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The Beat<\/b><\/p>\n
Ice smoking room coming to Sydney<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Drug law reformers want to open Australia\u2019s first<\/span> ice smoking room<\/span><\/a>. Australia currently has one<\/span> supervised injecting facility<\/span><\/a> (SIF) in Sydney, providing a place for drug users to inject illicit drugs under the supervision of nurses and social workers. 10 countries have already opened SIFs and recently, an American addiction\u00a0medicine specialist has<\/span> argued<\/span><\/a> that the US joins their ranks. Studies have shown that drug consumption rooms<\/span> reduce crime, violence and overdoses<\/span><\/a>. Former NSW premier Bob Carr, who approved Sydney\u2019s SIF, has<\/span> backed the broadening of the service<\/span><\/a> to include smoking rooms for ice users\u2014but the NSW government has said it has no plans to open such a room.<\/span><\/p>\n The Philippines\u2019 alarming approach to tackling drugs<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n In an alternative approach to tackling drug problems, newly sworn-in Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte has urged the population to take the law into their own hands and<\/span> kill drug addicts<\/span><\/a>. In the Philippines, about<\/span> 1.7 million people use drugs<\/span><\/a>\u2014with the most popular substance being methamphetamine. <\/span>Reuters<\/span><\/i> reported<\/span><\/a> that in the weeks since Duterte\u2019s election victory, there\u2019s been a spike in the number of suspected drug dealers killed by police and vigilantes. At least 45 people with suspected links to drug trafficking have been<\/span> killed by police<\/span><\/a> since Duterte was officially sworn in last Thursday.<\/span><\/p>\n CT Scan<\/b><\/p>\n Ramadan\u2014a new annual motive for terror attacks?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n As Ramadan draws to a close on 5 July, a spate of terror attacks during the Holy Month suggest that Daesh is now<\/span> using the period<\/span><\/a> \u00a0to inspire and motivate their followers. During the 2016 Ramadan period a suicide attack on an army post in Jordan<\/span> killed seven<\/span><\/a>, while suicide bombers killed 40 in<\/span> Yemen<\/span><\/a> and five in<\/span> Lebanon<\/span><\/a> on 28 June. In addition, a suicide attack at Ataturk Airport in Turkey<\/span> killed 41 on 28 June<\/span><\/a>, Palestinian assailants killed<\/span> two Israeli civilians<\/span><\/a> on 29\u201330 June, attackers killed 22 in caf\u00e9 in<\/span> Dhaka Bangladesh<\/span><\/a> on 1 July and suicide bombers attacked three locations across<\/span> Medina<\/span><\/a>, Saudi Arabia on 4 July. <\/span>The Institute for the Study of War<\/span><\/i> released a<\/span> forecast report<\/span><\/a> on Daesh targets during Ramadan that explains how it now uses the Holy Month to justify its cause and stage \u2018linked campaigns across multiple geographic rings\u2019.<\/span><\/p>\n Global counterterrorism data base leaked<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n A Thomson Reuters counterterrorism database,<\/span> \u2018World-Check Risk Screening\u2019<\/span><\/a>, was<\/span> leaked to the internet<\/span><\/a> on 29 July by an unnamed third party. The breach was discovered by security researcher Chris Vickery, who<\/span> reported<\/span><\/a> his finding to the company. The mid-2014 version of the database exposed 2.2 million records of people and organisations suspected of terrorism, organised crime and money laundering. Those records were used by 50 of the world\u2019s largest banks and 300 government and intelligence agencies, and were found to<\/span> incorrectly designate<\/span><\/a> some actors as terrorists. Thomson Reuters is working to<\/span> correct the leak<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Checkpoint<\/b><\/p>\n Can you have your cake and eat it too?<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n A<\/span> new report<\/span><\/a> from <\/span>The Transnational Institute<\/span><\/i> has outlined how Europe\u2019s border security industry is profiting from<\/span> the refugee crisis<\/span><\/a>. The<\/span> \u2018Border Wars\u2019<\/span><\/a> report suggests that rather than being passive beneficiaries of the EU refugee crisis, the border security industry is actively encouraging<\/span> the securitisation of Europe<\/span><\/a>. The authors indicate that border security contractors are among the largest arms dealers in<\/span> North-Africa and the Middle-East<\/span><\/a>, and argue that they\u2019re fuelling and profiting from the conflicts. Indeed, it\u2019s an emerging market with the global border and maritime security industry<\/span> estimated to reach US$56.5 billion by 2022<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n Eurasia\u2019s new borders effecting more than just humans<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n A<\/span> study published in PLoS Biology last month<\/span><\/a> summarises the extent to which the 30,000 kilometres of walls and fences constructed<\/span> across Eurasia post-9\/11 era<\/span><\/a> poses a major threat to wildlife and can increase the mortality rates of threatened species. The study demonstrates that the construction of<\/span> razor wire fences on the Slovenia\u2013Croatia border in 2015<\/span><\/a> is having unforeseen consequences on lynx populations by separating them from their main populations. However, the authors also point to instances where it\u2019s been beneficial to species, such as the<\/span> Asiatic Wild Ass<\/span><\/a> on the<\/span> Mongolia\u2013China border<\/span><\/a>\u2014where fences have stopped them from being<\/span> illegally hunted<\/span><\/a>. The report highlights the need for governments to approach animal conservation in a trans-border manner.<\/span><\/p>\n First Responder<\/b><\/p>\n Report into the Syrian refugee response<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n A new report from the UNHCR and more than 200 international and national actors has looked at the progress in living standards made by host countries in response to the Syrian refugee crisis. The Regional Refugee and Resilience Plan\u2019s Mid-Year Report<\/a> (PDF) found improvements have been made to assist refugees and host communities in Turkey, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon and Egypt. Despite those steps forward, providing access to basic services remains a critical challenge. Growing poverty in refugee households, particularly in Lebanon and Jordan, was of notable concern\u2014with 90% of registered Syrian refugees in Jordan\u2019s urban areas living below the national poverty line.<\/span><\/p>\n FEMA in the headlines<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n The head of the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)<\/span> told audiences at an event<\/span><\/a> at the National Academy of Science on 28 June that disaster-struck communities were using decision-making tools that rely too heavily on past data. FEMA Administrator Craig Fugate warned that past data wasn\u2019t keeping up with environmental trends, population densities and technology, and there needed to be a move away from cost-benefit analysis. FEMA\u2019s been busy this past week, it also<\/span> launched its new app<\/span><\/a> aimed at helping communities prepare for and recover from disasters. The app allows users to upload photos, find shelters and features a checklist and other preparation tools. It\u2019s hoped the new app will have better results than underwhelming<\/span> FEMA\u2019s Disaster Reporter<\/span><\/a>, which was released last year.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Beat Ice smoking room coming to Sydney Drug law reformers want to open Australia\u2019s first ice smoking room. Australia currently has one supervised injecting facility (SIF) in Sydney, providing a place for drug users …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":469,"featured_media":27570,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[273,1082,546,1454],"class_list":["post-27569","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general","tag-counterterrorism","tag-drugs","tag-organised-crime","tag-refugee-crisis"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n