Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

Germany held three regional elections this month and, although each of them had a unique result, much of the media and political commentary reduced them to: “German chancellor clings to power after latest loss to far right. Since 2016, the year of Brexit and Trump, “embattled mainstream threatened by emboldened far right” has become the overarching narrative about Europe. But while these elections were important, this reductive take both oversimplifies the complexities of contemporary European politics and drives a defeatist “end of democracy” narrative.Saxony-Anhalt’s election on 6 September was a global news event – understandably, given Germany’s history, economy and…

Intensified fighting between Ethiopia’s federal army and forces from the northern region of Tigray has raised fears that the peace agreement that ended a devastating two-year war in 2022 could collapse.The escalation came days after seven armed groups from across Ethiopia formed a new alliance which seeks to remove Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government, with each side of the conflict blaming the other for instigating the latest flare-up in violence.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemsend of listThe immediate fear for many in the country is a return to the war they have spent nearly four years trying to recover from.…

And those who work inside government also credit a more effective political operation around the prime minister. “The system’s better, you get clearer decisions, better steers when you need them,” says a minister.Another government source also credits the new Downing Street operation but notes wryly, “it’s unfair to compare the end of a regime which is always pretty nasty, with the arrival of a new one which is always more hopeful… these things can change”.There are whispers of announcements in the next few days on housing and defence. Some MPs also want to hear Burnham expand on themes they, and…

When Alexandru Voica, head of corporate affairs at the video-generation startup Synthesia, sent me a link this summer to the newest addition to their PR team, I was surprised. It was an interactive virtual avatar of him, trained to answer common press questions about Synthesia, like what it does and how it works. The day before, I was on a panel where PR people asked me if I minded pitches that used AI-generated text. But Alexandru’s avatar was beyond that — this seemed to me the final boss of using AI in PR.  In September, Synthesia invited me to its…

Ravie LakshmananSep 26, 2026Vulnerability / Network Security The U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) on Friday added two security flaws impacting Microsoft SharePoint and Mikrotik RouterOS to its Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog, citing evidence of active exploitation. The vulnerabilities in question are as follows – CVE-2026-65660 (CVSS score: 8.8) – A code injection vulnerability in Microsoft Office SharePoint that allows an authorized attacker to execute code over a network. CVE-2026-67279 (CVSS score: 6.9) – An improper enforcement of behavioral workflow vulnerability in Mikrotik RouterOS that could allow an unauthenticated client to open a session channel and send an exec…

Strategy is seeking shareholder approval to move its four preferred stocks, including STRC, to daily dividend payments without changing their dividend rates or the total amount paid.The company’s board approved the proposal on Thursday, according to a Friday filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Shareholders are scheduled to vote on the amendments at a virtual special meeting on Oct. 28.If approved, each calendar day would become a dividend record date, with the corresponding payment made on the next business day. STRC would move to the new schedule first, with its initial daily dividend payment expected on Nov. 2.STRF,…

When Nicole Williams moved into her house in Pennsylvania’s North Centre Township in 2011, it was a homecoming. She’d spent the first few years of her life a half-mile down the road in Brookside Village, a tidy community of 170 mobile homes nestled between the west branch of Briar Creek and a farm that grew sweet corn and pumpkins just up the hill. Her new colonial revival with expansive views of the Susquehanna Valley’s rolling landscape was one of several houses built on land that once belonged to that farm.  Fifteen years later, Williams has three kids between 11 and…

26/09/2026 – 15:18In Pictures: Pope Leo XIV opens outdoor Mass in Paris’ Place de la Concorde Photos: Sarah Meyssonnier, Reuters 26/09/2026 – 15:16Worshippers sit to hear Bible reading as Pope begins Mass in central Paris Photo: Lara Bullens, FRANCE 24 26/09/2026 – 15:08Pope Leo begins open-air Mass before hundreds of thousands in Paris 26/09/2026 – 15:08 26/09/2026 – 15:05Vatican estimates 700,000 people have turned out for Pope Leo’s Mass in central Paris 26/09/2026 – 14:55The faithful lift their voices in song to mark the opening of the Mass Video: Lara Bullens, FRANCE 24 26/09/2026 – 14:43Crowds pack the Champs-Élysées to…

The government has stepped up work on new laws to stop ticket touts fleecing fans, as the prime minister came under pressure from artists including the drummer from the Smiths, one of his favourite bands.Keir Starmer said last year that the government would “stop fans from being ripped off” by outlawing the for-profit resale of tickets on sites such as Viagogo and StubHub, a pledge Labour first made in its 2024 election manifesto.Despite support from a host of globally renowned artists, including Radiohead, Dua Lipa and Coldplay, the measure was not included in this year’s king’s speech, prompting concern among…

Welcome to Kernel Panic! A weekly newsletter by Lily Hay Newman and Matt Burgess from inside the new world of privacy and digital security. To receive this newsletter in your inbox each week, sign up here.When every random text message feels like it’s a scam, and with AI supercharging digital fraud, old-time credit card skimmers and bogus letters that arrive in the mail may seem laughable as potential threats in 2026. But as we all suffer through a seemingly unending barrage of potential scams, these antiquated attacks are still costing victims around the world dearly.The fake-new-credit-card-in-your-mailbox trick is particularly insidious.…