Generate an appropriate single-sentence summary for the given text such that it includes the main topic of the text.

[EX Q]: The Russian LGBT Network believes about 40 people have been imprisoned since December - two of whom they say have died under torture. The group has been monitoring alleged abuses in the mainly Muslim Russian republic since 2017 when dozens of gay people were reportedly detained. A government spokesman has dismissed their latest report as "complete lies". Chechnya, and its authoritarian leader Ramzan Kadyrov, has consistently denied allegations of illegal detentions and human rights abuses. In an interview with the BBC last year, Mr Kadyrov said the allegations were "an invention by foreign agents" or created by activists looking for money. Homophobia is widespread in the highly conservative and predominantly Muslim Russian republic. Mr Kadyrov and other government figures have repeatedly claimed Chechnya has no gay population at all. Despite official denials, dozens have come forward and alleged they were detained and tortured by authorities because of their sexual orientation. The reports have drawn condemnation from around the world. What are the latest reports? The Russian LGBT Network, an activist group, has been monitoring the situation in Chechnya and working to evacuate people from the region since reports of the crackdown emerged in 2017. In a statement released on Monday, the group alleged a fresh wave of persecution and abuses had been unleashed in recent weeks. They believe the latest wave was sparked by the arrest of an administrator of an online LGBT group on the social media network VKontakte. Recent posts on the network have allegedly told LGBT people to "run away from the republic as soon as possible", according to reports in Russian media. Activists believe dozens have been taken in recent weeks to a detention centre near Argun - a town 20km (13 miles) from the city of Grozny. "We know of around 40 people who have been detained, but it may be more. It's also unclear at this point how many have since been freed. We know that does happen, when people are handed over to their families to 'deal with'," Igor Kochetkov, the head of the group, told the BBC. He said it had helped more than 140 people escape the region since the persecution began. The group had evidence, including from witnesses, that two detainees had died under torture, including one from knife wounds, he said. Mr Kochetkov also said that police were now seizing detainees' travel documents. "Everything is being done so that they can't flee the country," he told the Moscow Times. "And this is very bad for us because it makes our work much more difficult in terms of evacuation." The reports have not been independently verified by the BBC. Last month a report by the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) concluded that "very serious human rights violations" had occurred in the republic. The report was compiled using evidence including survivor testimony - and made allegations of harassment, persecution, torture, arbitrary arrests and extrajudicial killings of minorities, including LGBT people. It identified a "climate of impunity" and called on Russia to investigate the abuse. On Monday, a spokesman for the Chechen government told the Kremlin-backed RT website that the latest allegations were untruthful. "If even a single person were arrested, let alone 40, the entire Chechen public would have known. The claim that two were killed is even more absurd," Alvi Kraimov said. One victim of the 2017 crackdown spoke anonymously to the BBC about his experience of detainment. He said he was subjected to torture - including electric shocks and beatings. "They have a special black box and they attach wires to your hands or ears. The pain is awful. It's terrible torture," Ruslan (not his real name) said. Former detainees have spoken of being pressured to give the names of others during beatings.
[EX A]: Activists in Russia say there has been a new crackdown against LGBT people in Chechnya.

