Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

Some 60,000 migrants have crossed into the territory from Morocco, the local regional president Juan Jesus Vivas told reporters. Many swam around a small border barrier that juts out into the Mediterranean Sea, with 34 people dying in the attempt. The sudden massive influx has sparked an international crisis for Spain’s government, drawing criticism from Germany, Italy and Finland and prompting France to tighten checks on its border with Spain. Madrid has sent troops, more police, including divers, drones and boats, to boost security in Ceuta. Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his interior minister rushed to the enclave on Friday.…

A High Court challenge against the construction of a Chinese mega embassy in London has failed.The decision to uphold planning permission for the site on the old Royal Mint, near the Tower of London, has dismayed campaigners from the Royal Mint Court Residents’ Association (RMCRA), which represents families and businesses in about 100 properties.The RMCRA fear the site poses an espionage threat and will be used to enforce “draconian” Chinese laws in the UK and to target dissidents.The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) and the London Borough of Tower Hamlets defended the claim, saying they “conscientiously and…

While Uefa members are among the richest on the planet, many other nations rely on Fifa funding for basic infrastructure.While the AFC opposes Infantino’s plan, unlike Uefa it has not threatened to boycott Fifa competitions. AFC members would not be obliged to vote against the proposals. Rogers Byamukama, of the Ugandan Football Federation, argued any avenue that could lead to more resources for nations like his should be explored.”First and foremost, you need to understand that football is a very expensive venture, especially on the African continent where the resources are not easy to come by,” he told Newsday on…

pros and cons Pros The Smartwings brand offers some of the best value for money in smart window treatments.Installation is easy, and the shades are simple to use.Lots of customization, and solar panels for recharging. Cons The shades give off a plastic smell in the room for the first three days after installation.There’s no way to manually control the shades if the battery dies unexpectedly. Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.There’s nothing like having an “open sesame” moment when you wake up in the morning and your window shades automatically roll up. There are various ways to automate…

When you think about identity verification, you might think first of banks, airports, government buildings — some of the most critical processes in society. But USA Fencing must contend with its own identity verification challenges: ensuring tens of thousands of athletes compete in the right age categories and qualify for the right events, under a process that parents can trust.USA Fencing, a nonprofit organization, is the official governing body for fencing in the United States, responsible for training and selecting athletes who represent Team USA in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games. It has more than 50,000 members, with fencers…

Robinhood’s crypto-related transaction revenue in the fourth quarter of 2024 generated $358 million of the company’s $672 million in transaction-based revenue, about 53% of the total.That concentration had flipped by the second quarter of 2026, when crypto revenue fell 38% year over year to $100 million and accounted for just 12.9% of transaction-based revenue.Options reached $342 million, event contracts brought in $156 million, and equities added $129 million, together producing 81% of the segment and six times what crypto contributed. Net interest revenue and other revenue, driven in part by Gold subscriptions, added $389 million and $143 million, respectively.MetricQ4 2024Q2…

It’s not just eyes on a fire — it’s now ears, too. A low-intensity grassland fire “hums” loudly enough to be monitored by sound alone, researchers report in the July 16 Geophysical Research Letters. Acoustic sensors deployed near a prescribed Idaho burn picked up the low-frequency rumble it gave off and followed where it was burning — a sign the technique can detect relatively weak fires. Similar acoustic monitoring has picked up a fire before — another team reported detecting a prescribed forest fire in 2025. But that fire burned hotter. The Idaho burn was in a damp landscape and…

The Indo-Pacific finless porpoise is one of India’s smallest cetaceans, inhabits turbid coastal waters, and lacks a dorsal fin — all of which make it a difficult species for researchers to spot. Recent research suggests these animals are far more prevalent in Indian waters than visual sightings suggest, yet they may be disappearing before they can be accurately counted, reports contributor Mansab Sayyad for Mongabay India. A fully grown Indo-Pacific finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides) measures 1.5-1.9 meters (4.9-6.2 feet) in length and weighs about 30-45 kilograms (77-88 pounds). It’s highly inconspicuous: it has a blunt, rounded head, no…

Welcome back to Foreign Policy’s Latin America Brief. The highlights this week: New reports unpack the toll of U.S. boat strikes, El Niño triggers deadly flooding in Chile, and Cape Verde’s star goalkeeper is signed by a South American club. A series of NGO and media reports sheds new light on the United States’ boat bombing campaign near Latin America, finding evidence that officials are withholding information about those killed and that the campaign has failed to achieve its stated goal of curbing drug flows. Since last September, the U.S. military has killed at least 221 people in waters near…

World football governing body FIFA hit back at critics on Friday, vowing to press ahead with an “open and democratic” consultation with stakeholders on a proposed private investment plan. European football’s governing body UEFA said it was ready to boycott the World Cup over the proposal to create a commercial subsidiary to run FIFA’s biggest events and allow private investors to acquire stakes in the company. Carlos ⁠Cordeiro, senior ​advisor to FIFA ​president Gianni Infantino, resigned with immediate effect on ​Friday ‌to protest the proposal, calling the plan “a bad deal ​for football”. “Let ‌me be clear: I had no…