Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

They are both torching warehouses filled with food or online-shopping orders near major cities. They are blasting ports and ships carrying vital exports of grain. And they are smashing energy networks that keep the lights on and vehicles fueled.Russia and Ukraine, in cities far from the front line, are waging an intensifying tit-for-tat air war that is bringing more pain to the populations of both countries than at any other point since the early months of the full-scale war launched by Moscow in 2022.With the front largely frozen, each side is using growing arsenals of missiles and drones to exact…

In West Potomac Park on the edge of the National Mall in Washington, about a dozen workers on Wednesday morning were smoothing freshly poured concrete on a large pedestal that has all the appearances of a permanent new addition to the park.The Trump administration is installing a pair of gazebos donated by the government of Uzbekistan, inside what happens to be the site the president has chosen for his proposed garden of heroes. That project, which faces a lawsuit and still needs congressional and design approval, would fill the park with 250 statues of notable Americans. The gazebos, at least…

Stolen data experts at HaveIBeenPwned have analysed the published material and confirmed it contains people’s email addresses, phone numbers, addresses, licence plate numbers, purchasing history and browsing device data. Cyber-security expert Kevin Beaumont warned those affected to be on high alert for other forms of scam and hack – especially high profile or wealthy individuals. “The data includes both historical locations and planned future travel, so individuals sensitive to their movements being known may need to take precautions,” he said. “People should be alert to scammers reusing the data and so knowing details such as phone numbers and car registration…

Microsoft is working to fix a known issue that causes crashes and launch failures for Microsoft Teams and New Outlook users after installing updates released since the August 2026 Patch Tuesday. These issues affect only ARM-based Windows devices like the Surface Laptop 7 and Surface Pro 11 that run Windows 11 24H2 or later, and they mainly impact users who haven’t installed Microsoft Store updates yet. “After installing Windows security updates released on or after August 11, 2026, (KB5121003), Microsoft Teams and the new Outlook for Windows might fail to launch or might close unexpectedly on ARM-based devices, such as…

Bitcoin is testing a roughly $68 billion breakeven wall that has repeatedly stalled its push back above $80,000.About 880,000 BTC carry a cost basis between roughly $77,500 and $80,300, leaving a large group of holders close to where they originally bought, Bitfinex Alpha data shows.Data from CryptoSlate shows Bitcoin trading near $77,890 as of press time after spending much of the past week trapped below $80,000.The concentration means even modest price moves can shift tens of billions of dollars in Bitcoin between profit and loss, potentially releasing supply from investors who endured months underwater.So far, that selling has been absorbed,…

September brings a busy lineup for skywatchers, including a dazzling Venus, a Harvest Moon near Saturn and Neptune, the seasonal equinox, and opportunities to use the Moon as a guide to some recognizable stars and Milky Way features. September Skywatching Highlights Sept. 14-20: Follow the Moon to Antares and the Teapot; from dark locations, you may also glimpse the center of the Milky Way Sept 18: Venus reaches peak brightness during its current evening appearance Sept. 22: The September equinox marks the beginning of fall in the Northern Hemisphere and spring in the Southern Hemisphere Sept. 26: The Harvest Moon…

During Nepal’s Aug. 26, 2026 floods, which have killed 987 people and left 3,916 missing, informal, community-based warnings saved lives while Nepal’s official SMS alert system failed, arriving late, in Nepali only, and without actionable, location-specific guidance.While Nepal’s Department of Hydrology and Meteorology can forecast and issue warnings, it has no legal authority to order evacuations, and no law requires a forecast to automatically trigger one. This means decisions rest on individual heads.  A 2022 study found the same failure after a 2021 rainfall disaster that killed 120 people and called for binding SOPs linking forecasts to action. The…

Almost from the moment it began, the end of the Chinese economic miracle has been much anticipated. Thick and fast, the books have come explaining how it will end badly. Overinvestment. A country wallowing in debt. The collapse of the property market. Political repression. The demand for democracy from a growing middle class. All have been put forward as reasons for the inevitable terminal crisis.Even those impressed by the country’s rapid growth took comfort from the notion that the west would continue to dominate advanced manufacturing while China would be stuck assembling TVs. And while the wait for its much-predicted…

The LA Clippers have been fined $30m (£22.2m) by the NBA for violating salary rules in order to funnel millions of dollars to star player Kawhi Leonard.The fine – the largest in the league’s history – comes after the NBA report said Leonard pressured the Clippers into “obtaining off-court income opportunities [and] successfully obtaining those opportunities”.The investigation was opened in September 2025 when podcast journalist Pablo Torre reported that a $28m (£20.8m) endorsement contract between Leonard and Aspiration Fund Adviser LLC could have broken league rules.The Clippers will also have to forfeit five first-round draft picks between 2029 and 2033,…

Die zunehmende Leistungsfähigkeit von KI-Modellen bereitet Wildberger Sorge. „Es verstärkt die Dringlichkeit, hier in ganz besonderem Maße mehr Sicherheitsvorkehrungen zu treffen“, sagte er. Die Entwicklung sei „so rasant“, dass Unternehmen vor möglichen Angriffen „nie ganz sicher“ seien. „Funktioniert nur mit Amerika und China“ Die Idee einer internationalen KI-Aufsicht nach dem Vorbild der Atomaufsicht wird seit mehreren Jahren diskutiert. Auch OpenAI-Chef Sam Altman hatte sich dafür bereits mehrfach ausgesprochen. Nach Ansicht des Ministers können Staaten die Risiken fortschrittlicher KI nicht im Alleingang kontrollieren. „Das erfordert aber auch, dass der Dialog grundsätzlich zu diesem Thema global aufgenommen wird – und das funktioniert…