🔥 Russia's Global Hunt for War Deserters

Good Morning. 

The Polaris Dawn mission, led by billionaire Jared Isaacman, is set to launch next week with 4 civilian astronauts on a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule for a 5-day mission in ultra-high Earth orbit.

The ambitious mission aims to conduct various scientific experiments, perform the first civilian spacewalk, and test new technologies, while also reaching the highest altitude of any human spaceflight since the Apollo program.

— 🐈‍⬛ Acoustic Kitty

THE BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT

Russia is aggressively pursuing deserters and draft dodgers, both domestically and internationally, to address its significant manpower shortage in the Ukraine war.

The government has implemented harsh penalties for desertion and insubordination, including long prison sentences and property confiscation, while also offering incentives for military service.

The case of Anatoly Shchetinin, who fled to Armenia but was eventually captured and returned to Russia, illustrates the lengths to which Russian authorities are going to track down and either prosecute or redeploy soldiers who have attempted to escape military service.

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY & DIPLOMACY

Counterterrorism

• A North Korean man has defected to South Korea by crossing the heavily fortified border on foot, a rare occurrence as most defectors typically escape through China and other countries.

• Iranian scientific research, particularly in computer modeling of explosive metal projections, has likely influenced a revised U.S. intelligence assessment suggesting Iran is better positioned to potentially weaponize its nuclear program, though Iran maintains it does not seek nuclear weapons.

• Israel has recovered the bodies of six hostages from a tunnel in Gaza during an overnight operation, bringing the total number of recovered bodies to 30 since the October 7 Hamas attack, as mediators renew efforts for a cease-fire deal.

Military & Defense

• Ukrainian forces have reportedly destroyed or damaged all 3 bridges over Russia's Seym River in the Kursk region, potentially trapping Russian forces and slowing their response to Ukraine's incursion into western Russia.

• Chinese President Xi Jinping met with Fiji's Prime Minister Sitiveni Rabuka in Beijing, pledging to strengthen ties between the two countries amid global "turmoil" and signing various bilateral agreements on trade, military aid, infrastructure, and education.

• Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi has called for a cease-fire in the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza, warning of potential regional escalation and emphasizing the need for a 2-state solution to ensure stability in the region.

• Azerbaijan has formally applied to join the BRICS bloc of developing economies, following Putin's visit to the country, as the alliance continues to expand its membership and global influence.

Cybersecurity

• National Public Data (NPD) has confirmed a data breach affecting 1.3M people in the U.S., despite earlier reports suggesting a much larger impact of 2.9B records.

• Microchip Technology, a chipmaker supplying the U.S. defense industry, has reported a cybersecurity breach that has forced the company to shut down some systems and reduce operations, potentially affecting its ability to fulfill orders.

• Microsoft is implementing mandatory multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all Azure users starting in October 2024, aiming to improve account security and reduce the risk of compromises.

Counterintelligence & Espionage

• China's Ministry of State Security has exposed several cases of foreign espionage activities using postal deliveries, including the mailing of invasive species and potentially harmful materials, highlighting the need for increased vigilance in the courier industry to protect national security and ecological balance.

Transnational Organized Crime

• Religious minorities in Bangladesh report experiencing violent attacks and persecution in the power vacuum following Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's departure, despite the interim government's claims that such reports are exaggerated.

• The U.S. has imposed sanctions on Haiti's former president Michel Joseph Martelly for alleged involvement in drug trafficking and sponsoring gangs, freezing his U.S. assets and barring Americans from dealing with him.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Peregrine Technologies, founded by former Palantir executive Nick Noone and Ben Rudolph, has developed a powerful surveillance tool that allows local police departments to quickly access and analyze various data sources for crime-solving purposes.

The company has gained significant traction with law enforcement agencies across the U.S., raising concerns about privacy and civil liberties while also aiming to address broader societal issues that lead to crime.

In other news…

Waymo, Alphabet's autonomous driving subsidiary, is now providing over 100K paid robotaxi rides weekly across Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Phoenix, doubling its previously reported figures and marking significant growth in its commercial operations.

The International Astronomical Union has voted to encourage global space organizations to collaborate on establishing a standardized timekeeping system for the moon, addressing the need for a unified lunar clock as more countries and private companies plan future missions to the celestial body.

The U.S. Air Force is seeking to procure new long-endurance drones for Task Force 99 in the Middle East, prioritizing endurance and range capabilities for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance activities.

Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz is planning to open an office in Japan, its second international location, to focus on fundraising efforts in Tokyo amidst growing interest from Japanese limited partners in backing venture capital funds.

DEALS & FUNDING

Defcon AI, a startup founded by former military and defense experts, has raised $44M in seed funding to develop advanced logistics planning software for the U.S. Department of Defense.

The company's system combines various algorithms, including machine learning and mathematical optimization, to simulate scenarios and generate optimal logistical outcomes for complex military operations.

Already deployed with the Air Mobility Command, Defcon AI aims to expand its applications across the DOD and potentially into the private sector.

In other news…

T-Mobile has agreed to pay a $60M fine to settle allegations by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. (Cfius) that it violated a national security agreement by failing to promptly report unauthorized data access incidents following its merger with Sprint.

Life sciences investor BEVC is raising a $25M fund focused on climate-related startups, joining other biotech investors in expanding their focus to include planetary health alongside human health.

The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded Electra Battery Materials Corp. $20M to support the construction and commissioning of a cobalt sulfate refinery in Ontario, Canada, aimed at expanding domestic production capability for lithium-ion battery materials.

Starpath Robotics has secured $12M in seed funding to accelerate its plans for mining water ice on the moon and producing liquid oxygen for space exploration, aiming to conduct a full-scale demonstration by the end of the year.

BeyondMath has raised $8.5M in seed funding to develop AI-powered computational fluid dynamics software that significantly accelerates the design process for industries like Formula 1 racing, potentially reducing simulation times from days to minutes.