Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.The US Treasury said it would double purchases of long-term government debt as policymakers seek to extinguish a sell-off that has sent borrowing costs soaring in the world’s most important bond market.The agency said on Wednesday it would “at least double” the size of its buyback operations for Treasury securities maturing in 10 to 20 years and 20 to 30 years from $2bn to “at least” $4bn. The move comes at a time of growing strains in the $32tn US Treasury market…

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.ZDNET’s key takeawaysThe Pixel 11 base model is nearly identical to the Pixel 10, with a few incremental upgrades. It starts with 256GB of storage, has a slightly bigger battery, and better camera sensor.The Pixel 11 base model doesn’t support HiLight, but it’s not a huge miss. Google has announced its upcoming Pixel 11 series, and per usual, much of the attention will be given to the higher-end models like the Pixel 11 Pro and Pro Fold. But don’t overlook the Pixel 11 base model, as it’s still one of the more affordable flagship…

The U.S. has charged 17 Iranians, alleged members of a hacking-for-hire company called Mabna Institute, involved in years-long operations that stole data from American organizations. Nine of the defendants were previously charged in a March 2018 indictment for hacking more than 300 universities and private companies. The U.S. Justice Department (DoJ) has also announced rewards of up to $10 million for information leading to the location of five of the 17 Iranian defendants. According to the U.S. government, the newly charged eight individuals stole academic research, intellectual property, emails, and other proprietary information. The DoJ  says that the Iranians listed…

Bitcoin blew past $68,000 on Wednesday, jumping nearly 3% over a 24-hour period after news dropped that the U.S. Treasury planned to more than double the size of its government debt repurchases.  The price of Bitcoin was recently at $68,473 at 10.30am in New York after briefly touching $68,982. The sharp jump came as yields dropped.  Over the past week, the biggest and oldest cryptocurrency is up over 3%. Bitcoin had recently been flat over a 30-day period but is now also up by close to 3%.  The Treasury Department said Wednesday that it will more than double the size…

Cancer immunotherapy has dramatically changed how doctors treat many forms of cancer, yet pancreatic cancer has remained particularly resistant to these advances. A major obstacle is the environment that develops around pancreatic tumors. These tumors often create a “cold” tumor microenvironment that blocks immune cells from launching an effective attack. Researchers at the University of Chicago have now developed a new approach that could help overcome this problem. In a study published in Science Advances, the team used BifidoSumIL-2, an engineered strain of Bifidobacterium longum, a probiotic bacterium naturally found in the gut, to carry an immune-stimulating treatment directly into…

Norwegian oil and gas company Aker BP is set to expand its footprint in the North Sea and Norwegian Sea by obtaining stakes in two hydrocarbon discoveries, betting on tie-back potential around existing infrastructure on and near the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). Illustration; Source: Aker BP The company has entered into two separate deals that strengthen its positions close to existing infrastructure on the Norwegian Continental Shelf by agreeing to acquire an interest in the Losgann/Froskelår discovery near the Alvheim area in the North Sea and obtain operatorship and a majority interest in the Slagugle area, close to the Skarv field in the Norwegian Sea. Aker BP…

So now we know: the smart response to the UK’s summer of record temperatures is to do precisely nothing. According to Richard Tice, Reform UK’s deputy leader, the climate crisis is just one of those things. Nothing can be done about it, so we should simply bask in the sunshine.It is reasonable to assume Tice would not have said anything quite as crass had he been addressing people in Stourbridge who have seen their homes burn to the ground. Or the farmers whose crops shrivel in parched fields. Or the firefighters exhausted from battling wildfires across Britain.Yet Tice clearly thinks…

France experienced more than 7,300 excess deaths during heatwaves so far this year, health authorities said Wednesday, as the country has also endured a record number of hot days since mid-June, according to an AFP analysis. France has been hit by three summer heatwaves in quick succession: a 14-day spell in June, 16 days in July and another lasting 22 days that began in late July and has yet to be officially declared over as of August 18. Together they mean the country – parts of which are ill-equipped to deal with heat, and where air-conditioning is scarce – has endured a…

Zelenskyy axing Fedorov had sparked an outcry because, after seven months in the role, the ex-minister was widely viewed as innovating to ensure Ukraine’s military could continue resisting the Russian attack. Fedorov, who previously served as digital minister and also has close ties with American entrepreneur Elon Musk, made no secret of his displeasure at being booted from the defense job — and launched his counterattack on Tuesday night in a bombshell YouTube address. “If the war drags on for another year, two, or three, could Russia effectively gain the right to determine when Ukrainians can once again choose their…

A Democratic lawmaker has asked a federal judge to prevent the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts from inscribing President Trump’s name on the building, arguing that the plan is an attempt to circumvent a previous court order.In a court filing on Tuesday night, lawyers for Representative Joyce Beatty, who is suing the center as an ex officio board member, wrote that the decision by the center’s Trump-allied board was a “childish refusal” to accept an order to remove letters spelling out the president’s name from the building’s marble facade.Last week, the board voted, instead, on an inscription…