to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to support the construction of the new OPCW Centre for Chemistry and Technology.
The ChemTech Centre seeks to strengthen the OPCW’s capabilities to fully address new and emerging chemical... Read More »
Department of Justice officials said an Operation Regional Shield (ORS)-centered effort recently resulted in charges against members of Central America transnational criminal organizations.
Per authorities, the charges were primarily levied against MS-13 and 18th Street gangs in conjunction with... Read More »
With the onslaught of the holiday shopping season, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) remind shoppers how consumers can protect themselves from buying counterfeit goods and brand name “knock-offs.”
“CBP’s primary mission is to protect... Read More »
A new Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) and Center for Energy and Security Studies (CENESS) report seeks U.S. and Russia support in sustaining International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) work.
The Future of IAEA Safeguards: Rebuilding the Vienna Spirit through Russian-U.S. Expert Dialogue resulted... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Justice recently filed a complaint regarding the forfeiture of a pair of Iranian missile shipments and petroleum seized from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The Navy seized the missiles in transit to militant groups in Yemen while the 1.1 million barrels... Read More »
