Free Republic

Atlantic hurricanes are over twice as likely to quickly intensify into major storms in the past two decades compared to a comparable period in the late 20th century, according to research published Thursday in the journal Scientific Reports. Author Andra Garner of New Jersey’s Rowan University analyzed more than 800 tropical cyclones originating in the Atlantic since 1971. She found that this century, storms grew from Category 1 minor storms to major hurricanes—those with winds of at least 111 miles per hour — within 24 hours 8.1 percent of the tine. Comparatively, storms only intensified that quickly 3.2 percent of...

The insurance industry is increasingly wary of the risks presented by climate and natural disasters, prompting major firms to scale back their presence in more vulnerable states. In June, Farmers Insurance announced in a company memo it will no longer write new property insurance policies in Florida, citing “catastrophe costs … at historically high levels.” Earlier in the month, AIG stopped issuing policies along the Sunshine State’s hurricane-vulnerable coastline. Those followed State Farm, California’s largest single homeowners’ insurer, which in May announced a moratorium on new policies in the state, blaming “rapidly growing catastrophe exposure.” The decision came after years...

KABUL, Afghanistan - Days after Taliban fighters overran Musa Qala a U.S. commander pledged that Western troops would take it back. Nine months later, the town is still Taliban territory, a symbol of the West's struggles to control the poppy-growing south. But a string of recent battles around Musa Qala, won overwhelmingly by American Special Forces, signal a renewed U.S. focus on the symbolic Taliban stronghold. An Afghan army commander said Sunday that U.S. and Afghan forces have taken over the area around the town and that Afghan commanders are holding talks with Musa Qala's tribal leaders to persuade them...

WASHINGTON - Since the Sept. 11 attacks, aviation security has been tightened in many areas — but not all. Before they were foiled, terrorists apparently planned to exploit some of the remaining weaknesses in aviation security by assembling improvised bombs right inside airline passenger cabins. The 2001 hijackings led to bulletproof cockpit doors. Machines that could detect explosives in checked baggage were installed in commercial airports. Sharp objects that could be used as weapons were banned, and better-trained airport screeners were hired to look for them. So it may have been predictable that terrorists would try something else: smuggle aboard...

Americans intensify offensive as Shias denounce Sadr By Toby Harnden in Baghdad (Filed: 07/05/2004) Iraq's Shia uprising was under assault on four fronts yesterday as American forces launched synchronised attacks on several strongholds, while moderate ayatollahs denounced the head of the Mahdi army, Moqtada al-Sadr. The fiery cleric was battling to preserve his eroded power base in the holy cities of Najaf, Kufa, Karbala and Diwaniyah after a demand from Iraq's most prominent Shia leaders that he withdraw his troops and cease using the mosques there as "arsenals".In heavy fighting around Najaf and nearby Kufa, coalition forces said they had...