● [Tech] Adobe says it can identify manipulated images using AI. ︴ ︴

▼ The company behind the photo-editing program Photoshop says it has developed a tool that can detect if an image has been tampered with. Vlad Morarium, an Adobe researcher, employed artificial intelligence to scan for signs of manipulationthat are not usually visible to the naked eye. The AI could tell if an element had been added, moved or cut from a photo. But the company warned that no piece of technology could provide a foolproof verification system. Photoshop, which was created 28 years ago, is a powerful image editor, and its name has become a verb for image manipulation. Existing verification tools can scan an image file's metadata - which contains information on when and where a photo was taken - for signs of mischief, and look for things like inconsistent lighting. But such tests are easily defeated. Mr Morarium, who spent 14 years researching ways to spot image manipulation, taught an artificial intelligence network to recognise signs of colour change and noise inconsistencies in tens of thousands of pictures. The initial study focused on three common manipulation techniques: *.splicing, where parts of two different images are combined (▪ ▪ ▪)

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● [Tech] Tomorrow's Cities: Can start-ups solve city issues? ︴ ︴

▼ The Waterloo corridor, which runs between the cities of Toronto and Waterloo in Canada, is home to coyotes, deer and, increasingly, tech firms. Google, Research in Motion and thousands of start-ups have offices there as the area positions itself to be the next Silicon Valley. Having an area like this is becoming increasingly important as cities look to tech to help solve problems like congestion and pollution. "Tech hubs are an important aspect of any city," said Bob Crow, managing director of the Institute of Quantum Computing, which is based in the corridor. "Cities are desperate for cash and many are serving citizens with the same or less money than years ago. There is a built-in need to find ways of economising, whether it be making better use of the streets, or moving people around more efficiently, and cities are looking for technological change." His own area of research, quantum computing, can offer strides towards these goals. "Quantum computers and quantum sensors will be used in future and they have a profound ability to look at unstructured data and information which cities are increasingly collecting, and address it quickly," said Mr Crow. (▪ ▪ ▪)

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● [Tech] Westworld game hit by Bethesda legal claim. ︴ ︴

▼ Game publisher Bethesda is suing Warner Brothers over a game based around the HBO series Westworld. Bethesda alleges the Westworld game, released last week, is a "blatant rip-off" of its Fallout Shelter title. Included in the legal challenge is Canadian developer Behaviour Interactive, which helped Bethesda develop Fallout Shelter in 2014. Warner and Behaviour Interactive have not yet responded to a request for comment from the BBC. Bugs claim The Westworld game gives players the job of managing the titular theme park and its robotic inhabitants. The facility managed by the player can be expanded underground and includes many of the locations seen in the TV series. Many reviews of the game mentioned its similarity to Bethesda's Fallout Shelter, which gives players the job of managing and expanding an underground facility. In legal papers widely shared online, Bethesda alleges this similarity is more than skin deep and the game uses code Behaviour wrote when creating Fallout Shelter. In some cases, it says, bugs seen in early drafts of Fallout Shelter code also crop up in the Westworld game. Bethesda claims the Westworld game infringes its copyright and Behaviour has: *.misappropriated trade secrets (▪ ▪ ▪)

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● [Science] The White House is calling for Space Traffic Control It's time to stop sending up so much garbage. ︴ ︴

▼ This was the concentration of space debris around the world about 10 years ago, before private spaceflight really took off. Since then, the number of satellites around our planet has only increased. This is an artist's impression, and objects are not to scale. ESA Officials at the White House announced a new space policy directive last week, focused on managing the increasing numbers of satellites that companies and governments are launching into space. Space Policy Directive-3 lays out general guidelines for the United States to mitigate the effects of space debrisand track and manage traffic in space. The news was announced last week at the meeting of the National Space Council, but was quickly overshadowed by President Donald Trump's surprise announcement indicating that he wished to establish an independent military branch focused on space. (▪ ▪ ▪)

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● [Science] These Skeletons from an Ancient Egypt Cemetery Were Riddled with Cancer. ︴ ︴

