Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

Welcome to Foreign Policy’s South Asia Brief. The highlights this week: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping meet on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, Bangladesh faces the world’s worst measles outbreak as the death toll passes 1,000, and thousands of people remain missing after Nepal’s deadly floods. Modi, Xi Meet on BRICS Sideline Over the weekend, Chinese President Xi Jinping traveled to India for the first time in seven years. Xi was in New Delhi for 24 hours to attend this year’s BRICS leaders’ summit, where he held a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.…

When he was confirmed, Democratic lawmakers had said Warsh would be Trump’s “sock puppet” and many Fed watchers expected him to carry out Trump’s persistent demands to slash rates. Trump had been heavily critical of Warsh’s predecessor Jerome Powell for not cutting them.Asked on Wednesday about the message the rate hike sent to Trump, Warsh chuckled before saying: “I have got nothing for you on a discussion with the president.”Trump told reporters later “I’m relying on Kevin [Warsh], but he’s got, you know, a very tough board”.”And the, interest rates are too high. They’re not appropriate… I talked to Kevin…

Around this time of year, new products launch left and right. I wrote similar words just yesterday ahead of Boox launching its latest devices. And now, Dyson, one of the big names in vacuum cleaners, just launched three innovative products.Dyson already announced several new products earlier in September, from vacuums to an electric toothbrush with a built-in camera. Some of those vacuums are now available to buy, specifically the three robot vacuums in the new Dyson Nurovi line: the Dyson R1 Nurovi Dry ($550), the Dyson R2 Nurovi Wash + Dry ($700), and the Dyson R3 Nurovi Spot+Scrub UV ($1,200).This robot…

Anthropic is testing a new personal finance feature called “Claude Money” that will allow you to connect your bank accounts directly to Claude and “understand your money.” AI companies coming after your finances is not a new thing, as OpenAI has a similar feature, and Anthropic appears to be catching up. As spotted by TestingCatalog on X, Anthropic is testing the feature for the Claude app on iOS, where a new Money section has appeared alongside Chats, Code, Artifacts, Dispatch, and Cowork. “Understand your money with Claude,” the page reads. “Link your bank accounts and ask Claude about spending, plans, and…

In brief Meta plans to release a camera-free smart glasses model, internally code-named Luna, as soon as October. Luna reportedly swaps the camera for six built-in microphones tied to Meta AI and Meta’s new Muse agent, plus a side button and slimmer temples. The move follows a year of lawsuits, government probes, and police memos targeting Meta’s camera-equipped Ray-Ban glasses, nicknamed “pervert glasses” online. Meta wants out of the “pervert glasses” business—at least for one product line.The company is developing a camera-free pair of smart glasses, internally code-named Luna, and could ship it as soon as October, The Information reported…

Scientists have reconstructed short videos using only brain activity recorded from mice, effectively allowing researchers to recreate what the animals were seeing. The study, led by researchers at University College London (UCL), offers a new way to investigate how the brain transforms visual input into an internal representation of the world. Published in eLife, the findings could help scientists better understand how visual information is processed in the brain and may eventually make it possible to compare how different species perceive the same surroundings. Decoding What the Brain Sees Researchers have spent years trying to understand how the brain interprets…

The BBC understands that the drug companies Daiichi Sankyo and AstraZeneca have not substantially lowered their prices since the drug was first rejected.The reason NICE has reversed its decision is largely because of a trade deal with the USA, where the UK government agreed to spend 25% more on medicines.As part of this, NICE has increased how much the NHS will pay for every extra year of good quality life a medication can give.This is known as a QALY (Quality-Adjusted Life Year) – and the upper threshold per QALY has gone from £30,000 to £35,000.At the end of August, NICE…

Climate attribution researchers say “there is absolutely no doubt” that decades of global warming set the stage for the deadly rock and glacier collapse on Langtang Lirung Mountain in Nepal. At least 1,300 people died in August when a cascade of semi-frozen sludge, boulders, trees and other debris roared through the region at speeds up to 100 mph and crested up to 300 feet high. The disaster destroyed and damaged towns, farms, orchards, roads, bridges and energy infrastructure, devastating livelihoods across the region. The total losses are now estimated at about $5 billion.  In a new analysis of the Aug.…

A House race in rural California has become one of the most competitive and expensive in the country – and it’s being defined largely by its candidates’ opposing stances toward corporate money.  The battle for the Golden State’s 22nd district is one of 21 House contests rated a “toss-up” by the nonpartisan Cook Political Report. It’s one of the most closely watched races in the midterms, not only because it could determine control of the House, but also because it will test California’s redrawn maps and the viability of progressive candidates in swing districts.   After beating an establishment-backed, moderate opponent…

There are 500,000 children growing up in poorer families who are confronted by a similarly cruel cliff edge to the one covered by your article (Chancellor urged to fix £100k childcare ‘cliff edge’ that prompts parents to cut work, 10 September). It is this group of children who, having recently become eligible for means-tested free school meals during term time, are disqualified from accessing the holiday activities and food (HAF) programme. While the government has rightly acknowledged the need for those children to receive extra help during term time, it has somehow reached the decision that this need does not…