Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

Crypto and prediction market bigwigs are set to gather at the White House next week, according to a Thursday report from POLITICO.  The report, citing people with knowledge of the matter, said the industry officials would meet one day before the Commodity Futures Trading Commission holds a meeting for its new Innovation Advisory Committee. The committee will feature a panel of experts also from the crypto, prediction market and traditional finance spheres.  Despite the long-awaited crypto Clarity Act being delayed, regulators are moving ahead with pro-crypto initiatives.  POLITICO’s report did not mention if President Trump would attend the event.  Last…

A growing human population, expanding croplands, and drier conditions driven by climate change within protected areas could significantly intensify human-elephant conflict in Southern Africa, a recent study finds. Southern Africa is home to almost 300,000 African savanna elephants (Loxodonta africana), with many populations rebounding after decades of poaching. The region is also seeing rapidly expanding farms and human populations, leading to instances of crop raiding by elephants. To understand what drives the problem in the region, they used data on crop raiding recorded within 38 community-managed communal conservancies in Namibia from 2004 to 2020, and used statistical methods…

Wars may not take summer holidays, but they do sometimes see exhaustion. As drones race back and forth across Ukraine and the strait of Hormuz, a grim stalemate seems to have invaded the earth beneath. Aerial bombardment knows limited resistance and even less victory or defeat. Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Iran and their allies seem able to defy diplomacy and drop bombs on each other for ever.At which point the outside world can merely count some of the costs. Vladimir Putin’s known desire to eliminate Ukraine’s historical identity has led to its cultural devastation. Two weeks ago Unesco reported the destruction…

Home Middle East Live Issued on: 14/08/2026 – 04:31Modified: 14/08/2026 – 04:38 Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent speaks during an interview with Fox News outside the White House on July 30, 2026. © Julia Demaree Nikhinson, AP US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent threatened Thursday to subject Iran to economic isolation “like the world has never seen before”, adding that new measures are expected next week. Follow our liveblog for the latest updates. 14/08/2026 – 04:38Kushner to travel to Middle East to advance Gaza ceasefire plans President Donald Trump’s son-in-law and negotiator Jared Kushner will travel to the Middle East next week…

Similarly, some national governments like Finland’s publicly announce when ministers are on summer holidays and which of their deputies are handling their portfolios. “What matters from a crisis-management perspective is that the responsible authorities can take decisions quickly, mobilise the necessary resources and coordinate the response,” said a separate Commission spokesperson. But even when mechanisms are in place to ensure governments have the ability to manage dramatic situations, officials on holiday risk looking callous or indifferent if they continue to holiday during a crisis. In 2022, North Rhine-Westphalia Environment Minister Ursula Heinen-Esser was forced to step down after it was…

Kevin Rideout, an American missionary pilot who was seized in Niger last fall, is in U.S. custody and on his way to the United States, two U.S. officials said on Thursday.The release of Mr. Rideout, a 50-year-old pilot who was kidnapped in October outside his home in Niger’s capital, Niamey, while working with an evangelical group, has been a priority for the White House and the military’s Africa Command since his abduction.Details of how and precisely where Mr. Rideout was released were unclear late Thursday, said the two officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss operational matters.…

Matthew Miller/ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.Most people are limited to either an Android or iPhone, and the rest of their devices follow suit to that ecosystem. For the past three weeks, though, I’ve been wearing an Apple Watch Ultra 3 and a Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra 2 at the same time to see how life is on both sides of the fence. The two flagship smartwatches have big displays, are made for larger wrists, and feature rugged designs for the outdoors. Both support cellular connectivity, meaning you can use them without a phone. They also have safety features for anyone in…

You’re not alone if you just received an “Apple Threat Notification” saying it detected a “mercenary spyware attack targeted at your iPhone.” Some users on Reddit are reporting that they received these alerts today after Apple sent out a new batch of threat notifications on August 13, but the feature itself is not new. Apple sent a new batch of alerts to users on August 13 Source: Reddit Apple has been sending these threat notifications multiple times a year since 2021, when it detects highly targeted mercenary spyware attacks. It’s also worth pointing out that Apple does not identify the…

Soluna Holdings, a renewable-powered data center operator spanning Bitcoin mining and developing AI infrastructure, reported rapid revenue growth in the second quarter alongside weaker consolidated profitability.The company reported $15.1 million of revenue for the three months ended June 30, up 145% from $6.2 million a year earlier. A new presentation of pass-through electricity costs added $4.4 million to both revenue and cost of revenue, with no effect on gross profit, operating loss or net loss. Excluding that change, revenue still grew 73%.Project Kati 1 completed 48 MW of construction and recorded its first positive site gross profit of $82,000. Project…

One of the most enduring mysteries that has been puzzling scientists forever is how the Sun’s outer atmosphere – the corona – is millions of degrees hotter than its surface. And how does the corona continue to remain so hot despite frequent eruptions during which it loses huge amounts of energy?Astrophysicists in India now say the latest findings from Aditya-L1, the country’s first solar observation mission in space, have provided them some vital clues to unlocking those mysteries. Their findings are revealed in a recent paper published in the prestigious Astrophysical Journal Letters.The temperature variations in different regions of the…