Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

Tracks are buckling in Sweden. Highways are cracking in Germany. Commuters are sweltering in airless train carriages across the world’s fastest-warming continent.This is the new reality in Europe, where much of the transportation infrastructure was not built to withstand the scorching summer heat that’s becoming routine.“Europe’s transport systems were engineered for a climate that no longer exists,” Patrice Geoffron, who leads the energy and climate economics team at Université Paris Dauphine-PSL in France, wrote in an email.Many of Europe’s tracks and roads desperately need upgrades to meet new extreme temperature thresholds, or delays and disruptions will become the norm, experts…

At the urging of President Trump, Representative Russell Fry of South Carolina has endorsed Senator Darline Graham after losing his bid in the special primary election on Tuesday to succeed her late brother, Senator Lindsey Graham, according to a person familiar with his thinking.Mr. Fry iannounced the endorsement on Friday, throwing his weight behind Ms. Graham as she competes in a two-week runoff contest against Representative Ralph Norman, a longtime lawmaker and vice chairman of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, in the solidly Republican state.”President Trump needs fighters and allies in the Senate who will show up every day and…

It’s a shame Nigel Farage ducked the announcement of his victory in the Clacton byelection, which confirmed his return as MP for the seat he had needlessly resigned from just a few weeks earlier. You’d have thought he would have loved it. It was the culmination of a stunt, an exercise in politics as performance. It was a display animated by – and seeking to inflame – grievance, a million miles away from the hard, grinding work of tackling the problems that underlie those grievances. It was an attempt to deflect scrutiny, distract attention and evade responsibility. It was, in…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Luigi Mangione has pleaded guilty to causing UnitedHealthcare chief executive Brian Thompson’s death, a major shift in a US federal case that has ignited global debate about America’s health system.Mangione, a 28-year-old Ivy League graduate, appeared in Manhattan district court on Friday where he entered a plea on federal stalking charges. He had previously pleaded not guilty to both state and federal charges related to Thompson’s death. His sentencing is set to take place on December 18. The plea calls off a…

Charlie Osborne/ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.ZDNET’s key takeawaysSnowflake Volunteer is a new Android app that lets you help fight global censorshipThe standalone app allows more people to connect to Tor, even under oppressive regimes. The app turns your phone into a proxy and requires no technical knowledge.Snowflake Volunteer, a new Android app recently revealed by the minds behind the Tor Project, has now landed on the Google Play Store as a way for the general public to help fight global censorship.Not everyone can lend high bandwidth, set up Tor volunteer nodes, or campaign politically in what has become…

Gemini’s second-quarter revenue rose as its credit-card business expanded. But the core exchange shrank, while operating costs and losses remained above last year’s levels after a restructuring that cut about 200 jobs.The company generated $45.5 million in total revenue, up from $33.3 million a year earlier, according to its Aug. 13 quarterly filing. Exchange revenue, however, fell 38% to $12.5 million from $20.2 million.The decline was steeper in activity. Spot matched trading volume on Gemini’s platform fell to $3.8 billion from $11.3 billion, a drop of about 66%. Newer products carried more of the top line while the exchange generated…

Necrotizing enterocolitis, a life-threatening inflammation of the intestine that mostly affects premature babies, can strike with almost no warning. But a quick scan using only infrared and visible light could someday detect the condition, a new study suggests. Within the next year, researchers are planning to launch a large test of the technology in the wake of a pilot study in premature infants that showed it was safe and feasible. Of 96 infants, the scans correctly identified the 10 babies with necrotizing enterocolitis — although they also returned a significant number of false positives, pediatric surgeon Seth Goldstein and colleagues…

Your editorial on Meta’s smart glasses acknowledges their value to blind and visually impaired people, then asks that this “not be allowed to distract” from the harms (The Guardian view on Meta’s smart glasses: regulators must get on the front foot, 10 August). As an optometrist who owns a small independent practice, I’d suggest that it is visually impaired people who are being treated as the distraction.I was reluctant to stock Ray‑Ban Meta, having no fondness for Meta or Luxottica, but colleagues persuaded me of the benefits for people with sight impairment. The reality has surpassed that. The majority of our buyers have a visual…

What was claimed A video shows migrants being assisted across the border at Ceuta recently. Our verdict This is incorrect. While the clip does reportedly show migrants crossing over the Moroccan border into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, this video actually dates from 2021. Old footage is being shared online with the misleading suggestion it shows recent scenes of Moroccan migrants crossing the border into Ceuta.One Facebook post from 1 August, which has been shared over 700 times, is captioned: “This footage shows migrants being assisted across the border by Moroccan authorities.”While the post doesn’t explicitly mention a date, the…

Mangione prepared to plead guilty, his lawyer tells judgeVictoria Bekiempisat the courthouse in ManhattanThe prosecution confirms to judge that Brian Thompson’s family is seated in the courtroom.Judge Garnett said she wants to remind everyone, “This is a federal courtroom. Decorem must be observed at all times.”Karen Friedman Agnifilo announces: double quotation markMr Mangione is prepared to plead guilty to the indictment at this time. The judge asked Mangione whether he does plan to do that. He said: “Yes.”ShareUpdated at 17.17 CESTKey eventsVictoria Bekiempisat the courthouse in ManhattanMangione is allocuting.ShareVictoria Bekiempisat the courthouse in ManhattanThe judge reveals there is no plea deal.…