[EX Q]: By Chris BaraniukTechnology reporter This year, electricity use at Bitcoin mining data centres is likely to exceed that of all Iceland's homes, according to Johann Snorri Sigurbergsson. He said many potential customers were keen to get in on the act. "If all these projects are realised, we won't have enough energy for it," he told the BBC. Mr Sigurbergsson's calculations were first reported by the Associated Press. Iceland has a small population, of around 340,000 people. But in recent years it has seen a marked increase in the number of new data centres, often built by firms wishing to tout green credentials. Nearly 100% of energy in Iceland comes from renewable sources. Bitcoin mining refers to the work done by computers connected to the global Bitcoin network. These computers solve complex mathematical problems - a process that in turn validates transactions between users of the crypto-currency. The computers that do this validation work receive small Bitcoin rewards for their trouble, making it a lucrative exercise, especially when done at a large scale. 'Exponential growth' "What we're seeing now is... you can almost call it exponential growth, I think, in the [energy] consumption of data centres," said Mr Sigurbergsson. He added that he expects Bitcoin mining operations will use around 840 gigawatt hours of electricity to supply data centre computers and cooling systems, for example. He estimated that the county's homes, in contrast, use around 700 gigawatt hours every year. "I don't see it stopping quite yet," added Mr Sigurbergsson, referring to data centre projects. "I'm getting a lot of calls, visits from potential investors or companies wanting to build data centres in Iceland." He also said that there are so many proposed data centres that it wouldn't be possible to supply all of them. He added that his firm was mostly interested in dealing with companies that were willing to commit to long-term contracts of a few years or more. If Iceland took on all of the proposed Bitcoin mining ventures, there simply wouldn't be enough electricity to supply them all, he added. The crypto-currency mining industry in Iceland was recently given a boost thanks to the launch of The Moonlite Project - a large data centre where various crypto-currencies, including Bitcoin, will be mined. It is set to open later this year and will have an initial capacity of 15 megawatts, though this is expected to increase in the future. Some have questioned how beneficial the rise of the crypto-currency mining will be to Iceland. Smari McCarthy, a member of the Icelandic parliament for the Pirate Party, tweeted: "Cryptocurrency mining requires almost no staff, very little in capital investments, and mostly leaves no taxes either. "The value to Iceland... is virtually zero." He also clarified previous reports that quoted him as saying he was keen to tax Bitcoin mining firms. It has previously been reported that the electricity demand of the world's total combined Bitcoin mining operations may now exceed the energy use of the Republic of Ireland, though this calculation may not be entirely accurate. But as crypto-currencies rise in popularity, mining operations certainly continue to use more and more resources - recent analysis of European energy use in 2017 by campaign group Sandbag noted that Bitcoin mining was contributing to additional power demand in the technology sector.
[EX A]: Iceland is facing an "exponential" rise in Bitcoin mining that is gobbling up power resources, a spokesman for Icelandic energy firm HS Orka has said.

[EX Q]: "It's not been a democracy for a long time," said Mr Macron. His comments came after the Supreme Court in Caracas imposed restrictions on the main opposition coalition for presidential elections due in April. On Monday, the European Union froze the assets and imposed a travel ban on seven senior Venezuelan officials. Mr Macron said that there was no sign of progress from President Nicolás Maduro's government and called for a joint effort to help restore democracy in Venezuela. 'Institutions overrun' "We'll have to see at the European level whether we want new sanctions. I am in favour of having them... "I want us to go further given the recent decisions and the shift to authoritarianism," said Mr Macron. He was speaking after a meeting in Paris with his Argentine counterpart, Mauricio Macri. The two leaders criticised the decision by Venezuela's Supreme Court to ban the participation of the opposition in the presidential poll as a coalition, the Democratic Union Roundtable, or MUD. The electoral process had already been thrown in disarray on Tuesday, when the Constituent Assembly announced that the vote, traditionally held in December, would have to take place by the end of April. The move leaves very little time for the opposition to prepare, as it is already weakened by the absence of many of its leaders who are in self-imposed exile or in jail. Mr Maduro's six-year term ends next year. He announced he was standing for re-election "to put an end to the imperialist threat". Mr Macri said that the institutions had been "clearly overrun in Venezuela". "We need to demand free and transparent elections, so that Venezuelans can really express their views and start building a future," said Mr Macri. For some time now, the European Union has been expressing concern about human rights violations in Venezuela. More than 120 people died during four months of protests against President Maduro last year. This week, the EU targeted Venezuelan officials for the first time. Spain pushed for the sanctions and paid a price for it: its ambassador to Caracas was expelled on Thursday and Madrid reciprocated with its own expulsion a day later. Venezuela accused the Spanish ambassador of intervening in its internal affairs. Now, Mr Macron has spoken out against the Maduro administration. "Pressure on the regime will bear fruit when those who impose sanctions work together," he said.
[EX A]:
France's President Emmanuel Macron has called for tougher sanctions against Venezuela, accusing it of violating democracy and human rights.

