Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

Romania has shut down its only nuclear power station because of extremely low water levels in the Danube river caused by prolonged hot weather affecting much of Europe.The Cernavodă plant, where two reactors produce about 20% of Romania’s electricity, is not expected to be restarted within the next 10 days.Earlier this week, authorities tried to increase the water flow to the plant – which uses the Danube for cooling – by sinking barges loaded with rocks in the river.Neighbouring Hungary has so far avoided a shutdown of its only nuclear plant in Paks, which also uses the Danube. The waters…

Iran’s military on Thursday rejected as “lies” remarks by US President Donald Trump claiming control of the Strait of Hormuz, saying the strategic waterway was fully under Iranian control.  “The false claims of the United States that ships are passing through the Strait of Hormuz normally … are nothing more than lies and fabrications,” said Ebrahim Zolfaghari, the spokesperson for Iran’s central military command, Khatam-al Anbiya. “The Strait of Hormuz is, as in the past, under the complete management and control of the Islamic Republic of Iran, and no commercial ship or tanker without the permission and supervision of the…

Section 21 “no-fault” evictions, where tenants can be evicted without giving a reason, are widely regarded as a key driver of homelessness, and were banned from May 2026.But Ronesha said “Section 21 is not the problem”, adding: “My issue is the government allowing landlords to skyrocket rental prices, which are not in line with salaries.”It doesn’t add up.”The Labour government pledged to build 1.5 million new homes in England over the course of this Parliament, but is currently not on course to meet that target. “It is shameful that a record number of children are growing up without a home…

J Crew rented a pier near New York Harbour in September 2023 to celebrate its 40th anniversary. It was a festive night: Diane Keaton was among the party guests, who were treated to a concert by The Strokes.There was much to celebrate for the American “heritage” brand, known for roll-neck sweaters and slim-cut suits. It weathered a 2020 bankruptcy to find a far more stable financial and strategic footing as the US economy soared. The unofficial host of the evening was Kevin Ulrich, a Canadian-born hedge fund tycoon whose Anchorage Capital had taken over J Crew in bankruptcy. Under Ulrich’s…

On the same livestream, Mary Kish, head of community at Twitch, took viewers through a tutorial on how to disable generative AI training through a user’s channel settings.Those that do want to disable it would need to navigate to the Settings tab in their Streamer Dashboard, click the Security and Privacy tab, then scroll down to near the bottom of the options and toggle off “training for Generative AI”.Doing so will prevent Amazon from using streams, clips, images, chats and other channel content to train its generative AI models. Some users have since said despite toggling off the option, they…

Twenty-one cybersecurity-related merger and acquisition (M&A) deals were announced in July 2026. For a detailed view of the more than 420 acquisitions announced in 2025, check out SecurityWeek’s annual M&A report. Here are some of the most important cybersecurity M&A deals announced in July 2026:    Bank of America to acquire MDSec Bank of America announced plans to acquire UK-based information security consultancy MDSec Consulting Limited. MDSec provides technical information security consulting services and employs roughly 65 cybersecurity professionals. The acquisition will expand Bank of America’s presence in northern England. Barracuda acquires Evo SecurityAdvertisement. Scroll to continue reading. Barracuda Networks has…

The appointment comes as traditional wealth managers and family offices in Asia take a growing interest in digital assets. Boston Consulting Group estimates total assets under management in the region will reach $99 trillion by 2029, with Singapore and Hong Kong among its key financial centers. Globally, roughly one-third of family offices already have exposure to cryptocurrencies, according to Goldman Sachs.Asia growthAsia is increasingly where crypto’s retail scale and institutional ambitions collide. APAC was the world’s fastest-growing region for onchain activity in the year through June 2025, with transaction volume surging 69% to $2.36 trillion, according to Chainalysis. India led…

In the concrete jungle of North Philadelphia, a garden blooms in vivid color. Flowers, vegetable beds and fruit trees thrive on a quiet street corner where the rattle of trains passing overhead or music escaping from a car’s open window are the only disruptions to the chatter of songbirds that flit between the trees. Estelle Vaughn can hear them through the windows of her house overlooking the Tioga-Hope Park and Garden, which she has tended for over 25 years. The small trees that were growing in front of the house during her childhood now have thick trunks, and their branches…

In Israel, relations with the small Gulf state of Qatar are front and center of a bitterly contested election season. Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett—who is seeking to unseat Benjamin Netanyahu in the October elections—recently advocated that Qatar be designated an enemy state while alleging that multiple Israeli “influencers” and “research organizations” are on Doha’s payroll. This fits Bennett’s political playbook of trying to out-hawk Netanyahu while also projecting a catchall appeal as a centrist alternative. And Qatar fits this bill perfectly. Suspicion of Doha and its relationship with Hamas is one of the few things that supporters and…

Claim: In August 2026, the Florida Chamber of Commerce paid for an advertisement in Times Square naming New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani Florida’s “Economic Developer of the Year.” Rating: In August 2026, images emerged online purportedly showing a Times Square billboard, paid for by the Florida Chamber of Commerce, that appeared to mock New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani.  The billboard read: “Mayor Zohran Mamdani: Florida Economic Developer of the year.” Many online saw this as a dig at Mamdani’s mayorship, implying businesses were relocating to Florida as a result of his policies. The images spread on multiple platforms,…