Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

Jason Arday’s resignation from the University of Cambridge on Wednesday marked a full stop of sorts, but not an end to the furore surrounding his promotion to a professorship at the age of 37. Academic colleagues have demanded, with justification, that an investigation into his appointment to the faculty of education in 2023, and the subsequent fallout, should include people from outside the university. Allegations of plagiarism and claims made by Mr Arday about his background, career and charity fundraising remain under scrutiny. The memoir for which he said he had received a huge advance, billed as a triumph over…

At least seven people have been killed and 23 injured after a 14-year-old boy opened fire at his home and school on the outskirts of Thailand’s capital, Bangkok.The gunman – a student at the Debsirin School in Nonthaburi – killed his grandparents and five teachers before taking his own life, Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul told reporters. The attacker still had “more than 30 bullets left” when he turned the gun on himself, Anutin added.Nine of the injured people remain in a critical condition, authorities say.The shooting – the second at a school in Thailand this year – has renewed…

One of the largest criminal networks smuggling drugs and people in the western Mediterranean has been dismantled, authorities have said.Europol said 78 people were arrested in Spain and Algeria in a bust of the network, that is also linked to other criminal activities including “violent robberies, extortion, illegal detentions, and money laundering”.The group moved synthetic drugs from Spain and Portugal to Algeria, then used the return journey to smuggle migrants and weapons to the Spanish mainland and island of Ibiza on “ghost speedboats”.Some of the items seized included 18 high-speed vessels valued at €5m (£4.2m), guns, more than €25,000 (£21,400)…

MondayYou would have thought that after 35 years of writing for the Guardian I would have mastered some of the basics of holiday protocol by now. Apparently not. While I had remembered to let the newsdesk know I wouldn’t be writing the political sketch for two weeks, it had completely slipped my mind to inform the Saturday editor. So rather than leave her with the headache of an empty page, you’re getting an extra dose of me this week. And, in truth, I don’t mind because, for what is a usually empty August, there’s an awful lot still going on.…

The Keminaissance will be delayed. For nearly a year, Conservative optimists and a clutch of supportive pundits have been forecasting an upturn in the fortunes of Kemi Badenoch, confident that her party will emerge from the crater it fell into in 2024, overtake Reform UK to become once again the main party of the right and, who knows, maybe, with a following wind, even push Labour aside and return to government. Every sign of strength from the Tory leader – a robust conference speech here, a viral clip on social media there – has been hailed as evidence of the…

Cloudflare is the latest company to join the race to build a new web browser. But instead of pitching a Chrome alternative to consumers, the internet infrastructure provider launched Kitesurf, a cloud-hosted browser designed specifically for AI agents. AI software is evolving from chatbots that answer questions to agents that can complete tasks on users’ behalf. Browsers are a critical part of this transition, as they’ll need to navigate the web and use websites, as humans do. Unlike traditional web browsers built for humans, a browser built for AI agents doesn’t care about visual elements, like themes, tabs, or browser…

Every post you see, every Reel that autoplays, and every ‘Explore’ page suggestion on Instagram is now decided by its AI system. With over three billion people using it, that’s not a small detail; it’s the whole algorithm.But here’s the point: the more AI controls over how you see the content, the more it rewards what feels human. As said by Instagram head Adam Mosseri in a year-end memo, that platform will prioritise “real human-made content” over AI-generated content. So, is AI replacing the human element of Instagram, or protecting it?The honest answer is neither extreme. AI has taken over…

Bitcoin was trading higher on Friday — despite negative news circulating regarding the Clarity Act delay and a massive exploit of the popular Coldcard wallets.  The biggest cryptocurrency was trading above $65,170 today, up nearly 4% over the past week, despite significant headwinds against the asset.  Little over a week ago, hackers started stealing millions in Bitcoin from Coldcard wallets after discovering a vulnerability in the product’s software. Some estimates put the amount of Bitcoin lost now at over $130 million.  The incident has rattled the BTC community that typically praises cold storage solutions.  And news dropped late Thursday night…

Bronze Age Greek nobles may have sported space bling in their rings. Chemical analysis of 91 ancient iron weapons and jewelry turned up traces of nickel in about a dozen signet rings — a sign the iron probably came from meteorites, researchers report in the August 2026 Journal of Archaeological Science. The rings were excavated from the ruins of elite tombs, houses and a temple in southern Greece and Crete and the meteoric metal was often layered with gold and silver. Sign up for our newsletter We summarize the week’s scientific breakthroughs every Thursday. “This shows that meteoritic…

RWE said it has agreed to relinquish its leases off the California and Louisiana coasts as well as in the New York Bight.Overall, the German firm plans to invest approximately €17bn (£14.5bn; $19.6bn) in the US over the next six years “to grow its generation capacity”.Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement posted on X that Americans deserve an energy system built on common sense and not one dependent on “costly subsidies”. “We welcome RWE’s agreement and voluntary investment in projects that strengthen our nation’s energy security,” he added.The deal is the latest the Trump administration has reached this…