Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

Australia’s most populous state will launch a gun buyback scheme later this year, becoming the first to offer cash in exchange for firearms in the wake of the Bondi Beach terror attack.Gun owners in New South Wales (NSW) will be offered up to AUS$1,000 (£523) to hand over eligible handguns, shotguns and rifles from 2 November.Australian authorities had pledged sweeping firearm law reforms after 15 people were shot dead at a Jewish festival on Sydney’s Bondi Beach, which is located in NSW, last December.The state’s premier Chris Minns said on Saturday: “We want those guns handed in, compensated for and…

Elyse Betters Picaro / ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.ZDNET’s key takeawaysClaude Code dominates, but Codex has crucial advantages.Cost, workflow, and trust matter as much as code quality.Whichever AI you choose, human review remains essential.Earlier this week, I explored the differences (or, really, amazing similarities) between agentic coding AIs, ChatGPT Codex and Claude Code. I explained how I use both tools and provided some suggestions for exploring them.Also: Claude Code vs. Codex: Why I use both and how to choose one (if you must)But I’m just one guy. In this article, we’ll broaden our selection to more than…

President Donald Trump and the heads of the SEC and CFTC are expected to meet crypto and prediction-market executives at the White House next week as the industry’s biggest legislative priority faces dwindling odds of becoming law this year.According to reports, the Aug. 19 gathering is expected to include executives from Coinbase, Andreessen Horowitz, Ripple, Chainlink, Kalshi and Paradigm, along with representatives from the Digital Chamber. Executives from Kraken, Gemini, the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq have also been invited.Trump and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Chair Michael Selig are among those expected to participate, while Securities and Exchange…

A chemical commonly used to preserve food has been linked to a recent increase in suicide deaths in the UK, with young people and boys and men accounting for a disproportionately large share of cases. The findings come from a comprehensive analysis of available data from 2019-24 published in the open-access journal BMJ Public Health. Researchers say the findings point to an urgent public health need to reconsider unrestricted access to the chemical in an effort to prevent further avoidable deaths. Suicide death rates across the UK have generally declined since the early 1990s. More recently, however, there are signs…

A New York City man is facing hate crime charges after police say he assaulted a woman and a security team member while disrupting Shabbat services at Central Synagogue in Manhattan – all in plain view of a live stream.The New York police department identified the suspect in the case as Larry Montes, 46, who was arrested after the episode at the synagogue. Montes was charged with two counts of assault as a hate crime and one count of criminal mischief as a hate crime, along with other alleged violations, police said.The incident unfolded just after 6pm on Saturday as…

As you’ve no doubt noticed, there’s a lot to read on the internet. Vast numbers of new articles are published every day. There’s still quite a lot of it not being written by AI, too.Trying to keep up with everything can feel exhausting, and that’s where read-it-later apps come in. These apps will queue up content that catches your eye as you go to and fro across the web, and keep these articles, videos, blog posts, and social media updates bookmarked until you get a chance to catch up with them. When it’s time to dig in, the apps present…

In brief Apple trained a large language model for China with support from Alibaba, Reuters reported. The deal could make Apple the first foreign company allowed to operate its own proprietary AI model in China. Apple Intelligence is expected to reach Chinese iPhones through an iOS update in the coming months. Apple trained its own AI model for China with Alibaba’s help as it races to bring Apple Intelligence to Chinese customers, Reuters reported.Citing three people familiar with the matter, Reuters said the Cyberspace Administration of China registered Apple’s generative AI service last month, clearing a key regulatory hurdle that…

The last time a hurricane made landfall on Hawaii’s Big Island was 155 years ago, according to the Associated Press news agency.Across the weekend, it will continue moving westwards, and may weaken into a tropical storm, with the centre passing just below Hawaii’s other islands.Hawaii Governor Josh Green warned that Hawaii will experience “an incredible amount of water”.He said on X: “Damaging winds, heavy rain, flash flooding and dangerous surf are possible across the state through the weekend.”Dozens of flights have been cancelled.At Ellison Onizuka Kona International – Big Island’s largest airport – 40% of flights were grounded, according to…

It follows a new disinformation campaign on social media encouraging people to flock to the city.Published On 15 Aug 202615 Aug 2026Moroccan police have arrested more than a hundred people trying to reach the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.Footage posted online on Saturday showed large crowds of people, most reportedly from sub-Saharan Africa, heading towards Ceuta.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of listThe attempted crossing comes just weeks after more than 70,000 people fled to the autonomous city on the north coast of Africa — with many dying in the process. It also follows what has been described as a new…

Liechtenstein has announced that it has changed royal succession rules to allow women to ascend the throne.The declaration was made on the national day of the central European country, which has a population of just 44,000.Liechtenstein’s current ruler, Prince Hans-Adam II, has been the head of their royal family since 1989. The rule change will not affect his heir, Hereditary Prince Alois, who was his first-born. Alois has carried out most official royal duties for the last two decades.”The order of succession is being changed from male primogeniture to absolute primogeniture,” the House of Liechtenstein said in a statement.”This means…