Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

A plastic vest could help protect astronauts from solar radiation storms. Researchers tested the vests aboard Artemis I, an uncrewed flight around the moon in 2022. Although Artemis I didn’t experience any solar storms during its 25-day mission, the vest could significantly reduce the amount of radiation an astronaut would receive during such an event, researchers report August 12 in Science Advances. In a type of storm called a solar particle event, the sun blasts high-energy protons into space. Earth’s magnetic field shields the planet’s surface from that radiation, but exposure during space travel increases the risk of several types…

The Central African country is facing its largest and also the fastest-spreading Ebola outbreak on record.Health agencies are seeking to revise their strategy to tackle the public health crisis but focusing on response at the village level in the affected provinces of the DRC.Dr. Jean Kaseya, director-general of Africa CDC underscored the need to bring the outbreak response to the village level, saying that a community-centered approach helps build trust between local populations and health teams while strengthening participatory surveillance.One of the reasons this outbreak has turned out to be more difficult to contain is because a rare strain…

Wison Engineering, part of Wison Group, and Italy’s Tecnimont, Maire’s company focused on integrated engineering & construction (IE&CS) business, have been hired to undertake engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) activities for the second and third phases of a gas project being developed by ADNOC Gas, a subsidiary of the United Arab Emirates-headquartered energy heavyweight Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). Das Island; Courtesy of ADNOC Gas ADNOC has taken final investment decisions (FIDs) and handed out $8.2 billion in engineering, procurement and construction contracts for phases 2 and 3 of its Rich Gas Development (RGD) project, raising its targeted EBITDA…

There are no votes in leniency for criminals, which is why oppositions demand harsher penalties and ministers acquiesce. It is a policy ratchet that can keep turning as long as there are enough cells to accommodate those who are jailed.But spending on new prisons, or for that matter improving conditions in the dilapidated, overcrowded ones already in use, is also not a vote-winner. Most people can think of more deserving beneficiaries of public money than prisoners.There is an argument that everyone in society benefits when incarcerated citizens are humanely treated, more likely to be rehabilitated and less likely to reoffend.…

Claim: In August 2026, the Trump administration paid German energy company RWE $1.2 billion to stop building wind farms. Rating: In August 2026, social media users claimed that U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration paid RWE, a German energy company, more than $1.2 billion to abandon the development of ongoing offshore wind projects. One popular Facebook post (archived) suggested the government was encouraging RWE to put its money into natural gas projects instead. The caption read: New levels of stupid just dropped. The Trump administration just wired a German energy company $1.22 billion to NOT build wind farms. That is the…

The day before the first total solar eclipse on the Spanish mainland in more than a century, Mar Carretero-Castrillo, a 28-year-old astrophysicist, climbed the hill in the tiny and remote northern Spanish village where she spent her childhood summers staring up at the starry night sky.Ms. Carretero-Castrillo had returned home from her job overseas for the big celestial event, she said, with the “beautiful idea” of gathering a small watch party on the same hill to quietly experience the eclipse with snacks, scientific discussions and educational games played with kitchen colanders. “But we have this fiesta,” she said, looking down…

Despite this, Israel has come close to winning the 2025 and 2026 editions of the competition, garnering a strong public vote. Israel’s pubic broadcaster KAN has denied claims that results were unfairly influenced by mass voting campaigns. Eurovision is organized by the European Broadcasting Union, an alliance of 113 public service media organizations across 56 countries. Typically, the national broadcaster that wins the competition hosts the following edition in their home country. There have been some exceptions. When Ukraine won the 2022 contest, the organizers said the country could not host the following year’s contest due to Russia’s ongoing invasion…

Other parties have come up with their own ideas for dealing with overcrowding in prisons.At a news conference on Monday, Reform UK suggested 10,000 prison spaces could be freed up if all foreign criminals were sent abroad to serve their sentences.Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said his party was exploring options to transfer foreign criminals in the UK to prisons in other countries, including El Salvador and Kosovo.When asked if he had other countries in mind, Farage said: “Yes there are Baltic state options as well.”I mean, conversations could certainly be had with Lithuania, for example, or perhaps Estonia as…

Kyle Kucharski/ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.Google just announced its new flagship Pixel 11 series, including the Pixel 11, Pixel 11 Pro, Pixel 11 Pro XL, and Pixel 11 Pro Fold. The phones include upgrades to the processor, cameras, and storage, making them an elevated choice if you’re looking to upgrade. Also: Every Pixel device announced at Made by Google 2026: 11 Pro Fold, Pixel Watch 5, and moreWhile you can preorder the phones from Google, as well as Verizon, T-Mobile, and AT&T, those aren’t the only routes you can take if you’re looking for a deal.If you preorder at Amazon, you can save extra money through an…

Ravie LakshmananAug 12, 2026Vulnerability / Cyber Espionage The North Korean threat actor known as Lazarus Group has been attributed to the zero-day exploitation of a newly patched security flaw impacting Microsoft Windows to deliver a never-before-seen backdoor targeting defense and aerospace companies across France, Germany, Brazil, and India. The activity, per Check Point Research, is part of Operation Dream Job, a long-running cyber espionage and social engineering campaign orchestrated by Pyongyang-backed hackers to target professionals worldwide with fake-but-compelling job offers at firms like Lockheed Martin and Enveil to steal sensitive data and install malware by approaching them on platforms like…