Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

The owner of the Swiss bar ravaged by a deadly New Year fire is in pre-trial detention, accused of domestic abuse against his wife and co-owner of the establishment, media reported Sunday. French couple Jacques and Jessica Moretti have been the focus of intense scrutiny since the fire ripped though their bar Le Constellation, in the Crans-Montana ski resort in the early hours of January 1. The blaze killed 41 people, most of them teenagers, injuring 115 other people. The Morettis are among 16 people facing criminal investigation in the case. They face charges including manslaughter by negligence and arson…

The country needs to find a “compromise” between privacy and safety, according to Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley. “When people talk about just one of these, privacy or safety, they’re prioritizing the wrong thing, and what we have to prioritize as a country is compromise,” Langley said during a recent interview with Fox News. “How do we have our safety, and how do we balance privacy?” Langley’s Fox News appearance was just the latest interview he’s given as the company faces a growing public outcry around concerns that Flock’s surveillance cameras, drones, and license plate recognition technology could be misused.…

The following is a guest post and opinion from Vincent Maliepaard, VP of Marketing at Sentora.Tokenized funds have stopped being a novelty. Tokenized US Treasury funds alone now hold roughly $16 billion in distributed value and the list of issuers includes most of the largest names in traditional asset management. Issuance is a solved problem. The harder question is what happens to one of these assets after it exists onchain, because most of them currently do very little.The typical tokenized fund is held, occasionally transferred, and eventually redeemed. That is a real improvement in distribution and settlement, but it leaves…

Paediatric gynaecologist Dr Gail Busby says nearly 80% of adolescents will have painful periods, but clinicians should recognise when a patient’s symptoms are not normal – like missing school, missing PE every month or not going out with friends. She says: “When you’re in bed and your best friend is a hot water bottle – that’s not normal.”Grace’s case, showing symptoms at the age of 13, is not unusual, says Dr Busby, who sees girls both younger and older than Grace at her clinics. As well as her NHS work, she has opened a private adolescent endometriosis clinic in Manchester.The…

Productivity in the UK – a vital measure of economic health – is growing more strongly than official figures suggest, according to analysis from the Resolution Foundation.The thinktank suggests the chancellor, John Healey, may have inherited an economy finally starting to emerge from the long shadow of the 2008 global financial crisis.Productivity measures the economic output produced by each worker, and is a crucial determinant of growth.The Resolution Foundation reconsiders the UK’s recent productivity record, using what it argues is a more accurate snapshot of the workforce than the widely criticised labour force survey.Simon Pittaway, the thinktank’s principal economist, said:…

Britain will boost Ukraine’s capacity to make its own long-range missiles, Andy Burnham will announce on Monday, as he travels to Kyiv for the country’s independence day on his first foreign visit as prime minister.Burnham will arrive in the Ukrainian capital on Monday morning at a crucial time in the war, with Kyiv braced for another wave of Russian missile attacks and the country’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, facing his most direct domestic challenge.The UK prime minister will use the trip to announce that the UK government will allow the European defence company MBDA to declassify information about UK-made components of…

The government has promised that business rate valuations will be “made fairer” for pubs and hotels in England and Wales, as Andy Burnham faces growing calls to help the UK’s struggling hospitality sector.An independent review for England and Wales will look at improving the system for hospitality venues, which were hit by higher business rate bills this year after the end of pandemic-era relief and when new revaluations took effect.It comes after Burnham announced last month that he would cut business rates for pubs, social clubs and live music venues in England by 20% from April next year.The government has…

Dray encouraged students to make use of every scholarship, bursary and opportunity available to them.He said: “Many of these funds are available to more students than they realise, and everyone should be taking full advantage.”The average graduate in England leaves university with debts of more than £47,500. Scholarships such as Roehampton’s can reduce student debt and provide additional financial support.Thomas Cole, an esports player nicknamed Pac who specialises in the racing game Trackmania, said universities offering unique scholarships, including esports, encourages students academically by reducing the level of financial stress they might face. “Uni students being paid to play a…

I wonder how many members of the public are aware that the latest health plan for England, due to be ratified by parliament this autumn, abolishes the role of statutory governors on all of its constituent health trusts?For a number of years I have volunteered to act as a governor at two hospital trusts in Yorkshire. As a former health professional and principal nursing educator, I have brought years of experience to the role, for which I have been elected locally. For any organisation to wilfully remove hundreds of such skilled and committed activists from their supportive scrutiny seems ill-advised.Local…

Katrin is away this week; I’ll be your host. We’re going to start the week by looking at the trouble in the world’s breadbaskets.One of the most ominous facets of the war in Iran has been the effect on fertilizer prices. Thanks to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, they shot up at exactly the wrong time — during the spring planting season in the Northern Hemisphere. The consequences are still playing out, but they will come at a time when the world is already facing high food prices.Today, my colleague Somini Sengupta writes about that all-important staple: wheat.Instant…