Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

Vietnam’s coffee industry has a problem it can no longer sweep under the rug: its global success is built on a foundation of deforestation, biodiversity collapse, and human suffering, a new op-ed argues.Robusta coffee used in instant and supermarket blends has replaced an area of Vietnamese forest the size of Luxembourg, a new report finds, and wildlife like tigers, elephants, civets, sun bears, and saola have been squeezed into ever‑smaller fragments of habitat.But once consumers know the truth, they can demand better, the author writes: “They can choose brands that commit to traceability, agroforestry, and deforestation‑free supply chains. They…

Italy’s engineering, drilling, and construction services giant Saipem and the Luxembourg-domiciled Subsea7 have made progress in advancing their proposed business combination with a U.S. antitrust milestone; however, the merger’s fate remains uncertain pending the review of potential offshore market concentration issues in the European Union (EU). Illustration; Source: Saipem Saipem and Subsea7 have confirmed the end of the U.S. antitrust review period, as all applicable waiting periods under the U.S. Hart-Scott-Rodino (HSR) Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 have expired. As a result, the two players are permitted to close the transaction in America, but the completion of the business combination…

The global tax system has repeatedly put corporate interests ahead of people and the planet by allowing multinationals to transfer profits to tax havens. If adopted, the proposed UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation would overturn the century-old rules that make this possible. NEW DELHI—This week, delegates from around the world will gather in New York to negotiate the proposed United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation, a landmark agreement aimed at making global tax cooperation more inclusive and effective. If adopted, the Convention would represent the most consequential overhaul of the global tax system in nearly…

Michigan health officials have confirmed the first two deaths linked to the ongoing cyclospora outbreak, a parasitic infection spread through contaminated food or water that can cause severe diarrhoea.The two individuals had “significant underlying health conditions that may have been impacted by cyclosporiasis and dehydration”, state health authorities said.The foodborne illness has spread to 45 states, with nearly 7,000 laboratory-confirmed cases reported nationwide, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).While the outbreak has infected thousands of people, the CDC says deaths from cyclosporiasis are far from common, as it is “not usually life-threatening”. Michigan’s health department…

The groundwork for Tuesday’s meeting was set on Monday when EU ambassadors held talks that lasted around two and a half hours. The Spanish envoy gave Madrid’s account of the Ceuta crisis, during which more than 70 people died, and reprimanded some capitals for spreading disinformation, according to one of the diplomats. The ambassador was asked for verification of Madrid’s figures on returned migrants and for the situation to be closely monitored, two other diplomats said. Concerns were also raised that Spanish government policies may have been used by people-smugglers and gangs to encourage the events in Ceuta. “There’s a…

A national social care service for Wales will not be achieved in this Senedd term, according to the deputy Welsh government minister in charge.Plaid Cymru’s 2026 Senedd election manifesto said the party believed “social care, like healthcare, should be provided free at the point of use to all those who need it”.Speaking at the National Eisteddfod, Delyth Jewell said a national service was “not something we’ll be able to achieve in its entirety in this term”.Her comments follow a speech by the new UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham last week, announcing a national conversation on the future of adult social…

A former neo-Nazi activist with convictions including for harassing a Jewish MP has been selected as a Conservative candidate for a local election in Somerset.Joshua Bonehill-Paine, the creator of the viral Crewkerne Gazette series of AI clips, is due to stand for election to Somerset council next year in a new Crewkerne South district. He told the Guardian he was an executive member of the Tories’ Yeovil branch, working as an events organiser.“The branch and indeed party are fully aware of my past. Our chairman has been a vocal advocate and has supported me since I became a member of…

AstraZeneca shareholders have raised concerns over the UK pharma group’s potential mega-merger with US rival Bristol Myers Squibb, questioning the value of spending heavily to acquire an industry laggard.Shares in AstraZeneca fell about 9 per cent in London on Monday after the FT reported on Sunday that it was in talks with BMS to create the world’s fourth-largest drugmaker by market capitalisation, with a combined valuation approaching $400bn.Chief among the complaints from AstraZeneca investors was that the Anglo-Swedish company would be acquiring a company staring down the loss of almost half its revenues as its patents expire in the coming…

The Kindle Scribe is worth considering if you’re heading back to school, as its large 10.2-inch screen can display textbooks and ebooks, or let you jot down handwritten notes during class. Now through August 8th, the first-gen model (with a Premium Pen) is down to just $149.99 with 16GB of storage in refurbished condition at Woot when you apply the promo code KINDLE25 at checkout. That’s $220 off its original launch price from 2022 and even cheaper than the current Kindle Paperwhite, though you’ll only get Woot’s 90-day warranty. Woot doesn’t specify the exact condition of its refurbished devices, but…

Agents, MCP integrations, and LLM-powered applications are entering codebases faster than most security programs can track them. Mend.io’s new practitioner guide, ‘Securing AI agents, MCP servers & LLM apps: A practical framework’, targets that gap. It is organized around three moves: see what matters, fix what matters faster, protect AI in production and ships seven reusable artifacts.  Why traditional AppSec breaks AppSec was built on one assumption: applications do what their code says. Agentic AI breaks it. Agent behavior emerges from a model, a system prompt, retrieved context, user input, and the tools it may call. Two identical deployments can…