South African Variant

A highly transmissible variant of the coronavirus first identified in South Africa has infected two people in South Carolina with no travel history, state officials announced today. These are the first cases in the United States involving the B. 1.351 variant, and the patients’ lack of travel or a connection to one another suggests that the variant is spreading in the community following an undetected introduction, as the Washington Post reports.

Iran’s Nuclear Deal Demands

The United States should act first by returning to world powers’ 2015 nuclear deal with Iran that it ditched in 2018, the Iranian foreign minister tweeted today after Washington demanded Tehran reverse its breaches of the pact first, as Reuters reports.

Iraq Kills Islamic State Commander

Iraqi security forces have killed a senior commander of the Islamic State group, the prime minister said today, a week after the rare, twin suicide bombing by IS militants killed dozens in Baghdad, as the AP reports.

Executive Education

CSIS is now accepting applications for the Spring 2021 Belt and Road Executive Course. Drawing insights from leading experts and the CSIS Reconnecting Asia Project, this course reveals how China's $1 trillion foreign policy effort is impacting commercial and strategic realities on the ground.

Global Forecast 2021

There is no modern precedent for a food insecurity crisis plaguing the developing world and the United States at the same time. In an essay for CSIS's Global Forecast, Global Food Security Program director Caitlin Welsh outlines how the Biden administration can respond.

Coronavirus Crisis Update

The Coronavirus Crisis Update podcast brings you the latest updates and analysis from CSIS experts and the leaders directing the global response. Past guests include NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain, IHME Director Dr. Chris Murray, Covid-19 Advisory Group members Dr. Luciana Borio and Dr. Celine Gounder, chef Jose Andres, and more. Listen on Apple Podcasts & Spotify.

Video Shorts

Check out CSIS’s new series of video shorts: “Data Unpacked,” Testify,” “What's Happening,” “Preview,” and “High Resolution.” And don’t forget to subscribe to the CSIS YouTube Channel!

In That Number

32

The South African variant of the coronavirus has been found in at least 32 countries.

Source: Washington Post

Critical Quote

“We warn those ‘Taiwan independence’ elements: those who play with fire will burn themselves, and ‘Taiwan independence’ means war.”

— Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian

iDeas Lab

New satellite imagery of North Korea's Kyongje-dong base shows that it lacks key identifiers of ballistic missile facilities, such as drive-through facilities or barracks. There here have been no notable changes to the facility since 2002.

The Andreas C. Dracopoulos iDeas Lab at CSIS enhances our research with the latest in cutting-edge web technologies, design, and multimedia.

Optics

(Photo credit: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images.) National Guard stand watch on the U.S. Capitol grounds.

This Town Tomorrow

Tomorrow, at 9:00 a.m, the CSIS International Security Program hosts a discussion about how innovative operational concepts can be tools for the United States to gain a competitive advantage in future conflicts.

Later, at 1:00 p.m., the CSIS Global Health Policy Center holds a panel discussion on how to expand the reach of routine immunization services amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

And, at 8:30 a.m, the Brookings Institution hosts a webinar exploring the ongoing intraregional challenges and trends affecting democratic institutions across the Indo-Pacific.

Video

A new short video from CSIS's Global Health Policy Center highlights the challenges of immunizing the world against vaccine-preventable diseases amid a novel pandemic. Watch it here.

Podcasts

On the latest episode of the Trade Guys, I sat down with my CSIS colleagues Scott Miller and Bill Reinsch to unpack how President Biden’s new Buy American executive order might impact the U.S. economy.

Listen on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.

Smiles

“I’ll get up and fly away.”

It’s a smiley day at CSIS, especially among my team in External Relations. We were ranked as the #1 think tank in the world for “Best External Relations/Public Engagement Program” by the University of Pennsylvania’s 2020 Global Go To Think Tank Index, an annual report by UPenn’s Dr. James McGann. CSIS was also recognized as a Center of Excellence for Defense and National Security, ranked #1 for our regional programs, and our Global Health program was ranked #2 in the world. There are some more nice rankings for CSIS in other categories, and if you are interested you can read all about it here.

But I digress…another reason I’m smiling is that while we can’t go see musicians perform in person yet, more and more of the best rock clubs in the U.S. are streaming live performances. Next month, the legendary Capitol Theatre in Port Chester, NY will stream 6 shows from Grammy-nominated artist Billy Strings. Why 6 shows in February? Because they are symbolically timed to correspond with the Grateful Dead’s historic run of 6 shows at the Cap Theatre 50 years ago to the day: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tLJep40Mlw.

I invite you to email me at [email protected] and follow me on Twitter @handrewschwartz

The Evening is my daily guide to key insights CSIS brings to the events of the day. It is composed with the External Relations team: Emma Colbran, Caleb Diamond, and Kendal Gee.