FlashFeed

Full text

Here’s the good news: Deaths due to ischemic heart disease — when coronary arteries are blocked — fell by more than half from 1990 to 2023 in the United States, thanks to better control of up to a dozen risk factors. What’s still on the table: Almost 9 out of 10 of the most recent deaths could have been prevented by better managing those risk factors.

Much of the progress recorded since the start of the Global Burden of Disease study, published Wednesday in JAMA Cardiology , stemmed from drops in deaths from smoking (down 33.3%) and particulate air pollution (down 74.9%). But in the last year of the study, 419,000 of the estimated 473,000 coronary artery disease deaths — or 88.8% — were still linked to modifiable risk factors.

Read the rest…

Full text

NEW TAIPEI CITY, Taiwan — China sent coast guard vessels to patrol the Pacific Ocean east of Taiwan in June and weeks later test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile from the South China Sea to the Pacific.

While the two maneuvers answered different security-related activities by U.S. allies in Asia, experts say China used both to try out new, attention-grabbing and long-term ways to deter others from challenging its territorial claims.

The Chinese Coast Guard vessels in waters east of Taiwan since May are meant as police activity rather than more provocative four years of sporadic naval or air force drills around the self-ruled island that Beijing claims as its own, analysts said. China has threatened to take Taiwan by force, if needed.

But a white-hulled vessel formation’s continued presence 54 nautical miles (100 kilometers) from Taiwan shows signs of becoming a long-term exercise – something that hasn’t been tried before – rather than a quick pass-through by armed forces, they said.

“That China uses the coast guard instead of the navy and air force is probably to reduce the threat profile of the exercises, so as to be able to claim restraint rather than escalating to the level of the formal military,” said Brian Hioe, a non-resident fellow at the Taiwan Research Hub of the University of Nottingham.

“Nevertheless, China increasingly integrates civilian and military forces, making it harder for other countries to respond to grey-zone activity,” Hioe said.

Large coast guard ships are designed for “longer deployments” than what naval vessels normally do, said Joshua Arostegui, chair of China studies and research director of the China Landpower Studies Center at the U.S. Army War College’s Strategic Studies Institute.

“That’s kind of the big takeaway,” Arostegui said.

The rotation between two vessel formations on July 4, China’s description of the mission as a sustained one and its stated intent to keep strengthening patrols “all point in one direction”, said Sophie Wushuang Yi, postdoctoral teaching fellow with Schwarzman College at Tsinghua University. That, she said, is “routine.”

Beijing’s Taiwan.cn website said on July 10 its coast guard was sustaining “routine law enforcement patrols” as the new vessel formation took over.

Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, a government ministry, said on July 4 that the vessels were violating international law and “damaging regional stability”.

China’s initial patrols responded to maritime boundary negotiations between Japan and the Philippines, both of which are near Taiwan, experts said. They pointed to a Chinese government condemnation of the talks.

Taiwanese and Chinese coast guard units may find “confusion” along their respective routes if China keeps up its patrols, said Enrico Cau, an associate researcher at the Taiwan Strategy Research Association think tank.

Taiwan and Japan, maritime neighbors and historic de-facto allies, may respond with their own coast guards, Hioe said, while the United States could carry out “freedom of navigation” operations with other militaries in the Asia Pacific.

Those operations mean sailing warships through disputed or restricted international waters to indicate that Washington considers the channels open to all.

Meanwhile, the July 6 missile test, China’s first submarine-launched strategic missile into international open waters, drew statements of protest from Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the United States and some South Pacific island leaders.

The missile carried a simulated training warhead for 7,300 kilometers and likely overflew parts of the Philippines, the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies said in July 7 commentary.

Though the test took place on the same day U.S. ally Australia signed a defense treaty with Fiji, analysts said Beijing set out mainly to warn multiple countries of what it could do in case of a nuclear attack in the disputed South China Sea.

“I don’t think it’s a new strategy as much as demonstrating its ability to have a nuclear triad basically,” Arostegui said. The triad includes land-based ICBMs, long-range bombers and submarine missiles, he said, with subs hard to detect and intercept.

