What do crypto assets and artificial intelligence have in common? Both are power hungry. Because of the electricity used by high-powered equipment to “mine” crypto assets, one Bitcoin transaction requires roughly the same amount of electricity as the average person in Ghana or Pakistan consumes in three years. ChatGPT queries require
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Prostitution an egregious violation of human rights
Reem Alsalem, the UN Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women and Girls, calls prostitution a “system of violence” that does not benefit society at all, especially the women and girls forced into this system. Alsalem spoke at the Roosevelt Public Policy House in New York on Wednesday, October 2, to discuss
BRICS+ prioritising expansion to fight western hegemony
In an interview with Sky News Arabia on September 20, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed scepticism but was straight to the point about the strategic expansion of BRICS, an association comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Under Russia’s BRICS presidency which began in January 2024. Ethiopia, Egypt, Iran,
The long-feared Middleeast war in the offing
When Iran fired more than 180 ballistic missiles at Israel this week in retaliation for the Israeli assassinations of the Hamas and Hezbollah leaders, some were surprised by Tehran’s forceful response. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu immediately announced his country would harshly retaliate at a time of its own choosing. He
The approaching rainy season signals trouble for Gaza
As the humanitarian crisis in Gaza continues to grow more dire as a result of the Israel-Hamas war, concerns of diminishing public health are growing due to prolonged flooding. Repeated airstrikes and forced evacuations in recent weeks have pushed many displaced citizens to flooding hotspots. An influx of torrential rain
UN, Lebanon launch $426m humanitarian emergency appeal
The escalating hostilities between Israel and Lebanon have already threatened the safety and security of more than 1 million civilians, urging Lebanon’s government and the United Nations to take swift humanitarian action and call for international support. On Tuesday, October 1, Lebanon’s Prime Minister Najib Mikati and the UN Humanitarian Coordinator
How Geneva Consensus Declaration threatens Int’l cooperation and development
Last week, UN member states adopted the Pact of the Future – and its two annexes: the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration for Future Generations. These action-oriented documents are envisaged to counter emerging threats to development and acceleration of progress on Agenda 2030. Nonetheless, there remains little political prioritization
Israel has a history of unsuccessful invasions of Lebanon
Following a massive bombardment of Lebanon, Israel has begun a land invasion of its northern neighbour. Troops have entered southern Lebanon in a bid to push Hezbollah back beyond the Litani River, 29 kilometres from the Israeli border. The stated goal is to facilitate the return of some 60,000 displaced
It’s time for rich polluters to pay for climate crisis they created
Will the UN’s Pact of The Future modernize outdated multilateral systems?
While most world leaders who attended the United Nations inaugural Summit of the Future—a two-day high-level event at UN headquarters in New York meant to address the most pressing global challenges of the 21st century—agree that the world’s aging multilateral system needs modernizing, not all agree on how to get