Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

A new tool is helping scientists identify specific bird species from among flocks of migrating birds.BirdFlow combines citizen science observations with weather radar data to help scientists detect specific species and predict their migration routes.Conventional tracking of migrating birds uses weather radar, but this technology can’t distinguish between different species in a flock.The BirdFlow developers say the tool can be helpful for tracking threatened species and improving conservation measures along the birds’ migratory routes.See All Key Ideas How can we identify specific bird species as they undertake their annual migrations? In the U.S., scientists have long relied on…

UK-based upstream oil and gas player Serica Energy is setting the stage to ink a rig deal for its planned multi-well drilling program in the UK sector of the North Sea to achieve high-impact organic production growth. Bruce field; Source: Serica Energy Serica has a portfolio of short-cycle projects with the potential to add 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) of incremental production, supporting annual average production of over 50,000 boepd into the next decade. The firm intends to lease a rig ahead of its planned drilling program, with a rig contract expected to be signed in the…

Wednesday, American Oversight released new records raising urgent questions about whether the Trump administration is meeting its obligation to provide adequate medical care to people in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) custody after it disrupted the longstanding system responsible for processing payments for offsite treatment. Federal law mandates that ICE provide medical care for people in its custody. As reported by the Los Angeles Times, the records we obtained document more than 233,000 medical, dental, and pharmacy claims totaling more than $96 million that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) processed on behalf of…

The rise in children and young people with mental health problems makes this week’s announcement of a new network of community clinics in England particularly welcome. A&E departments have recorded an increase in difficult-to-manage symptoms including aggression and hallucinations. New specialist walk-in mental health services should take some of the pressure off. The bringing forward of a deadline for ending out-of-area acute placements, and a pledge to reduce waiting times for children, are also positive.Declining mental health was among the key themes of Alan Milburn’s interim report on young people and work. It is a big factor behind the rise…

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – facing a crucial election later this year – has hinted that he may be considering taking unilateral action to prolong a costly war with Iran, even as Washington and Tehran appear to be close to an interim deal to open the Strait of Hormuz.“We heard today the commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Ahmad Vahidi, declare that Iran intends to continue developing a nuclear weapon,” Netanyahu claimed in an assertion, even though no official statement from Vahidi on the matter has been released by the Iranian government or official media.Recommended Stories list of…

“We do of course see that Russia attempts every day, in one way or another — through hybrid means and various measures — to exert influence here in Germany in a manner that seeks to undermine our democracy and erode trust in politics and politicians,” said Martin Giese, a foreign ministry spokesperson. Russian disinformation campaigns have portrayed German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and his government as warmongers. They aim to undermine the already unpopular chancellor and boost Russia-friendly forces such as the AfD and the far-left Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) — both of which are strong in eastern Germany. “The state…

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s blocking of promotions for high-ranking women in the military has contributed to the lowest percentage of such nominations for women in at least 25 years, according to a New York Times analysis.Eight of 201 candidates for high-ranking posts this year have been women, or 4 percent — less than half the average percentage of the past 10 years.More women could still be promoted this year. And the number of women nominated for promotion in any year is relatively small, so the percentages can fluctuate based on a few individual officers. In 2012, for example, the percentage…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Uefa has doubled down on its threat to boycott the World Cup despite Fifa abandoning a controversial plan to raise capital from investors, as European football’s governing body moves to keep the pressure on Fifa president Gianni Infantino. Uefa, whose members include current World Cup holders Spain, issued its threat of a boycott last week, seeking binding assurances that Fifa “will never again open its governance or competitions to private ownership”.“These conditions have not been met,” Uefa said on Thursday. “In addition,…

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.The 13-inch Apple MacBook Air M5 is now on sale for back-to-school season, with the 13-inch starting at $1,134, or 13% off — the lowest price we’ve seen since Apple’s blanket price increase across its entire MacBook and iPad lineup in June. Also: I tried buying a MacBook Air from Apple today – shipping was delayed by over a monthThis means consumers are paying 15% to 25% more now than they would have on the same device a couple of months ago. While Amazon has changed its prices to match, some of the latest MacBook…

Meta has become the latest AI company to confirm that one of its models hacked a real organization during cybersecurity testing, as similar incidents continue to emerge following OpenAI’sOpenAI’s initial disclosure that its agents breached Hugging Face. The Information was the first to report the incident on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter who said Meta’s Muse Spark 1.1 model breached an unidentified company and made changes to its internal systems. According to the report, the model reached the public internet because of an error in the configuration of a sandbox testing environment operated with independent cybersecurity evaluation company…