Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

A Shropshire vicar played a key role in a new two-part BBC documentary featuring Welsh Hollywood actor Michael Sheen’s investigation into toxic waste dumps.The Rev Paul Cawthorne, priest in charge of churches in the Hadnall area, is also a long time environmental campaigner.He began looking into the history of the former landfill site at Stoney Hill, in Telford, where former chemical giant, Monsanto, is known to have legally dumped waste in the mid to late 1980s.”When I found out about the Monsanto chemical dumping at Stoney Hill, I next identified Sutton Walls in Herefordshire, then Cefn Mawr in north Wales,”…

In a village in central Nepal, growing conflict between farmers and rhesus macaques has prompted researchers to test artificial intelligence-based systems that can swiftly detect and deter the monkeys, reports contributor Praveen Kumar Yadav for Mongabay. A 2026 study that followed rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) in one central Nepal region, found that nearly half of their diet consists of cultivated crops. In villages like Birta Deurali, also in central Nepal, farmers take turns guarding fields every two hours, Yadav reported. To alleviate this burden, researchers in the country are developing AI-driven solutions. Progress Jung Thapa, a researcher at…

Iran has accused Qatar of capturing three of its bomber pilots in the early days of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, and on Saturday called on the International Committee of the Red Cross to intervene on their behalf.Gen. Seyed Mohammad Bagherzadeh, commander of the Iranian armed forces’ missing persons search committee, wrote to the global aid organization in a letter published by Iranian media. He said the men were flying Su-24 fighter jets in an operation on March 2, days after the outbreak of the war, when their planes had been hit by “enemy defenses” and the pilots ejected.They survived…

Drawing largely on testimony gathered by the House Jan. 6 Committee, the BBC’s attorneys say Donald Trump Jr. and Ivanka Trump were present as the president revised his speech and were on hand at the Ellipse as he spoke. The network’s lawyers also say Kushner drafted a proposed statement for the president condemning the violence.The subpoenas seek both deposition testimony and relevant documents from the Trump family members.Court filings indicate that the BBC tried to serve the subpoenas to Kushner and Ivanka Trump’s home in Miami in May, but police blocked the attempt. A lawyer for the Secret Service, Troy…

The court documents relating to the Anthropic case revealed the project of ingesting old books was referred to in internal company communications as “Project Panama.”The documents indicated the company’s aim was to “destructively scan all the books in the world”.Destructive scanning is the process of shipping books to locations where they can be digitised at an industrial scale. It includes removing a book’s spine so all the pages can be scanned rapidly – and the remains recycled.”A lot of mystery surrounds Project Panama,” Manley, from Barter Books, says.”The name is new to me, but the reality of the project is…

In brief Galaxy Research now puts the Coldcard exploit’s confirmed haul above 1,778 BTC (about $112 million), with a suspected fourth wave that would lift it to 2,417 BTC. No confirmed attacker activity has appeared after August 6, across three major waves and more than 30 smaller footprints. Galaxy has spoken to 190-plus victims directly and still tells single-signature Coldcard holders to move funds to fresh addresses. Stolen Bitcoin losses from the massive Coldcard wallet exploit have begun to slow, but the total amount of BTC swiped continues to climb—and the worst may not be over just yet.That’s the latest…

Rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may already be influencing human biology. New research has identified long-term changes in blood chemistry that appear to track rising atmospheric CO2, raising concerns that an important blood marker could approach the upper end of its healthy range within the next several decades. The findings may be particularly important for children and teenagers. Because their bodies are still developing, younger generations are expected to experience the greatest lifetime exposure to elevated atmospheric CO2. Decades of Blood Data Reveal a Shift In a study published in Air Quality, Atmosphere and Health, scientists from…

Three more African countries have joined calls for a precautionary pause on deep-sea mining until the environmental, social and economic impacts of such mining are better understood. This brings the number of African countries supporting a moratorium to six. Mauritius, Mozambique and the Republic of the Congo announced support for the precautionary pause during the annual meeting of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in Kingston, Jamaica, in July, joining Malawi, Kenya and Madagascar. The government of Mauritius said in its statement during the ISA meeting that “the sustainable development of Mauritius is inextricably dependent on a healthy and…

Eleven people have been killed in Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon, authorities say, in one of the deadliest days of attacks since an agreement aimed at reducing hostilities was announced in June.Lebanon’s prime minister said seven people were killed in a strike on a house on the outskirts of Ansar in the Nabatieh district, which state media reported included three children and two women.Later on Saturday, another round of strikes hit the town of Deir al-Zahrani, killing four and wounding five others, the Lebanese Ministry of Health said.Israel’s military said it had struck “Hezbollah terror infrastructure” in response to what…

The entry-level Joe Rev was created in this same spirit—a full-sized, BMX-inspired frame with fun color options (electric blue, matte gray), 3-inch tan wall balloon tires, and those unmistakable handlebars. There are no apps or fancy readouts, no lights, and no shocks. Just five levels of pedal assist and a throttle attached to a single-speed drivetrain and 750-watt rear-hub motor.Photograph: Kat Merck“No cream, no sugar” is even printed on the chain stays, lest one forget the minimalist doctrine. On the plus side, this lack of bones allows the Joe Rev 2 to weigh in on the lighter side at 56…