Day: June 19, 2022

PRETORIA, South Africa has turned to Russia for food as it also considers Moscow’s help to mitigate record fuel prices.

President Cyril Ramaphosa spoke on the phone with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin seeking the supply of agricultural products and fertilizers.

The telephone discussion between the two BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) leaders was a Pretoria initiative.

“The Presidents expressed satisfaction with the current level of the two countries’ strategic partnership and stressed the shared intention to expand mutually beneficial cooperation, above all in trade, the economy, and investment,” read a Kremlin press release.

“They also discussed in detail issues of food security, including the supply of Russian agricultural products and fertilizers to the African continent, in particular South Africa.

“The leaders also noted the importance of joint work within BRICS in order to further promote the role of this association in global politics and economics.

“Vladimir Putin and Cyril Ramaphosa also exchanged views on the situation in Ukraine. It was agreed to maintain contact.”

While Ramaphosa and Putin spoke on the phone, it was the same day South Africa’s Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe told parliament they are pondering Russian crude imports.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine in February, there have been fuel hikes in South Africa and that has had a knock-on effect on skyrocketing prices of basic commodities.

“We should consider importing crude oil from Russia at a low price because it is not sanctioned,” Mantashe said.

Mantashe was addressing a parliamentary debate on domestic fuel prices and he added that sanctions announced by the US and EU on Russia “have resulted in major imbalance in the demand and supply” for oil.

The US and EU imposed sanctions on Russian oil imports, but consumers outside their jurisdiction can buy from Moscow.

Also, discounted oil from Russia is available for purchase by BRICS countries and for South Africa, that would be an option from relying on the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries.

While Russia has received a cold shoulder from the West since its invasion of Ukraine, a number of African countries have been strengthening their diplomatic relations with Moscow.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

A global consortium of major space agencies is celebrating 50 years of collaboration in the provision of meteorological satellites vital for weather forecasts, life-saving early warning services and – increasingly – climate change monitoring and other application areas

The Coordination Group for Meteorological Satellites (CGMS) consists of satellite agencies from China, Europe, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, Russia and the United States, as well as international users including the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO.

Space agency heads have delivered congratulatory messages for the 50th anniversary ceremony on 17 June at WMO headquarters. The event will showcase the benefits of coordinated space-based observations based on the principal of working together. Participants will also look ahead to challenges in an era of threats of disruption from solar related “space weather” and growing pressure on scarce radio frequencies used for meteorological purposes; as well as to opportunities provided by supercomputers, IT cloud technology and Artificial Intelligence.

“In order to meet the expectations from governments, industry, and citizens for improved weather forecasts and early warnings of high impact weather events, the key priority of the CGMS is to continuously deliver high-quality and increasingly accurate observations from space,” says Phil Evans, EUMETSAT Director-General and head of the CGMS Secretariat.

“A globally coordinated response is necessary, and mechanisms like the CGMS will play a key role in this,” he says.

CGMS was established in 1972 by satellite agencies from Europe, Japan and the United States in order to coordinate the operation and use of fledgling geostationary satellites. Over the years, the membership and remit have expanded to cover an ever-growing number of weather, climate, ocean and environmental monitoring applications.

CGMS has more recently added coordination of climate and greenhouse gas observations as well as space weather (related to solar activity) to its priority areas of activity for the coming decade.

“The power of partnerships is pivotal and will be even more so in future as we embrace an Earth-systems approach to forecasts and predictions,” says WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas.

“Satellite observations have greatly increased our understanding of what is happening in our atmosphere, in remote parts of the planet and deep in the oceans. We can predict storm tracks and precipitation patterns and monitor drought and wildfires. This underpins our efforts to strengthen disaster resilience and response and support decision-making on climate change mitigation and adaptation,” he says.

“CGMS exemplifies the international cooperation which is needed to realize the WMO Integrated Global Observing System as well as initiatives to increase access to early warning systems and to strengthen monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions,” he says.

Meteorological eyes in the sky

Over the years, the coverage of the “meteorological eyes in the sky” has become all-encompassing to include polar and elliptic orbit observations, in addition to geostationary satellites.

Joint collaboration between Europe, the US, and China enabled the expansion the constellation of international polar orbiting meteorological satellites from a two-orbit to a three-orbit system. In the past, EUMETSAT and NOAA operated mid-morning and mid-afternoon orbits and observations have now been greatly enhanced by an early-morning orbit from China’s polar orbiting satellites.

Combined, this three-orbit satellite system is able to provide more observations of everything from severe weather events, to forest fires, to ocean surface winds. Polar orbiting meteorological satellites are vital for global numerical weather prediction models as they provide around 90% of the satellite data used for reducing errors in forecasts.

CGMS standardizes processing and distribution of data to serve global users, in particular the WMO community. In addition, the development of global standards for metadata for satellite data and products have significantly improved the exchange of data between partners.

One of the overriding achievements of CGMS is the Establishment of a global back-up framework (contingency planning) – the concept of “helping thy neighbour.”

In the event of failure of one member’s assets, CGMS members have supported each other by moving satellites from their nominal positions in order to ensure continuity of observations over another part of the globe.

The same philosophy of “satellites serving society” characterizes many of CGMS-related activities.

Looking at the geostationary satellites as an example, EUMETSAT satellites help keep an eye on the Indian Ocean, providing data crucial for Indian Ocean islands and for eastern Africa and complementing the satellites of China, India, Japan, and the Republic of Korea. Japan’s Himawari-8 has brought the power of new satellite data to the Asia-Pacific region and China’s FY-4 satellite provides additional unprecedented information about the same region.

