A U.S. Department of Commerce directive plan to prohibit the purchase of information and communications technologies from “foreign adversaries” is getting some push-back from smaller telecom carriers. One says the executive order might even be illegal.

The head of the British parliament’s defence committee wants clarification of reports that Republicans in the Senate want a ban on deployment of military aircraft to countries which open their telecom networks to Chinese technologies. Tobias Ellwood has warned his Secretary of State for Defence, Ben Wallace, that “even the airing of such disagreements between us and our closest security ally is unhelpful in a time when global stability is at the lowest it has been for a generation.”

Officials at NATO headquarters in Brussels are using the COVID-19 experience as a potential learning exercise to prepare better for the next pandemic. “Resilience is . . . enshrined in Article 3 of our treaty,” says Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. “We have baseline requirements, guidelines for national resilience, including health and dealing with mass casualties.”

While the 16 German states have varying approaches for easing the lock downs imposed to contain COVID-19, cloth masks now are mandatory in most jurisdictions on public transit and in stores. However, the World Health Organization continues to suggest that masks should be worn only by persons who are displaying symptoms, have tested positive or are caring for others.