Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

The Conservatives have said they would end the provision of social housing for foreign nationals in England if they win power at the next election.The party said ending new tenancies for all foreign nationals, as well as current tenancies for couples where neither person is a UK, Irish or EU citizen, would free up an estimated 228,144 homes for British families.The Conservatives said Labour had “lost control of immigration” and British families had been left sitting on housing waiting lists as a result.But Labour said the policy was an “unserious, unworkable proposal, copied from Reform, that does nothing to tackle…

Sabrina Ortiz/ZDNETFollow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google.Google will announce its latest smartphone lineup, the Pixel 11 series, at its “Made by Google” event on Aug. 12. Hot on the heels of Samsung’s latest foldables, Google plans to follow up with its own, the Pixel 11 Pro Fold, along with the Pixel 11 Pro, XL, and base model. Also: Is the new (pricier) Pixel 11 series still a good value compared to Samsung’s Galaxy phones?Based on preliminary information, it looks like the 11 series will largely feature incremental upgrades to the processor, camera, and storage, while costing more as…

Black Hat USA 2026 —Las Vegas—When Bob Lord became the first chief security officer (CSO) for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) in 2018, he plastered “Bobmoji” stickers above urinals, in bathroom stalls, and on the mirrors. As employees washed their hands, avatar renderings of his face served as a security-first reminder.To implement and maintain a strong security culture, CSOs must be willing to be “absurd,” Lord revealed during Black Hat USA 2026. Lord, now consultant at Lord Consulting, and his successor, Steve Tran, broke down how the party organization built its defenses following a 2016 hack by Russian state actors…

Binance-affiliated entities filed a Hong Kong petition against RedotPay’s founders, alleging the payment startup used its partnership with Binance to divert more than 470,000 Binance Card customers into its own competing stablecoin card.As Bloomberg News reported, Binance claims $472.8 million in losses, built on an estimated $925 lifetime value per customer, and says RedotPay received roughly $304 million in user funds routed through Binance Pay.RedotPay denies the allegations and says the case will not affect its daily operations.RedotPay says it now serves more than 8 million users and processes roughly $14 billion in annualized payment volume, a scale that reportedly…

Flowering plants in pollinator gardens, agricultural fields, and residential landscapes often grow alongside weeds that are controlled with herbicides. Honeybees regularly visit these same areas while collecting nectar and pollen, raising questions about what happens when they are exposed to weedkillers during their daily foraging. A Virginia Tech study found that glyphosate, a widely used herbicide, can interfere with honeybee foraging and may undermine the long-term stability of colonies. The research was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and a graduate student grant from the university’s Department of Entomology. Published in the Journal of…

In June, a bird flu outbreak at Kathmandu’s Central Zoo killed at least 65 animals from more than 20 species, exposing flaws in Nepal’s disease surveillance.The outbreak has raised concerns that similar outbreaks could go undetected in national parks, where wildlife is not routinely monitored.Experts warn that shared feeding sites, including Nepal’s renowned “vulture restaurants”, and the reliance of wild carnivores on domestic poultry could create pathways for influenza viruses to spread between birds and mammals.Despite the outbreak and recommendations from the zoo’s own investigation committee for contingency plans, stronger biosecurity and rapid reporting, Nepal’s wildlife and livestock authorities…

Reading Time: < 1 minute Since Wisconsin Watch’s 2026 voter guide went live about a month ago, we’ve heard from readers how valuable it is.  A librarian in northeast Wisconsin emailed me to offer thanks: “As a public librarian it is sometimes hard to find unbiased, nonpartisan information on elections and candidates that we can share with our patrons. I am glad that we will have your guide this year!” While I wasn’t directly involved with creating the voter guide, I couldn’t be more proud of how it turned out — it’s a user-friendly, helpful tool. And one I’ll use to…

When a serving Italian general published a far-right tract in 2023 entitled The World Turned Upside Down, a disciplinary inquiry swiftly followed. Roberto Vannacci’s text was a sustained exercise in bile and bigotry, attacking among other things the “normalisation” of homosexuality, and questioning whether a high-profile black volleyball star could really be considered Italian. The controversy sent the book into the bestseller charts, and its author was suspended for bringing the army into disrepute.A year out from Italy’s next general election, Mr Vannacci is a problem not for the military but for the country’s prime minister, Giorgia Meloni. Now a…

Claim: School officials in Bridgehaven, Pennsylvania, fired Denise Whitmarsh, a 61-year-old school cook, after they found out she packed extra meals on Fridays for hungry kids to eat over the weekend. Rating: A rumor claiming school officials in Bridgehaven, Pennsylvania, fired Denise Whitmarsh, a 61-year-old school cook, after they found out she packed extra meals on Fridays for hungry kids to eat over the weekend spread online in early August 2026. For example, a Facebook user wrote (archived): A school cafeteria worker is at the center of a debate after reportedly losing her job over acts of kindness. According to reports, Denise Whitmarsh, 61,…

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis killed dozens of Saudi-supported government troops in missile and drone attacks Thursday, medical sources said, as the country’s conflict becomes the latest front in the US-Iran war. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the rebels attacked government positions with ballistic missiles and drones in response to an alleged military buildup backed by neighbouring Saudi Arabia. Read moreYemen says ready to escalate against Houthi rebels as they target Saudi Arabia The attacks killed at least 38 government troops and injured 29, two medical sources told AFP. A military official described them as the deadliest between the two sides…