“We have the privilege and unique advantage of acting on behalf of a well-structured, user-driven community responsible for facing global challenges that will impact future generations. Let’s act together and deliver!” says Phil Evans, head of the CGMS Secretariat.

Source: World Meteorological Organization

Ariet Ojulu the head of the Women, Children, and Youth Affairs Officr in Itang Woreda, Ethiopia is actively engaged in UN Women Programme (POWER) that focuses on removing barriers that prevent women and girls from demanding their SRMNCAH rights and accessing services.

“I see positive change through the power of women’s organizations and adolescent peer groups in our community. More girls are standing up against their families to stay in school. For example, the other day a girl came to my office and told me that she lost her parents and now her grandfather wanted to force her to marry a man old enough to be her father, but she wanted to stay in school. I contacted her grandfather and her husband-to-be informing them that the girl was underage and it would be a crime to marry her. When they refused to listen and intimidated the girl, I informed the law enforcement who transferred her to a boarding school to continue her education.

As a female government official working for gender equality, I often face negative attitudes from the community. However, this will not stop me from speaking out on women’s rights because it is part of my core values. In my district we face recurrent conflicts, abduction of children and sexual and reproductive health challenges. I worry about increased new HIV infections, unwanted pregnancies and unsafe abortion causing servere health complications or even death. The solution to these issues warrant more than medical resources. Even with limited financial and human resources, I experienced how communities can alleviate some of these problems. In parallel to strengthening community structures, my office supports law enforcement agents to ensure protection of the rights of women and girls.

By participating in community dialogues, I have a better understanding of the issues women, adolescents and children face, which makes me a better advocate for their rights. For example, by listening to the community members, we understood that pregnant women were requested to pay for using the ambulance service. I informed the Head of the Health Bureau and we decided to provide the service free of charge. I am now happy to say that almost all pregnant women are using the ambulance service to reach the health center to give birth.

I am proud to be a women’s rights activist working together with the women’s organizations in our community for gender equality.”

Ariet Ojulu is the Head of the Women, Children, and Youth Affairs Office in Itang Woreda, Ethiopia. Her work and advocacy relate closely to the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 5 on gender equality, and SDG 3 on good health and well-being. She is actively engaged in UN Women’s Programme on Women’s Empowerment in Sexual, Reproductive, Maternal, Newborn, Child, and Adolescent Health rights in humanitarian settings in the Horn of Africa Region (POWER), which is supported by the Austrian Development Agency. The programme focuses on removing the barriers that prevent women, adolescents, and girls from accessing their rights to and seeking services for sexual, reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health.

Source: UN Women

June 19th , 2022 – Doha: “During the lockdown due to COVID-19, I suffered mentally and socially, and it was difficult to meet the needs of my young child as a result”. These were the words of Bassem Al-Haban (25), a resident of northern Gaza, as he his and his family’s post-pandemic experience.

Since he has a hearing impairment, his mother communicated his statements as they received a food parcel under a project to distribute emergency aid to the families affected by the Coronavirus pandemic in Gaza, with over QR 1 million funding from Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS).

Using sign language, Al-Haban explained that he lived in financial difficulties, and that his mother contributed some money to buy milk and food for his young child and his wife, who also had hearing issues.

According to him, the economic situation in Gaza is very bad, and he feels disappointed by the scarcity of jobs. Even though he tried repeatedly to find a job, his attempts were thwarted by the fact that employers do not know sign language. Things got even worse with the COVID-19 outbreak. He had to depend on his mother to secure his everyday needs, as she is his only source of income.

Regarding the importance of supporting the Coronavirus-affected families, Dr. Akram Nassar, head of QRCS’s representation office in Gaza, referred to coordination with the Ministry of Social Development to help the poor families affected by the pandemic, by distributing 5,065 food parcels to about 30,000 beneficiaries, including patients, older people, persons with disability, and other vulnerable groups.

He added that the food distributions covered all governorates of Gaza, with each parcel containing 13 staples, such as milk, vegetable oil, rice, pasta, jam, and sugar.

QRCS has carried out a number of humanitarian interventions to combat the Coronavirus pandemic in Gaza. These include the provision of medical supplies, detergents, disinfectants, thermometers, COVID-19 test strips, and food parcels, at a total cost of QR 1,744,000.

End of Text

About Qatar Red Crescent (QRCS)

Established in 1978, Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) is Qatar’s first humanitarian and volunteering organization that aims to assist and empower vulnerable individuals and communities without partiality or discrimination.

QRCS is a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, which consists of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and 192 National Societies. It is also a member of several GCC, Arab, and Islamic organizations, such as the Islamic Committee of International Crescent and the Arab Red Crescent and Red Cross Organization (ARCO). In this legally recognized capacity, QRCS has access to disaster and conflict zones, thus serving as an auxiliary to the State of Qatar in its humanitarian and social efforts — a role that distinguishes it from other local charities and NGOs.

Both locally and internationally, QRCS has relief and development operations in numerous countries throughout the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Europe, and Central and South America. Its humanitarian mandates include disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and risk reduction. To mitigate the impact of disasters and improve the livelihoods of affected populations, QRCS provides medical services, food, water, shelter, and other needs of local communities. It is also active at the humanitarian diplomacy and advocacy front.

With the help of a vast network of trained, committed staff and volunteers, QRCS aspires to improve the lives of vulnerable people by mobilizing the power of humanity, inspired by the seven Fundamental Principles of humanitarian action: humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, voluntary service, unity, and universality.

Source: Qatar Red Crescent Society