BBC News - Zimbabwe warns foreign firms of January 2014 arrest

BBC News - Zimbabwe warns foreign firms of January 2014 arrest: "The owners of foreign firms operating in certain sectors in Zimbabwe after 1 January 2014 will be arrested, a senior official has warned.

Economic Empowerment Secretary George Magosvongwe issued the warning in parliament, state media reports.

"Indigenisation" of the economy was one of President Robert Mugabe's main campaign themes in the March election.

Farming, hairdressing and baking are among the sectors now reserved for "indigenous", or black, Zimbabweans."

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BBC News - Cute cats could be key to learning new languages

BBC News - Cute cats could be key to learning new languages: ""The pattern began to emerge that pictures of cats always featured disproportionately among the most effective," he says.

'Weapons of mass cuteness'
Using this research, the company developed CatAcademy, an app that shows photos of cats in humorous poses and displays a corresponding phrase in Spanish."

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Assessing climate change vulnerability and its effects on food security: Testing new tools in Tanzania | CCAFS: CGIAR research program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security

Assessing climate change vulnerability and its effects on food security: Testing new tools in Tanzania | CCAFS: CGIAR research program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security: "Understanding local vulnerability to climate change is critical to better mitigate climate risks and promote adaptation strategies for rural communities.
Extreme climate events and variability are already affecting the food security of many, particularly those living in stressed environments. In the light of this, a team of researchers conducted a participatory workshop in Hombolo, Tanzania in late October, to test tools designed to analyze climate change vulnerability in relation to food security.

Now it is time to share the methodology used and some of the first impressions from the field activities!

The toolkit provided below is a step-by-step manual for researchers and local actors to work together, to identify the main climate impacts affecting a community’s livelihoods and food security. It was developed by the Institute of Development Studies and Bioversity International based on a tool used by GIZ in Mexico."

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How aid can support sustainable fisheries for a food-secure world - Contributor: Stephen Hall | Devex

How aid can support sustainable fisheries for a food-secure world - Contributor: Stephen Hall | Devex: "On World Fisheries Day, we have traditionally discussed the challenges fisheries face and the threats to their sustainability. However, we need to shift the focus to solutions that will ensure a continuing supply of fish for the millions who rely on them for both livelihoods and food security.

It is tempting to think about big, commercial boats catching the fish we see on the plates of consumers in the developed world. But while this form of fishing and the fish stocks these boats exploit are important, the crucial area we must address is the millions of small-scale fishermen along the coasts and on the inland rivers and lakes of the developing world. It is these small-scale fisheries that supply about 56 percent of the fish for human consumption in developing countries and support 95 percent of the 500 million people around the world whose livelihoods depend — in one way or another — on fishing."

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Microcredit has been a disaster for the poorest in South Africa | Global Development Professionals Network | Guardian Professional

Microcredit has been a disaster for the poorest in South Africa | Global Development Professionals Network | Guardian Professional: "There was hope that for-profit microcredit institutions would dutifully stick to their allotted mission and responsibly lend to the poor. However, just as in the wider economy, where the actions of the financial institutions on Wall Street brought on a global recession, the widely-held assumption that private banks and microcredit institutions would be responsible also proved to be spectacularly wrong.

Bombarded with microloans in such a way that today they simply cannot repay even a fraction of what they owe (estimates are that 40% of the South African workforce's income is spent on repaying debt), South Africa's poor are now caught in a microdebt-trap of unimaginable proportions. Only now are people realising that the real aim of the private banks and microcredit institutions in South Africa – exactly as in the case of Wall Street's infamous sub-prime lenders – was not to help their poor clients, but to extract as much value from them in the shortest time possible before leaving the sector and moving on to other fields of business."

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How complexity science can get aid working

How complexity science can get aid working: "Ben Ramalingam’s new book, Aid on the Edge of Chaos, challenges development practitioners to step back and ask: “Is there a better way to deliver aid and humanitarian assistance?” My answer is simple — there has to be!

In more than 20 years working with researchers and developmentprofessionals around the world, I would say they typically share two characteristics: a commitment to improving the lives of the world’s poor, and frustration at how difficult it is to succeed.

I have often wondered the same: why is it so hard to learn from experience? The book gives some of the answers."

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United Nations News Centre - Social sciences play vital role in tackling environmental challenges, says UNESCO report

United Nations News Centre - Social sciences play vital role in tackling environmental challenges, says UNESCO report:

15 November 2013 – A new United Nations report underscores the vital contribution of the social sciences to survival in the face of climate change, and stresses that human behaviour must be at the heart of efforts to tackle the challenges related to the natural environment.

The 2013 World Social Science Report takes stock of the “unprecedented and staggering environmental challenges” facing society and their potentially devastating consequences on the well-being of people worldwide, according to a news release issued by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

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Innovative Shower Reduces Water Usage by 90%, Electricity by 80% | I Fucking Love Science

Innovative Shower Reduces Water Usage by 90%, Electricity by 80% | I Fucking Love Science: "A typical 10-minute shower can use 150 liters of water and requires energy to keep all of that incoming water hot. An innovative new design recycles shower water so only around five liters of water is needed and can be used and reused for weeks.

The OrbSys shower system is the brainchild of Mehrdad Mahdjoubi, an industrial designer. The idea was first conceived when he was studying at the University of Lund in Sweden when he wanted to combat the large amounts of water waste associated with bathing. After graduation, he began to collaborate with NASA to bring life to the idea."

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The craziest OkCupid date ever - Salon.com

The craziest OkCupid date ever - Salon.com: "Jeff and I traveled to eight countries in 21 days without changing clothes. It sure beat meeting for coffee
CLARA BENSEN"

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5 Things I Learned Leaving My Nicely-Paid Lawyer Job to Move to a Small, Tropical Island Near Guam | Arin Greenwood

5 Things I Learned Leaving My Nicely-Paid Lawyer Job to Move to a Small, Tropical Island Near Guam | Arin Greenwood: "I went to Saipan intending to enjoy my tropical paradise for one year. One year, I figured, would be enough to heal from my various personal traumas, plus come up with a brand new life plan, get a good tan and maybe even meet the man who'd prove to that other guy (in hindsight, a real asshole) he'd made a huge mistake leaving me for his secretary. As it turns out, there was a lot I didn't quite realize when I first embarked on this little journey of sun-exposure, self-discovery and revenge, which ended up lasting 5.5 years.

Here are a few things I understand now that I didn't have the slightest inkling about when I first set out on that long trip with far too much baggage:"

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Chasing chaos: The real-life story of a humanitarian aid worker | Power Players - Yahoo News

Chasing chaos: The real-life story of a humanitarian aid worker | Power Players - Yahoo News: "a lot of the roots of these conflicts and some of the natural disasters that happen are due to lack of good governance, lack of preparedness."

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