Category: Life & Style

President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa in July signed legislation into law to recognise sign as the country’s 12th official language, in a bid to empower people with disabilities in the country.

Only 41 countries globally recognise sign language as an official language and four of these countries – Kenya, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe – are in Africa.

At the signing ceremony at the Union Buildings in Pretoria, the seat of government, Ramaphosa said that South African Sign Language (SASL) will empower those living with disabilities. A number of learners with hearing impairments attended the signing ceremony. The leader assured the community that many barriers between abled South Africans and the deaf community would be addressed, resolving issues of access to education, economic and other social services.

The new legislation seeks to advance the cultural acceptance of SASL; ensure the realisation of the rights of persons who are deaf and hard of hearing to equal protection and benefit of the law and human dignity; and promote inclusive and substantive equality and prevent or eliminate unfair discrimination on the grounds of disability, as guaranteed by Section 9 of the Constitution.

Until the advent of the first democratic government under Nelson Mandela in 1994, only English and Afrikaans were recognised as official languages. The new Constitution has now recognised important languages spoken in the country, including Zulu and eight indigenous languages, a few of them shared by neighbouring states. 

Mohamned Adil Khan, an Indian architect working in Dubai, has been named the first winner of a new mega prize in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and will receive more than Rs. 5.5 lakh every month for the next 25 years.

Hailing from Uttar Pradesh, Khan was named the mega prize winner of the FAST 5 draw at a press conference held on July 27. Working as an interior design consultant for a real estate company in Dubai, he stands to get Dh25,000 (Rs. 5,59,822) a month for 25 years after winning the lottery.

While Khan was grateful for winning the money, Paul Chader, Head of Marketing, Tycheros, a company that organises Emirates Draw, was glad to announce the first winner for FAST 5 in less than eight weeks of its launch. The reason the draw is called FAST 5 is because it is the fastest way to become a multi-millionaire, he said. He added that the idea behind staggered payments is to secure the winner. “This sort of prize win ensures a regular payout for the next 25 years to the winner,” Chader said.

A sudden marine heat wave off the coast of Florida has sent water temperatures soaring to unprecedented highs, threatening one of the most severe coral bleaching events the US state has ever seen.

The bleaching is already happening in the Florida Keys, which is home to 6,000 individual reefs. Eleven observations of partial bleaching were confirmed by the Mote Marine Laboratory in June. Experts said they expected that number to grow exponentially in the weeks to come.

Sea surface temperatures have reached the highest levels on record since satellites began collecting ocean data, alarming scientists. The warming has occurred much earlier than normal. The exceptional temperatures are close to 97 degrees Fahrenheit in some areas, disturbing the coral reefs.

Extreme ocean heat and its duration are critical in deciding the survival of coral reefs. Temperatures that are too hot for too long cause coral to bleach, making these turn white as they eject their algal food source and gradually starve to death. Not all coral that bleachdie, but the more intense the heat and the longer it lasts, the more certain death becomes, say coral experts.

Sea surface warming of 1 degree Celsius, or 2 to 3 degrees Fahrenheit, beyond the reef’s normal highest temperature triggers the heat stress that leads to bleaching. The sea surface temperatures around Florida are more than 2 degrees Celsius above that normal range and have been for one to two weeks, alarming scientists.

A UNESCO report has warned of a ‘negative link’ between excessive use of digital technology and student performance, calling for a ban on smartphones in schools. The move will help tackle classroom disruption, improve learning, and help protect children from cyberbullying, recommended the report.

The UN’s education, science and culture agency, UNESCO, has said that there was evidence that excessive mobile phone use was linked to reduced educational performance and high levels of screen time had a negative effect on children’s emotional stability.

The UN experts said the call for a smartphone ban is to underline the fact that digital technology, including artificial intelligence, should always be subservient to a “human-centred vision” of education, and never replace face-to-face interaction with teachers.

The UN agency warned policymakers against a thoughtless embrace of digital technology, arguing that its positive impact on learning outcomes and economic efficiency could be overstated, and new was not always better. With more learning moving online, especially in universities, it urged policymakers not to neglect the “social dimension” of education.

There was little robust research to demonstrate digital technology essentially added value to education, UNESCO said in its 2023 Global Education Monitor report. Much of the evidence was funded by private education companies trying to sell digital learning products. Their growing influence on education policy around the world was “a cause for concern,” it added.

A Norwegian woman and her sherpa guide climbed Mount K2 in Pakistan on July 27 – their 14th highest mountain in just over three months – becoming the world’s fastest climbers to climb all peaks above 8,000 metre (26,246 feet) in the shortest time.

Kristin Harila, 37, and Nepal’s Tenjen (Lama) Sherpa, 35, scaled K2, which is the world’s second highest peak at 8,611 metres (28,251 feet) with eight other guides, Tashi Lakpa Sherpa, said an official of their Nepali organising company, Seven Summit Treks (SST) in Kathmandu. They had scaled Shishapangma in Tibet region of China on April 26.

The climbers have beaten the earlier fastest climbing record of Nepal’s Nirmal Purja, who scaled all peaks in six months and one week in 2019. Both climbers have since scaled Everest, Kanchenjunga, Lhotse, Makalu, Cho Oyu, Dhaulagiri, Manaslu, and Annapurna in Nepal before proceeding to Pakistan, where they climbed Nanga Parbat, Gasherbrum I, Gasherbrum II and the Broad Peak before topping K2, completing all 14 in 92 days.

One of the sherpas, the 17-year-old Nima Rinjin Sherpa, also became the youngest to climb K2.

