An artisanal miner holds a cobalt stone at the Shabara artisanal mine near Kolwezi on October 12, 2022. Africa holds 55 per cent of the world's cobalt reserves, a crucial metal in making electric car batteries. (Keystone/AFP/Junior Kannah)

🤑Developing countries bear the environmental impact of digital economy. A report by UN Trade and Development said the rise of new technologies such as artificial intelligence and cryptocurrency mining was taking a heavy environmental toll on developing economies which were reaping little of the benefits.

🇱🇾UN: Libya remains mired in crisis as political leaders violate human rights to cling to power. Arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings were cited by the UN high commissioner for human rights, Volker Türk, at a Human Rights Council debate.

🇺🇳In a diplomatic quirk, Russia chairs UN meeting decrying its strike on Ukraine kids' hospital. The United States and other western countries blasted Moscow for the attack at a Security Council emergency meeting, where Russian ambassador Vassily Nebenzia had to chair the meeting while also defending his country’s position.

💭The Loss and Damage Fund must not leave fragile states behind. As the body’s board meets this week, Adrianna Hardaway from Mercy Corps points to the worrying absence of discussions about how conflict-affected communities can access the funding mechanism.

From left to right: Francesca Bosco, chief strategy officer, CyberPeace Institute, Kasmira Jefford, editor-in-chief of Geneva Solutions, Grégoire Barbey, tech reporter, Le Temps, Jovan Kurbalija, executive director of DiploFoundation, at the Geneva Press Club, 10 July 2024. (Geneva Press Club)

Is Switzerland losing its status as a leader in digital governance? Watch the debate on Geneva Solutions.