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☆ Sam Bankman-Fried was the 'the poster child' of the effective altruism movement, now the charity he bankrolled is shutting down
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-06 | by ( Nathan Rennolds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

An "effective altruism" charity backed by Sam Bankman-Fried is set to close. The jailed former crypto billionaire was a major proponent of effective altruism. AdvertisementA UK-based "effective altruism" charity funded by the disgraced former cryptocurrency billionaire Sam Bankman-Fried is set to close. Effective Ventures Foundation UK, originally incorporated in 2012, reported income of more than £140 million in 2022, which is around $177 million as of April 2024. The UK Charity Commission also opened an inquiry into Effective Ventures UK in December 2022 in order to assess any potential risks to the charity's assets.

Persons: Sam Bankman, —, Luke Kemp, Michael Lewis, Fried Organizations: Service, Ventures Foundation, University of Oxford, University of Cambridge's, Harvard Law School, Alameda Research, Financial Times, UK, Commission, Ventures UK Locations: Oxford, Silicon Valley, FTX

Helping these countries, which face some of the biggest risks from climate change, access these will be a key aim during the COP28 climate talks underway in Dubai. Ambitions for results at COP28 got off to a good start on the opening day on Thursday when countries approved plans for the climate disaster fund, after months of negotiations. About 60% of low-income countries are either in or at high risk of debt distress, the CDP said. The Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program, for example, aims to agree a disaster relief bond issuance and a regional risk transfer facility, the ADB's Principal Disaster Risk Insurance and Finance Specialist, Thomas Kessler, told Reuters. "We are ready to scale up climate protection through early warning systems, anticipatory cash, climate insurance and community-based resilience projects," said Gernot Laganda, director of Climate and Disaster Risk Reduction at the United Nations World Food Programme.

Persons: COP28, Ekhosuehi Iyahen, IDF's Iyahen, Michèle Plichta, Lydia Poole, Odile Renaud, Basso, Thomas Kessler, Otis, Gernot Laganda, Alessandro Parodi, Simon Jessop, Libby George, Karin Strohecker, Susan Fenton Organizations: Insurance, Forum, PAF, Disaster, European Bank for Reconstruction, Global, Swiss, Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation, Finance, Reuters, UN, University of Cambridge's Institute for Sustainability Leadership, United Nations, Food, Thomson Locations: GDANSK, LONDON, Dubai, London, Mexico

☆ I'm a 23-year-old gay man training to be a priest. Though I'm living on only $740 a month, I don't regret it one bit.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-17 | by ( Kai Xiang Teo | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

He says he had considered the idea ludicrous as someone who's gay and used to be an atheist. And it was also a big shift for someone who was living abroad in the Hague, who's openly gay, and who was heavily invested in a different career. I thought it was completely ludicrous, as someone who used to be quite atheist as a teen, who's gay, and who'd been preparing for an entirely different career. By January, I'd started working there as a pastoral assistant. Though it hasn't been the easiest time — I get a stipend of 600 pounds a month, or about $740 — I don't regret it one bit.

Persons: Peter Banks, —, I've, It's, who's, Banks, who'd, Little, I'd, hasn't, We're, you've Organizations: Service, UK's Liberal Democratic Party, Liberal Democratic Party, Hague, University of Cambridge's Trinity College, Episcopal Church, Episcopal, of Locations: Cambridge, England, Hague, Netherlands, Winchester, Mary's, United States, Scotland, of Wales

☆ Sudan one month on: Why cease-fires are failing, and what global leaders are missing
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( Elliot Smith | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

KHARTOUM, Sudan - May 6, 2023: Sudanese Army sodliers walk near armoured vehicles stationed on a street in southern Khartoum, amid ongoing fighting against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. AFP via Getty ImagesOne month after fighting between Sudan's two military factions broke out in the capital, Khartoum, internationally-brokered peace talks in Saudi Arabia have yielded no solution. Almost a million people have fled their homes, both to locations within Sudan and across the border to neighboring countries. The World Bank and several global powers froze aid to the country after the military takeover, honoring calls from civilians not to legitimize its leadership. Targeted and collaborative efforts by the international community to exert pressure on the countries supporting Sudan's military factions were needed, Abdel-Magied said.

☆ Return of Benin Bronzes delayed after Nigerian president's decree
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Macdonald Dzirutwe | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

But an official gazette signed by President Muhammadu Buhari on March 28 said the Oba of Benin was the rightful owner of all returned Benin Bronzes and was responsible for the management of all places where the artefacts were kept. The commission has in the past signed agreements to return looted artefacts, including from Cambridge college and Germany. The University of Cambridge's Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. There have been questions on whether Nigeria has capacity to safely keep artefacts returned from abroad. The palace has previously said it planned to build a museum to house returned artefacts.

☆ India's heatwaves putting economy, development goals at risk - study
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SINGAPORE, April 20 (Reuters) - Killer heat waves are putting "unprecedented burdens" on India's agriculture, economy and public health, with climate change undermining the country's long-term efforts to reduce poverty, inequality and illness, a new study showed. India is now "facing a collision of multiple, cumulative climate hazards", with extreme weather happening almost every day from January to October last year, they said. As much as 90% of India's total area now lies in extreme heat danger zones, and it is not fully prepared, he warned. "India has already done quite a bit in terms of heat mitigation - they actually now recognise heatwaves as part of their disaster relief package," he said. The researchers also warned that heatwaves were weakening India's efforts to meet its "Social Development Goals", a list of 17 U.N. objectives to cut poverty, hunger, inequality and disease.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried was the poster boy for 'effective altruism.' Now, its followers are heartbroken and critics are questioning its 'weird' funding setup.
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-03 | by ( Grace Dean | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Sam Bankman-Fried was a proponent of effective altruism: earning as much as possible to give your wealth away. He had a huge influence on the effective-altruism movement, which counts Silicon Valley tech workers and Oxford University academics among its fans. 'Devastated'Bankman-Fried was the main funder of Future Fund, a charitable project run by the FTX Foundation. "We joined the Future Fund to support incredible people and projects," they said, "and this outcome is heartbreaking to us." Science groups that had received money from the Future Fund told the magazine Science in mid-November that they were unsure of their funding's future.

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