Kristin Harila is a former professional skier. Even though her team’s climb has been witnessed by other climbers, their achievement is yet to be confirmed by the Guinness Book of World Records.

The pioneering conservation initiative Project Tiger has helped India secure 70 percent of the world’s tigers, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 28. In a video message to the G20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Ministerial Meeting in Chennai, the Prime Minister said that Project Lion and Project Dolphin are in the pipeline.

Under PM Modi’s leadership, India launched the International Big Cats Alliance (IBCA) at Mysore University in Karnataka, on the ‘Commemoration of 50 years of Project Tiger’ in April this year.

The IBCA aims to conserve seven big cats on our planet. The alliance is based on India’s learnings from Project Tiger, said PM Modi. He also emphasised India’s climate commitments, underlining that the country is one of the top 5 countries in the world in terms of installed renewable energy capacity. He added that India has consistently been at the forefront of taking action on biodiversity conservation, protection and enrichment.

The Environment and Climate Sustainability Minister’s Meeting was held after the conclusion of the two-day-long 4th Environment and Climate Sustainability Working Group (ECSWG) meeting. The ECSWG meeting witnessed the launch of the Resource Efficiency-Circular Economy Industry Coalition, which has been set up to unite nations, industries, and experts to propel the global circularity agenda forward. 

In a blunt warning to the world, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres declared that the era of global warming has ended and we have now entered an “era of global boiling.”

The alarming statement came as scientists confirmed that July 2023 is on track to become the hottest month ever recorded in human history. The past three weeks have been the hottest since records began, with global temperatures shattering previous records. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the EU’s Copernicus Earth observation programme attribute this unprecedented heat to the burning of fossil fuels, which has led to violent weather patterns.

“Humanity is in the hot seat,” Guterres told a press conference on July 27. “For vast parts of North America, Asia, Africa and Europe, it is a cruel summer. For the entire planet, it is a disaster. And for scientists, it is unequivocal – humans are to blame,” he added.

The UN Secretary-General emphasised that while it is still possible to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, this would require immediate and dramatic climate action.

Despite initiatives such as the rollout of renewable energy sources and initiatives from sectors such as shipping, he stressed that these efforts are not going far enough or fast enough. “Accelerating temperatures demand accelerated action,” he warned, underlining the urgency of the situation.

The recently-built Surat Diamond Bourse is believed to surpass the Pentagon in the US, as the world’s largest office building, according to a report in the CNN.

The impressive 15-story complex spans over 35 acres and features a unique design of nine interconnected rectangular structures originating from a central ‘spine.’ The bourse has been completed after four years of construction work. It is set to welcome its first occupants in November.

The “one-stop destination” for more than 65,000 diamond professionals, including cutters, polishers, and traders, it has over 7.1 million square feet of floor space. It has more than 4,700 office spaces that can also serve as small diamond-cutting and polishing workshops. The development also includes 131 elevators, and dining, retail, wellness, and conference facilities for the workers.

The size of the project was determined by demand, with all offices being purchased by diamond companies before construction commenced. It is aimed at promoting imports, exports and trading of diamonds, gems and jewellery from India. By providing state-of-the-art infrastructure to diamond traders, it intends to promote, advance, protect and develop trade, commerce and industry relating to gems and jewellery including cutting, polishing and processing.

Seven-year-old Indian-origin schoolgirl, Moksha Roy has received the British Prime Minister’s Points of Light Award for being the World’s Youngest Sustainability Advocate.  UK Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden bestowed the award to Roy.

Roy started volunteering for a United Nations’ sustainability initiative against microplastic pollution when she was just three. She has been recognised for volunteering for several sustainability campaigns, including raising funds to help children in need.

Championing UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), she has gone to significant lengths to have these included in the school curriculum and has been in communication with leaders all over the world to encourage them to consider this. Her school no longer uses plastic glitter, confetti or plastic art supplies, a testament to her strong beliefs and ability to change those around her to create a better world, said Dowden.

According to Downing Street, the Points of Light awards recognise outstanding people whose service is making a difference in their communities and whose story can inspire others towards innovative solutions to social challenges in their own communities and beyond.

Tens of millions battled dangerously high temperatures in the United States on July 16 as weather agencies forecast record heat over Europe and Japan.

Firefighters tried to control blazes in parts of Greece and the Canary Islands mid-July.

In Arizona, one of the hardest-hit US states, residents faced high temperatures. Its capital Phoenix recorded 16 straight days above 109 degrees Fahrenheit (43 degrees Celsius), with temperatures hitting 111 degrees Fahrenheit on July 15. California’s Death Valley, one of the hottest places on Earth, also registered new peaks on July 17, with the mercury possibly rising to 130 degrees Fahrenheit (54 degrees Celsius). Southern California is fighting numerous wildfires, including one in Riverside County that has burned more than 3,000 acres (1,214 hectares) and prompted evacuation orders.

In Canada, the government reported that wildfires had burned a record-breaking 10 million hectares this year, with more damage expected as the mercury keeps on rising.

In Europe, Italy faced weekend predictions of historic temperature highs with the health ministry issuing a red alert for 16 cities, including Rome, Bologna and Florence. The European Space Agency also warned that the islands of Sicily and Sardinia could suffer under temperatures as high as 48 degrees Celsius.

In China, the temperature soared to 80 degrees Celsius (176 degrees Fahrenheit) on July 19. A remote township in the Turpan Depression on July 16 registered a maximum temperature of 52.2 degrees Celsius (126 degrees Fahrenheit), overtaking the national record of 50.3 degrees Celsius (122.5 degrees Fahrenheit) set in the basin in 2015.