President Vladimir Putin said he plans to strengthen Russia's nuclear forces, as his invasion of Ukraine reaches the one-year mark with concerns growing about the broader global fallout. In an address Thursday to mark Defender of the Fatherland Day, a patriotic holiday that celebrates the role of the country's armed forces, Putin said he would "focus on strengthening the nuclear triad," meaning nuclear weapons that can be fired from land, air and sea. Putin also said that, for the first time, Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missiles — which are able to carry multiple nuclear warheads — would be deployed this year. “We will continue…

February 17, 2023|WASHINGTON For more than two decades, the World Bank has been helping Turkey with earthquake preparedness – providing funds and guidance to strengthen public buildings like schools and hospitals, improve emergency communications, and supply first-responder vehicles and equipment. Now Turkey and war-torn northern Syria are struggling with the aftermath of the deadliest temblor to hit this seismically sensitive region in the modern era. The initial Feb. 6 quake, with a magnitude of 7.8, as well as another major strike hours later and numerous aftershocks, has left more than 40,000 dead.   The Monitor recently spoke with Alanna Simpson, the…

For thousands of years, natural factors like rainfall and temperature helped determine the fate of economies and societies. For thousands of years, humans also engaged in human trafficking and kept one another as enslaved people. But as human prosperity increased exponentially beginning in the 19th century, it may have seemed that such concerns were relics of the past. So why is it that now—in the early 21st century currents of the Anthropocene era—that even wealthy nations are struggling with both extreme weather and human trafficking? One reason is the climate crisis, which affects security in a variety of ways, from undermining state capacity and legitimacy…

Cyberattacks have occurred for decades, but the Stuxnet incident marked a pivotal moment in cybersecurity. Stuxnet, a cyber operation that targeted gas centrifuges used in Iran’s uranium enrichment program in Natanz, launched a global cyber arms race when it became public in 2010. While its impact was primarily contained to Iran’s nuclear facility, the high-profile attack demonstrated how nations can weaponize cyber tools to wreak havoc not only on computers and servers, but on critical infrastructure and government facilities to achieve foreign policy objectives. Since then, malicious actors have used and modified the Stuxnet code to attack a range of targets, including…

The Treasury Department on Wednesday denied the House Oversight Committee’s request to disclose 150 suspicious reports flagged by U.S. banks concerning Biden family business transactions, causing the committee’s chairman to threaten a subpoena. U.S. banks have flagged over 150 suspicious financial transactions from Hunter and James Biden, Rep. James Comer (R-KY), House Oversight Committee chair, told Breitbart News. The wire transfers included “large” amounts of money tripped for further review by American banks. Wire transfers are widely used by money launderers. To mitigate the risks to the financial institutions, suspicious wire transfers over $10,000 are flagged for review. Wire transactions involving more than $10,000…