Author: NCIJ NETWNCIJ NETWORK

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law creating a regulated framework for cryptocurrency markets in Russia.Putin signed bill No. 1194918-8, titled “On Digital Currencies and Digital Rights,” into law on Tuesday, according to official records from the State Duma, Russia’s lower house of parliament. The legislation establishes rules for crypto market participants, including exchanges, brokers, custodians and other crypto service providers.The law requires crypto exchange operators to meet regulatory requirements and join a financial market self-regulatory organization. It limits retail investors to buying approved crypto assets through intermediaries, with an annual cap of 300,000 rubles ($3,700) per intermediary. Qualified…

The coastal dune system in Lençóis Maranhenses National Park in northeastern Brazil is among the most surreal landscapes on Earth. At first glance, the park looks like a desert, but it is far from it. This place receives about 125 centimeters (50 inches) of rain per year—slightly more than Seattle and double what falls in London.  The result is a paradox: rows of sparkling white quartz dunes, some rising 30 meters (100 feet), soar over a mosaic of blue and green freshwater lagoons. The park’s name stems from the Portuguese word lençóis, meaning “bedsheets,” a reference that makes the most…

Belle Glade is one of the poorest cities in Florida, a majority-Black farmworker community on the southern rim of Lake Okeechobee, where clean and reliable drinking water has never been a given. But when Belle Glade looked to the largest source of federal money for fixing drinking water systems, it ran into an obstacle that has nothing to do with how poor it is. Under Florida’s rules, the deepest form of federal drinking water aid—principal forgiveness, essentially a loan that never has to be repaid—is reserved for communities that are both home to fewer than 10,000 people and low income,…

Belgian shipping company Exmar has taken delivery of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier (LNGC), which will be upgraded to function as a floating transshipment unit (FTU), dedicated to the LNG bunkering market. LNG carrier Simaisa; Source: Exmar Exmar has confirmed the delivery of the 146,000-cubic-meter (cbm) LNG carrier Simaisa, which is secured under an initial seven-year charter contract. The company explains that this vessel will soon undergo a dry-dock, including modifications to make it suitable as a floating transshipment unit for the LNG bunkering market. According to the Belgian shipping player, the FTU will receive large parcels of LNG…

Claim: New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s city-run grocery stores will require shoppers to present photo identification. Rating: Context The rumor misrepresents a statement from Jeanny Pak, interim president and CEO of the nonprofit New York City Economic Development Corp. Pak said the city-run stores may utilize a “library card-esque” system aimed at managing supply, and preventing bulk buying and reselling of goods at higher prices. However, the stores won’t require people to show ID to shop, and they will not have systems verifying identity, residency or income, a spokesperson for Mamdani’s office confirmed to Snopes. In summer 2026, a…

Lithuanian minister warns against Russia’s ‘false flag’ strike on the BalticsLithuania’s defence minister Robertas Kaunas warned that Russia could be considering possible “false flag” provocations against Nato countries in the Baltic region.A “false flag” is a term for an event or attack which would later be blamed on someone other than the actual perpetrator.Kaunas said there was no specific date for any potential Russian actions, but authorities were closely monitoring Russia’s plans and exchanging information with Poland and other Nato allies.“We are assessing and monitoring the threat level,” he said, quoted by LRT.BNS news agency reported that one scenario believed…

On the night of the 2020 election, a small error caused the publication of incorrect results showing that Joseph R. Biden Jr. had won the heavily Republican county. The county’s clerk at the time, Sheryl Guy, who had just cast her own ballot for Mr. Trump, explained her mistake and quickly corrected the tally. But then a team of lawyers and computer experts working to help Mr. Trump challenge Mr. Biden’s win across the country descended on Antrim and produced a report claiming that the election there showcased errors in voting machines. The report was quickly debunked, but that didn’t…