Context

It might not look like it, but Queretaro is fast becoming Mexico’s data centre hub. The state plays host to 12 data centres, some owned and operated by the world’s biggest tech companies. But the promise of investment and jobs comes at a cost — to those who live nearby. We spent months digging through public records, interviewing officials and spending time with residents to map out the impact these data centres are having.

What’s the context? Community resistance grows in Mexico as locals feel the environmental impact of the data centre boom and empty promises. Homemaker Rita Zeferino lives in Mexico's semi-desert state of Querétaro, where a data centre boom promoted by the government has left residents facing strict water rationing and power cuts. The state is prone to drought, and residents say the needs of data centres are worsening water shortages and straining the electricity grid.

What’s the context? Scientists and LGBTQ+ activists say Panama's ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood is outdated and discriminatory. Ban on gay men donating blood dates from 1980s Scientists say restrictions are outdated LGBTQ+ groups say ban stigmatizes individuals PANAMA CITY - Luis, a 26-year-old Panamanian man, has tried to donate blood four times in his life. The first time he was rejected.

With real expertise to offer, LGBTI+ organisations should be treated as strategic partners in security and defence. Alex Farrow is the CEO of the Kaleidoscope Trust, a charity campaigning for LGBTI+ rights around the world. Last year, I marched in Budapest during a banned Pride event. People joined not just to defend LGBTI+ rights, but because they understood something deeper: our community is the canary in the coalmine for freedoms in Hungary.

A person walks through floodwater, as an atmospheric river brings rain and flooding to the Pacific Northwest, in Sultan, Washington, U.S., December 10, 2025. REUTERS/David Ryder What’s the context? Here's what groups tracking and preserving climate data have found – and what could be next.

A laptop screen shows an interaction with an AI chatbot, in Bengaluru, India, August 19, 2025. REUTERS/Priyanshu Singh If socioeconomic systems don't evolve as AI replaces jobs, people will struggle with practical survival and psychological needs. Dr. Ben Goertzel is co-founder of the Artificial Superintelligence (ASI) Alliance and CEO of SingularityNet, a decentralised, blockchain-based AI marketplace designed to democratise AI and support decentralised artificial general intelligence.

A person uses a megaphone during the annual LGBT Pride Parade in Madrid, Spain, July 5, 2025. REUTERS/Ana Beltran What’s the context? Spain's LGBTQ+ envoy Jorge Noval Álvarez says the world needs new leaders championing gay and transgender rights.

A man checks his smartphone to connect to the internet, amid telecom shutdown across the country, in Kabul, Afghanistan, September 30, 2025. REUTERS/Sayed Hassib What’s the context? The economic toll of digital blackouts hit $20 billion last year. Citizens are adapting with new tech to skirt government controls. JOHANNESBURG - As 2026 began, Ugandans and Iranians were plunged into digital darkness with authorities seeking to crack down on dissent by blocking internet communication.

A supporter wears a pro-trans ribbon after a hearing in the multi-state lawsuit over President Trump's order ending all federal funding or support for healthcare that aids gender transitions for people younger than 19, outside a courthouse in Seattle, Washington, U.S., February 28, 2025. REUTERS/David Ryder What’s the context? Donald Trump rolled back LGBTQ+ rights at home and abroad in an unprecedented first year in office.

As world leaders meet in Davos, it's time to imagine a currency that coexists with dollars or euros in the form of impact credits. Daniel Nowack is Head of Social Innovation at the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship and World Economic Forum. Money has done so much for humanity, enabling the creation of our highly complex societies and bringing legions of people out of poverty. But the limits of our current economic system are becoming increasingly clear.