▼ This image show the mummy of an ancient Egyptian man in his 50s who had rectal cancer. Credit: Image courtesy El Molto Archaeologists have uncovered six cases of cancer while studying the bodies of ancient Egyptians who were buried long ago in the Dakhleh Oasis. The finds include a toddler with leukemia, a mummified man in his 50s with rectal cancer and individuals with cancer possibly caused by human papillomavirus (HPV). The researchers found these cancer cases while examining the remains of 1,087 ancient Egyptians buried between 3,000 and 1,500 years ago. Extrapolating from these cases, the researchers estimated that the lifetime cancer risk in the ancient Dakhleh Oasis was about 5 in 1,000, compared with 50 percent in modern Western societies, wrote El Molto and Dr. Peter Sheldrick in a paper publishedin a special cancer issue of the International Journal of Paleopathology. "Thus, the lifetime cancer risk in today's Western societies is 100 times greater than in ancient Dakhleh," they wrote. (▪ ▪ ▪)

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● [Science] UK's forgotten woman astronomer honoured. ︴ ︴

▼ The Royal Observatory Greenwich (ROG) is to start studying the sky again after a break of 60 years. British astronomy's historic home has installed new telescopes in its Grade II listed Altazimuth Pavilion, which has also undergone a restoration. The new facility is to be named after Annie Maunder, one of the first female scientists to work at the ROG and who made key discoveries about the Sun. Professionals, amateurs and school children will use the instruments. Why is this important? The new telescope is named after a forgotten giant of UK astronomy, Annie Maunder, who had to battle the prejudice and conventions of her time (the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th Century). The move should help highlight her contributions for a new generation. In addition, our cleaner air and better tech is making astronomy possible again in our cities. As urban centres have expanded, the artificial glow of buildings and street-lights - along with smog - has drowned out the faint objects in the night sky that astronomers want to study. So, in the last few decades, stargazing has moved out of town where you can get darker skies. But a combination of new technology and cleaner air means that astronomers will be able to use the Royal Observatory Greenwich again. (▪ ▪ ▪)

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● [International News] The Indian actresses caught in a US 'prostitution' racket. ︴ ︴

▼ The arrest of an Indian couple in the US who allegedly ran a prostitution ring by luring female actresses from India has shone a spotlight on casting couch allegations surrounding the southern Telugu-language film industry. Also known as Tollywood, it is one of India's biggest regional film industries and routinely produces blockbuster hits that rival Bollywood's most popular films. According to recently revealed federal charges, Kishan Modugumudi and his wife, Chandra, arranged for at least five Telugu actresses to travel to the US on the pretext of attending cultural events as performers or guests. The women were allegedly taken to events where the Modugumudis would "identify potential customers" who would pay to have sex with the actresses. Men allegedly paid anywhere between $450 to $2,500 (£343-£1,907) for a single sexual encounter. BBC Telugu has acquired a copy of the 42-page affidavit that details the charges and evidence against the couple, who appear to have been under investigation by the US Department of Homeland Security since January 2018. They were arrested at the end of April and a federal court heard charges against them on 14 June. They have not entered a plea or made any public statement. (▪ ▪ ▪)

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● [International News] Mumbai bans plastic bags and bottles Indian city to fine or jail residents caught using single-use plastics. ︴ ︴

▼ A man displays a jute bag at an exhibition in Mumbai last week to make people aware about the plastics ban. Photograph: Divyakant Solanki/EPA Mumbai has the become the largest Indian city to ban single-use plastics, with residents caught using plastic bags, cups or bottles to face penalties of up to 25,000 rupees (£276) and three months in jail from Monday. Council inspectors in navy blue jackets have been posted across the city to catch businesses or residents still using plastic bags. Penalties have already kicked in for businesses and several, reportedly including a McDonald’s and Starbucks, have already been fined. Penalties range from 5,000 rupees for first-time offenders to 25,000 rupees and the threat of three months’ jail for those caught repeatedly using single-use plastics. (▪ ▪ ▪)

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● [International News] Venezuela vice-president Delcy Rodríguez banned from EU. ︴ ︴

▼ The European Union has imposed sanctions on 11 Venezuelan officials following elections in May which the EU says were "neither free nor fair". Among those sanctioned is newly nominated Vice-President Delcy Rodríguez and her predecessor, Tarek El Aissami. They will be banned from travelling to the EU and have their assets frozen. The polls, which the opposition boycotted, saw Nicolás Maduro elected to a second six-year term in office. In a statement published on Monday, the EU said that the "outcome lacked any credibility as the electoral process did not ensure the necessary guarantees for them to be inclusive and democratic". (▪ ▪ ▪)

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