糖心传媒

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.

With the capture of President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces, millions of Venezuelan migrants who fled economic and political turmoil are wondering what the future will bring.

From the streets of Miami in the United States to Bolivar Square in Colombia's capital, Venezuelans celebrated, chanting "freedom" over the ouster of the leader who oversaw one of the world's largest migration exoduses in recent history.

Mexico is attracting ever more sprawling data centres but a shortage of renewable energy means Big Tech is pumping oil, firing up gas generators and using diesel to fuel the global boom in artificial intelligence (AI).

The shortfall in green power - despite pledges by industry and government to grow capacity - has overloaded the country's existing power infrastructure and exacerbated local pollution.

Businesses worldwide are rapidly adopting artificial intelligence but are failing to identify and mitigate its risks to society and the environment, according to a report by the AI Company Data Initiative, the world's largest dataset on corporate adoption of machine learning.

The reviews publicly available data on AI policy and adoption in more than 1,000 companies across North and South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Asia-Pacific region, spanning 13 different sectors.

The U.N. COP30 summit kicks off in Belém, Brazil next week with key indicators showing the world is failing to meet its own pledges on global warming.

From cutting emissions to saving tropical forests, action on the ground has not matched the fine words pledged at previous COP summits.

A data centre boom is gathering momentum in central Mexico, where the local government of Querétaro has made it easier for foreign big tech companies to bypass environmental reporting requirements and taxes, an investigation by Context has found.

A dozen data centres operate in the semi-desert state of Querétaro, with most of the massive warehouse-like structures built in the past three years.

Mexican farmer Oliva Ramírez walks along a hillside filled with some 2,000 green agave plants she owns to create mezcal, deep in the mountain range of Oaxaca where generations of farmers have produced the popular alcoholic drink.

Ramírez, 32, a third-generation expert mezcal producer or 'palenquera' and the first woman in her family to work in the business, has faced patriarchal norms that once did not allow women to participate in mezcal production.

Born in a tiny town in Mexico's southern state of Oaxaca, Jessie Quiroz never imagined becoming a trailblazer.

But in June, the 17-year-old became the first transgender teen in his small hometown to formally change his gender identity after Oaxaca legalised the process for minors.

Mexico last month approved changes to existing laws that pave the way for a mandatory biometric ID card for citizens, raising concerns among digital rights activists about the collection, use, sharing and storage of personal data.

The law allows the government to collect biometric data, such as fingerprint and iris scans, and gives law enforcement agencies access to databases containing sensitive personal information.

When a child is too hot for too long, a chain reaction across the body and brain affects everything from immediate concentration to long-term cardiovascular and mental health.

It is a critical risk in a warming world where last year an estimated 171 million students had their schooling disrupted by more intense, longer and more common heatwaves.