The ballistic missile test specifically warned of what could happen if other countries build up military positions in the Indo-Pacific, Cau said.

“In particular it might be aimed at curbing any intention of regional powers harboring the ambition to either develop or host nuclear capabilities, Japan in primis,” he said.

Beijing also hoped the launch of its JL-2 or JL-3 ballistic missile would help test equipment and prove to other countries it has nuclear strike capability, the Center for Strategic and International Studies said.

It probably timed the sub launch for the 13th China-Russia Joint Sea 2026 exercise, “broadly consistent with China’s desire to portray Sino-Russian strategic alignment through coordinated military activities,” the think tank’s report says.

Expect more, Yi from the Schwarzman College said.

“I would expect such launches to become periodic but rare,” she said. “What the navy is proving, in my assessment, is that its sea-based deterrent is not merely symbolic but operational.”

The tests would be “consistent with the PLA-wide requirement of being ‘able to fight and win,’” she added.

China’s official Xinhua News Agency called the missile test part of an annual military training program and said the government had notified “relevant countries” in advance.

Full text

The UK government confirmed it will not limit VPNs

Data reveals only 7-10% of teenagers use a VPN to bypass age checks

Social media curfews, autoplay restrictions were also announced

The UK government has officially scrapped the idea of restricting virtual private networks (VPNs) to enforce its impending social media bans, delivering a massive victory for digital privacy advocates.

Speaking on BBC Breakfast today, the government confirmed a major U-turn on the subject, with Online Safety Minister Kanishka Narayan stating: "We decided not to limit VPNs."

This was further cemented in a written parliamentary statement by Technology Secretary Liz Kendall, who clarified that the government will not age-gate or ban the best VPN software because "VPNs have legitimate privacy and security uses."

The announcement ends fears that sweeping age verification laws could inadvertently break online privacy for millions of adults.

Cybersecurity experts and privacy groups previously warned that restricting these tools would be a disaster waiting to happen , prompting an open letter from the industry urging lawmakers to leave everyday privacy tools alone.

Privacy wins, but platforms face new rules

'We have decided not to limit VPNs'Online Saftey minister Kanishka Narayan told #BBCBreakfast the Government has decided not to restrict access to Virtual Private Networks (VPN) as part of a social media ban for under 16s, despite initially suggesting it would take action… pic.twitter.com/pP94b81aeR July 15, 2026

While VPNs are safe from a blanket government ban, the social media ban loophole hasn't been completely ignored.

Kendall confirmed the onus will now fall on social media platforms "to take robust steps to detect and prevent attempts by underage users to circumvent age assurance measures."

To achieve this, the government has tasked Ofcom and the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to report by October on how platforms can better detect and prevent VPN use for age-check circumvention. The government also plans to engage directly with VPN providers regarding voluntary actions.

This shift in responsibility aligns with newly released government research.

A Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) report revealed that while 26% of 11- to 17-year-olds use a VPN, findings show they do so primarily for privacy .

Only 7-10% use them to bypass age checks, whereas 45% simply enter a false date of birth.

Midnight curfews and AI limits

While everyday privacy tools have been spared, the government is pressing forward with strict new rules to combat digital addiction — that online commentators already deemed " ineffective and useless " — with the first regulations coming into effect in early 2027.

Following the upcoming blanket ban on social media for under-16s, new measures will ensure 16- and 17-year-olds don't face a sudden "cliff edge" of addictive features. Government consultation revealed that nearly one in three children actively want help managing their screen time.

Under the new rules, older teens will face default social media curfews from midnight to 6 am. Additionally, persuasive features like autoplaying videos and personalized infinite feeds will be switched off by default to make logging off easier.

"This is about giving these older children more choice and control over the feeds and reducing that sense that they can never switch off being online," Kendall stated .

The protections also extend to artificial intelligence.

The government will require mandatory breaks for under-18s using AI chatbots to prevent emotional dependency. Furthermore, lawmakers are working with health regulators, including the MHRA and DHSC, to consider banning therapy chatbots entirely if they provide dangerous or unverified mental health advice to minors.