AfDB approves eight project proposals for Jobs for Youth in Africa Strategy | Business

A University of the Sunshine Coast researcher is leading a collaborative advanced computer modelling project that could make carbon capture and storage more viable and revolutionise drug delivery.
USC Lecturer in Mechanical Engineering Dr Charith Rathnayaka and project partners from QUT, Griffith University and The University of Manchester have been assessing ways to improve the design, manufacture and operation of ‘liquid marbles’.
These are microscopic liquid droplets that are coated with nanoparticles to form a porous shell preventing moisture reaching surrounding surfaces.

As the world comes to terms with the climate crisis and the environmental devastation of our over-consumption, we are increasingly being told that switching to greener products  will not only save us, but be good for the economy. This is the principle behind “green growth”, which encourages us to continue consuming as long as the products we buy are more sustainable. But could it be that someone is pulling wool over our eyes? The fashion industry has become one of the main culprits in the blaming-and-shaming for carbon-emissions, and numbers have been thrown around at a rate that rivals fast fashion. One of the most used statistics is that textiles in 2015 emitted 1.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide, equivalent or more than maritime shipping and international flights combined, a number that has since been challenged. However, the fashion industry is far from off the hook. 

Metro Pacific Investments Foundation (MPIF) took its Puhunang Pangkabuhayan Project to its coastal community partner in Del Carmen, Surigao del Norte, donating bicycles, pocket Wi-Fis, sewing and edging machines, and Smart retailer kits for the establishment of alternative livelihood programs amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Kickstarting Alternative Livelihood – Most of MPIF’s coastal community partners depend on tourism as a source of income. Siargao Island in Surigao del Norte was even named one of Time magazine’s 100 unique destinations featured in its “The World’s Greatest Places of 2021”. However, the heightened restrictions and the strictly imposed lockdowns jeopardized this sector, forcing employees to search for other means to provide for their families. To augment this, MPIF sought to empower and give these individuals a source of stability against the looming uncertainty.

Jordan reached an agreement on Thursday to purchase an additional 50 million cubic meters of water from Israel and to increase its exports to the occupied West Bank from $160 million a year to around $700 million, the two countries announced in official statements. The agreements, concluded during a meeting between their foreign ministers, signaled improved relations with Israel’s new government following years of strained ties under former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Jordan’s Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi and his Israeli counterpart Yair Lapid — the guiding force behind the new government formed last month — met at the King Hussein Bridge between Jordan and the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Thursday.