Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

Insects are famous for their six-legged body plan, but that wasn’t always the rule. A 324-million-year-old fossil dug up from a shale bed in West Texas had a markedly different setup, sporting a whopping 18 extra legs along its belly — a body plan unlike that of any living insect. It is one of the oddest insects ever found, and possibly the most consequential, researchers report August 26 in Nature. The discovery “straddles a big gap in the fossil record,” says paleoentomologist Erik Tihelka of the University of Cambridge. It offers a glimpse of the transition from many-legged, shrimplike ancestors…

Buddhist, Daoist and Confucian traditions have long guided the protection of plants and wildlife in a nature reserve on Tianmu Mountain in eastern China. Local temples enforced strict rules and punishments against forest destruction, but, following the reserve’s recent expansion, state regulations now provide the formal legal framework for the area. Local officials say religious traditions from the past continue to shape public attitudes, reports contributor Keith Anthony Fabro for Mongabay.  The Qingliangfeng National Nature Reserve, located on the eastern coast of China,  expanded from 4,300 hectares (10,630 acres)  to become the 54,700-hectare (135,170-acre) Tianmushan-Qingliangfeng UNESCO World Biosphere…

At least one person has been killed and 10 people injured after a car crashed into a group of people near a train station in northern France, police say.A male suspect was later arrested after authorities launched a major emergency response in Caen, in the Normandy region.Local prefect David Claviere said seven of those injured were in a critical condition and three more had minor injuries, AFP reported.The incident took place near a bar, with local media reporting that a fight had broken out there before the incident took place. “For the moment, we are not dealing with a terrorist…

Nina Raemont/ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET’s key takeaways Apple confirmed its next iPhone launch event for Tuesday, Sept. 9.Apple could unveil a foldable iPhone… and (maybe) smart glasses.It will be incoming CEO John Ternus’ first go at the annual launch event.Apple just confirmed the timing of its annual iPhone event on Sept. 9 at 10 a.m. PT in Cupertino. The tech giant is rumored to unveil a foldable iPhone that could rival its Android competitors, namely the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 8 and Google Pixel 11 Pro Fold.Also: Can you guess Apple’s next move?…

Fraudulent North Korean IT workers are getting better at infiltrating organizations, but a number of indicators can help organizations stay ahead.A new blog post from Huntress detailed a number of investigations the security firm conducted throughout 2026. Specifically, Huntress assisted several organizations this year in validating “suspicions that they’ve hired North Korean nationals posing as legitimate workers.”In recent years, operatives from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) have infamously posed as IT workers — generally through fake or stolen identities — to get hired at companies. Once hired, these employees send their wages back to the North Korean regime,…

President Donald Trump may be the most crypto-friendly leader the U.S. has had so far — but what would happen to Bitcoin if the Democrats were to get back in power?  Well, it wouldn’t necessarily be bad, according to asset manager VanEck’s Head of Digital Assets Research, Matthew Sigel.  Speaking on CNBC Wednesday, the analyst also said that contrary to what many believe, ex-President Joe Biden wasn’t anti-Bitcoin.  Republicans have repeatedly blasted Democrats as anti-crypto. Regulators under ex-president Joe Biden cracked down on digital asset companies, filing various lawsuits.   “Biden was actually okay for Bitcoin,” Sigel said. “It’s the rest…

An international team led by the University of Bern has found evidence that a single asteroid collision may have dramatically reshaped Deimos, the smaller of Mars’ two moons. By combining detailed computer simulations with recent images from ESA’s Hera spacecraft, the researchers concluded that one impact could account for both the moon’s large southern depression and its unusually smooth, dusty surface. The research is the first scientific study to incorporate observations collected during Hera’s flyby of Deimos. The findings could also help guide future missions, including the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission. The Mystery of…

Summary: at least 160 killed in Nepal flash flood as search for hundreds missing continuesAuthorities in Nepal and Tibet have said they fear the death toll from catastrophic flooding could be much higher than 160 people already killed, as search and rescue efforts to locate the hundreds missing continue.A huge wall of mud and rock collapsed into a river on the Himalayan border of Nepal and Tibet on Wednesday, triggering the flash flood that washed away houses, roads and border crossings.Verified videos showed dozens of people swept away at the border, with authorities on both sides ⁠fearing far higher casualties…

Die Fraktionsspitzen der großen Koalition suchen in Münster wohl auch sowas wie einen westfälischen Frieden. Maximilian Stascheit blickt auf das mächtige Führungstrio um Thorsten Frei (CDU), Alexander Hoffmann (CSU) und Matthias Miersch (SPD). Sie müssen nun beweisen, dass sie ohne Jens Spahn knappe Mehrheiten organisieren können. Maximilian Stascheit analysiert, welchen neuen Wind sie in die Koalition bringen könnten, welche Altlasten sie mit sich schleppen und wie auf „Love is in the Air“ gehofft wird. Dazu berichtet Rasmus Buchsteiner aus Münster über die neue Rolle für Thorsten Frei, der jetzt von Leisetreter auf Lautsprecher umstellen muss. Aus der Opposition kommen derweil…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Ruru attacked a stranger with a liquor bottle. Kazu-kun set fire to someone for a dare. Ali “the Buddha” fought his way to freedom from a police car. As role models go, Japan has never had it so good.As millions in Japan and around the world will already know, these “yankii” delinquents feature among the cast of the second season of Badly in Love — a Netflix dating reality show that puts 11 young firecrackers — in some cases with criminal pasts, in…