14 August 2018 (The Conversation)* – The next four years are going to be anomalously warm – even on top of regular climate change. That’s according to new research my colleague Sybren Drijfhout and I have just published.
We developed a new prediction system we call PROCAST (PRO abilistic fore CAST), and used it to predict the natural variability of the climate system. This refers to how the climate varies naturally from warm to cool phases that last a few years at a time, and is separate from the long-term trend of anthropogenic global warming. PROCAST predicts a warm phase for the next few years.
20 August, 2018 (UN Women)* – Aleeza Hafeez from Sailkot, one of Pakistan’s most industrialized areas, has her own income for the first time. Knowing her own rights and an enabling environment at the workplace made it possible for her to work and grow as a professional. The project has changed family dynamics too. Now, Hafeez’s father includes her when making family decisions, a role previously reserved for male members.
Aleeza Hafeez Photo: Baidarie/Gohar Zama
“My father, for as long as I can remember, was working day and night for us, but still his income was not sufficient to make our ends meet.
My siblings are all younger than me. I wanted to help my father in meeting our household needs.
As I started looking for jobs, I was unsure that I would get one, because I had no work experience.
But as they say, ‘When there is a will, there is a way.’
Princes and lords may flourish, or may fade; A breath can make them, as a breath has made; But a bold peasantry, their country’s pride, When once destroyed, can never be supplied
— Oliver Goldsmith, The Deserted Village
‘Think beyond farm jobs’ to reach sustainable development, UN agriculture chief advises African youth.
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FAO/Tamiru Legesse | A new talking app helps farmers like Tazelekwew, in southern Ethiopia, detect whether their crops have been infected by Fall Armyworm.
For the African continent to achieve sustainable development, more jobs must be created for its young people, including in the digitalized agriculture sectors, the United Nations agriculture chief on 20 August 2018 told an international conference.
20 August 2018 – With conflict raging in northwest Syria, the United Nations health agency has appealed for $11 million to provide life-saving care to parts of Aleppo, Hama, Idleb and Lattakia governorates.
UNICEF | A seven-year-old child stands in front of her damaged school in Idleb, Syria. October 2016.
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“The health situation in north-west Syria is already dire and looks set to deteriorate,” said Michel Thieren, Regional Emergencies Director for the World Health Organization (WHO).
“If WHO does not receive additional funding, more than two million people caught in the cross-fire may have no access to essential health care services, including life-saving trauma care.”