Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

Pakistan’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA) has opened its licensing portal after notifying regulations governing crypto exchanges and other virtual asset service providers (VASPs) operating in the country. Companies providing virtual asset services on or before March 5 must submit an application for a no-objection certificate (NOC) by Sept. 5 or cease operations, according to the PVARA licensing website. Operating after the deadline without submitting an application will constitute an offense, PVARA said in a Saturday press release published by the Associated Press of Pakistan.“The licensing window is officially open, creating a clear pathway for businesses to enter Pakistan’s regulated virtual…

More than 7 million Americans are currently living with Alzheimer’s dementia, and that number is expected to climb to nearly 13 million by 2050. New research from Emory University suggests that higher vitamin D supplement intake may be linked to stronger cognitive performance in adults who face an increased risk of developing dementia. The study included 54 adults with sleep disturbances and mild cognitive impairments (MCI), both of which can be associated with the early stages of dementia. Participants who reported taking at least 5,000 IU of vitamin D each day performed better on measures of cognitive function than those…

24/08/2026 – 07:02Zelensky rejects rival’s call for elections Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky has rejected the prospect of wartime elections, saying it would be highly dangerous.Analysis by FRANCE 24 international affairs editor Matthew-Mary Caruchet. 24/08/2026 – 06:57Ukraine keeps up attacks on Russian e-commerce giant Ozon Russian e-commerce giant Ozon said that its warehouses came under drone attack, as Ukraine pressed ahead with its campaign targeting logistics sites.Kyiv has for weeks mounted a campaign targeting Russia’s Wildberries – the country’s top online retailer – alleging it supplied components to the military.Ozon is Russia’s second-largest online marketplace, with its pick-up points and delivery…

The responses reveal a level of confidence that exceeded expectations. An overwhelming 94​​​ percent​​​​​​​ express optimism about their company’s prospects. ​​The industry also treats this as a lasting reset rather than a temporary challenge. 76​ percent​​​ expect the effects of the Hormuz crisis on global shipping to outlast six months, and opinion splits almost in half on whether this is the sector’s most serious crisis of the past 50 years, ​which covers​​​ the oil shocks, the tanker war, the global financial crisis and C​ovid​​​-19. One phrase from our interviews captures the mindset behind optimism: ​“​​​​Shipping keeps working even when the…

A photograph of Benjamin Disraeli, an engraved portrait of William Wilberforce and a cartoon of Barbara Castle have all been misplaced by the UK parliamentary authorities, a freedom of information (FoI) request has revealed.The Press Association has been given a list of more than 65 works of art that have been missing since 2024. They also include a photograph of Margaret Beckett, the UK’s first female foreign secretary and the first woman to lead Labour, and a satirical cartoon by Martin Rowson from the Conservative leadership battle of 1995.A parliamentary spokesperson said it was a working collection, which meant that…

When a super PAC offers to spend tens of millions of dollars on a political candidate’s behalf, the candidate is typically grateful.That is not so in the Senate battleground of Michigan, where the big-spending American Israel Public Affairs Committee has encountered some resistance, an indicator of the organization’s deepening image problems — even among Republicans — because of its staunch support for Israel.AIPAC, a powerful pro-Israel lobbying group that is facing growing animosity in the Democratic Party from progressive critics of Israel, has spent weeks preparing to start an ad campaign to support Mike Rogers, the Republican nominee for Senate…

U.S. battery startups hit a rough patch when the One Big Beautiful Bill eliminated battery and EV incentives, undercutting a chunk of future demand. But recently, they’ve found a lifeline in the defense world, helping to power everything from drones and torpedoes to infantry radios and fighter jets. The Trump administration, despite its open disdain for EVs, acknowledges that batteries are an inescapable part of modern life. And like many things in Washington these days, it’s leaning on national security as justification for its recent decisions. The latest comes from the Department of Energy, which announced Thursday that it is…

ZK International said it received 205,512.5 AWA tokens on July 30 to settle a $20.02 million equity-financing receivable, but disclosed that the tokens remained unmonetized and their receipt-date fair value was unresolved. The update indicates that management’s going-concern doubt persisted while the company depended on turning accounting assets into usable liquidity.On March 31, ZK International’s continuing operations held $82,696 in cash and cash equivalents, equal to about 0.12% of $66.44 million in total assets. The company’s continuing business was a pipeline-monitoring components resale operation; AI computing services were still planned, and the AWA balance arose from financing rather than operating…

A US government plan to lease out millions of hectares of seabed near the Mariana Trench for deep sea exploration has drawn opposition from US territories in the Pacific, as the Trump administration remains locked in a race with China for control of critical ocean minerals.On Tuesday, the Marine Mineral Administration (MMA), an agency under the US department of the interior, released a proposal to auction deep sea mining leases for 28m hectares (69m acres) of seafloor off the coast of the Northern Mariana Islands and Guam.The leases ​would allow companies to ‌explore the seabed and potentially extract ‌deposits of…

Die Sommerpause ist vorbei und Kanzler Friedrich Merz blickt entscheidenden Wochen entgegen. Rasmus Buchsteiner analysiert, wie gefährlich seine schlechten Umfragewerte und die anstehenden Ost-Wahlen für die gesamte Koalition werden könnten. Pünktlich zum ukrainischen Unabhängigkeitstag überrascht der britische Premier Andy Burnham mit der Freigabe von Storm-Shadow-Marschflugkörpern. Hans von der Burchard ordnet ein, warum dieses Vorpreschen Merz beim ewigen Streitthema Taurus in Bedrängnis bringt. Im 200-Sekunden-Interview reagiert der ukrainische Botschafter Oleksii Makeiev gelassen auf Wladimir Putins aktuelle Drohungen. Er fordert, Moskaus Einschüchterungen nicht nachzugeben, und hofft auf frischen Verhandlungsdruck durch die erwarteten US-Unterhändler. Das Berlin Playbook als Podcast gibt es jeden Morgen…