Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

Belgian shipping company Exmar has penned multi-year agreements with Côte d’Ivoire Energies (CI-Energies) and Société Nationale d’Opérations Pétrolières de la Côte d’Ivoire (Petroci) to provide and operate a 152,000-cubic-meter (cbm) floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) at the Port of Abidjan, with liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports expected to begin in the third quarter of 2027, as Côte d’Ivoire moves to strengthen gas supply and meet rising power demand. Exmar will provide FSRU for Côte d’Ivoire; Source: Exmar Exmar’s agreements with CI-Energies and Petroci enable a ten-year lease of a 152,000 cbm and 250 million standard cubic feet per day…

On Aug. 12, Lebanon’s parliament passed a general amnesty, the first since 1991. The law technically aims to address overcrowding in prisons. But, as with every policy debate in Lebanon, its stated aims exist alongside a second layer of sectarian politics. Seen in this light, the amnesty also reflects a subtle shift in the balance of power toward Lebanon’s Sunnis. The concrete impact of the new law will be reducing prison terms for or releasing thousands of prisoners. Lebanon’s prisons are indeed overcrowded, with many inmates awaiting their trials for years. Now, death sentences will be commuted to life sentences,…

Ball, Karen. “Clinton Puts Family Leave Bill into Law.” The Free Lance-Star [Fredericksburg, Virginia], 5 Feb. 1993, p. A1, https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-free-lance-star/203536399/.Burkes, Paula. “Pending Law Would Provide Families Paid Sick Leave, Expanded FMLA.” The Oklahoman [Oklahoma City, Oklahoma], with Kristin Simpsen, 17 Mar. 2020, p. B5, https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-daily-oklahoman/203546459/.Buttigieg, Pete, and Julie A. Su. “S1 Signed.” U.S. Department of Transportation, 25 Sept. 2024, https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2024-09/Blank_DOT%20%26%20%20DOL%20Letter%20-RR%20Paid%20Sick%20Time%209.25.24.pdf.”Congress on 2-Week Recess.” Peninsula Daily News [Port Angeles-Sequim-West End, Washington], 30 Mar. 2015, p. A5, https://www.newspapers.com/article/peninsula-daily-news/203540559/.C-SPAN. https://www.c-span.org/.DeFazio, Peter A. “H.Con.Res.119 – Providing for a Correction in the Enrollment of H.J. Res. 100.” United States Congress, 117th Congress (2021-2022), 1 Dec.…

Good morning.Donald Trump has threatened the EU with “serious tariffs” after the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, invited Canada to become the EU’s first “associate member”.The US president called the idea of Canada joining the EU “laughable”, and should the EU move forward with the plan, Washington could impose “very serious tariffs or stop trading with Europe”. “If it’s a good intention, that’s fine. If it’s a bad intention, we’ll put very heavy tariffs on Europe,” he said. Why does the EU want closer ties with Canada? Von der Leyen told the European parliament that, as democracies faced…

The EU has announced plans to restrict social media access for under-15s across its member states, in a bid to increase wellbeing and tackle online safety.Under the plans, there would be a gradual approach to children using social media which would include banning under 13s from accessing platforms.Those aged 13 to 15 would only be able to access platforms for an hour per day via “mini accounts” set up through their parent or guardian’s social media account.The European Commission said social media companies would need to prove platforms were safe by design or face fines of up to 6% of…

Reform is likely to appoint Helen Jenner to take over from Dan Thomas as the party’s Welsh leader, sources have told BBC Wales.It is understood she is the favourite to replace Thomas, who quit following an arrest on suspicion of assault, and that “very senior” Reform figures had backed her.Jenner, an MS for Bangor Conwy Môn, is the party’s interim Welsh leader and was Thomas’ deputy.Thomas stood down after he was arrested and bailed by police at the weekend on suspicion of assault and controlling coercive behaviour.He says he has done nothing wrong.BBC Wales has also been told that chief…

Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Barclays is facing a mounting backlash against its return-to-office plans, after thousands of staff backed a call to exempt those living more than 40 minutes from their workplace and offer a one-off payment to offset the costs of coming in more.The bank has told affected workers they must be in the office at least three days a week from next month, with senior leaders expected to come in on at least four days.The current policy is for thousands of full-time workers to…

My favorite part of wearing the Specs, Snap’s new augmented reality glasses, was playing dominoes. Sitting across the table from a Snap employee wearing the same pair of chunky glasses, I could select a virtual domino with a pinch and then move my hand to drop it in place, watching the tile snap down in front of us on a real table. It was unlike anything I’ve tried in other VR headsets or smart glasses — the ability to sit with another person and have a shared digital experience.Snap really believes in AR glasses. The company has spent more than…

The Adecco Group is rolling out Salesforce’s Agentforce Coworker across more than 40 countries following a pilot in the UK and France, the staffing group announced on September 15. The group said the rollout brings agentic AI into the daily workflows of 27,000 employees.Agentforce Coworker is Salesforce’s AI assistant for enterprise staff. According to the Adecco Group, it is built into the Salesforce platform, runs on Anthropic’s Claude, and supports sales and recruitment work, including engagement with clients and candidates.What Agentforce Coworker does for Adecco Group staffThe group said Agentforce Coworker gives staff a single access point to data, systems and organisational…

Microsoft shared a temporary fix on Wednesday for a known issue that prevents Windows 11 users from logging in with valid domain credentials after installing the September 2026 security updates. According to widespread reports from users and IT administrators on Microsoft’s Q&A forums, Reddit, and other online platforms, this bug breaks domain trust relationships on some enterprise systems and causes affected users to see domain trust errors and credential errors even though their usernames or passwords are valid. Admins who investigated this issue have linked the failures to the Machine Identity Isolation Windows security mechanism, which is being set to…