AfghanistanTaliban Advances in Afghanistan Give Kashmir Militants a Boost By Gowhar Geelani Published 8 July 2021 As NATO troops continue their withdrawal from Afghanistan, experts fear that a spike in armed insurgency in India-administered Kashmir could follow. After the withdrawal of the Soviet troops from Afghanistan in the late 1980s, an anti-India armed insurgency erupted

GunsNew York Defines Illegal Firearms Use as a “Public Nuisance” in Bid to Pierce Gun Industry’s Powerful Liability Shield By Timothy D. Lytton Published 8 July 2021 New York will soon test that notion that calling the illegal use of firearms a “public nuisance” could bring an end to the gun industry’s immunity from civil

Coastal challengesAccurately Predicting Impact of Storms, Sea-Level Rise on Coasts Published 8 July 2021 The combination of extreme storms and rises in sea levels as a result of global climate change are posing serious threats to coastal communities. The Forecasting Coastal Evolution (ForCE) model has the potential to be a game-changing advance in coastal evolution science.

Climate challengesWestern North American Extreme Heat Virtually Impossible without Human-Caused Climate Change Published 8 July 2021 During the last days of June 2021, Pacific northwest areas of the U.S. and Canada experienced temperatures never previously observed, with records broken in many places by several degrees Celsius. Using published peer-reviewed methods, an international team of scientists

Our picksCan a Kansas Lab Stop the Next Epidemic? | 2020 DHS Memo on Pandemic & Violence | The Search for Covid-19 “Patient Zero” Published 8 July 2021 ·  When the Next Animal Plague Hits, Can This Lab Stop It? ·  Justice IG: Badly Depleted U.S. Prison Chaplain Corps ‘Impairs’ Safety; Terror Inmates Leading Religious Services  · 

EarthquakesProducing Geothermal Energy Diminishes Earthquake Risk Published 7 July 2021 Researchers studying the 5 July 2019 magnitude-7.1 earthquake in Ridgecrest, California found that none of the thousands recorded aftershocks in the region were seen in the Coso geothermal field, an area only about ten kilometers away. Now they know why: The development of geothermal energy

China watchU.S. Concerned About Report China is Expanding Missile Silos By Lin Yang Published 7 July 2021 Using images provided by the satellite imaging company Planet, researchers found that China is building 119 silos in the desert of the northwestern province of Gansu.The expansion of the number of launch silos for China’s arsenal of intercontinental

Managed coastal retreatAre Buyouts a Viable Tool for Climate Adaptation? By Elise Gout Published 7 July 2021 Sea level rise, and the resulting storm surges and floods, have made managed coastal retreat – the purposeful movement of people, buildings, and other infrastructure away from the coast – an option which more and more communities are

RansomwareFull Impact of Russian Ransomware Attack Hard to Estimate Published 6 July 2021 Hackers associated with the REvil gang, a major Russian ransomware syndicate have demanded $70 million in Bitcoin in exchange for a decryption tool to free the data of companies targeted, but also indicated they were willing to negotiate. More details have emerged about

China watchUnderstanding Influence in the Strategic Competition with China Published 6 July 2021 What do qualitative metrics and case studies reveal about how China attempts to exert influence around the world? How should the United States respond to China’s influence-seeking activities? A new report assesses China’s ability to use various mechanisms of influence to shape