An Israeli labour court on Monday ordered a halt to a strike called by the country's largest union to support a deal that would secure the release of hostages held in Gaza. «We are issuing a nationwide order to forbid the strike that was launched, stating that the strike must stop today» effective immediately, the Tel Aviv Labour Court said in its ruling seen by AFP, citing the «politically motivated» nature of the strike. The court ruling came after Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich -- a far-right leader who opposes a truce in the war -- called on the court to move to ban the strike. The court pointed to a statement by Histadrut union's chairman to determine the strike was not called for economic reasons. «We cannot stand by while our children are being murdered in the tunnels in Gaza,» the union's chairman Arnon Bar-David said on Sunday to explain the need for a strike. The union is authorised to call for strikes only economic reasons and workers' rights but not over political issues. The Histadrut trade union called a nationwide strike beginning at 6:00 am (0300 GMT) Monday. Mass demonstrations erupted on Sunday after the army announced troops had recovered the bodies of six hostages from Gaza. The health ministry said the six had been shot from close range by Hamas. Parts of Israel were shuttered after the strike, though several sectors were unaffected. Ben Gurion international airport near Tel Aviv saw some flights delayed, and none at all for two hours leading up to 10:00 am. Tel Aviv and the northern coastal city of Haifa heeded the strike calls, but not all municipalities slowed down or ceased their activities © Agence France-Presse

Africa faces a disproportionate burden from climate change and the costs of adapting, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in a new report on Monday. The African continent has been warming at a slightly faster rate than the global average -- at about 0.3 degrees Celsius per decade between 1991 and 2023, the WMO said in its report on the state of the climate in Africa last year. North Africa experienced the most rapid warming, it said. The city of Agadir in Morocco reached a new maximum temperature of 50.4 degrees. Other countries saw extreme rainfall leading to flooding. Climate activists have long pointed out that Africa pays one of the highest prices for climate change while the continent is responsible for just a fraction of global greenhouse gas emissions. The UN's COP29 climate summit, which will be hosted by Azerbaijan in November, will focus in large part on how much wealthy industrialised nations should contribute to help poorer countries adapt to climate change. «Africa faces disproportionate burdens and risks arising from climate change related weather events and patterns,» Josefa Leonel Correia Sacko, commissioner for agriculture, rural development, blue economy and sustainable environment at the African Union Commission, said in the WMO report. They «cause massive humanitarian crises with detrimental impacts on agriculture, and food security, education, energy, infrastructure, peace, and security, public health, water resources, and overall socio-economic development,» she said. In September and October, around 300,000 people were affected by flooding across 10 countries, with Niger, Benin, Ghana and Nigeria most heavily impacted. That came months after flooding hit Libya and parts of East Africa, the WMO, the United Nations' weather and climate agency, said. Zambia faced its worst drought in 40 years, affecting around six million people, while a string of other nations also grappled with severe drought in 2023, WMO said. «Climate extremes including floods and droughts had a major impact on food security,» the report said. African countries on average are losing two to five percent of gross domestic product and «many are diverting up to nine percent of their budgets responding to climate extremes», the WMO said. If adequate measures to respond are not implemented, by 2030 an estimated up to 118 million people who live on less than $1.90 a day will be exposed to drought, floods and extreme heat in Africa, it said. «This will place additional burdens on poverty alleviation efforts and significantly hamper growth,» according to the report. The UN agency highlighted the urgent need to invest in improved data collection and forecasting and early warning capabilities. «Between 1970 and 2021, Africa accounted for 35 percent of weather, climate and water-related fatalities. Yet only 40 percent of the African population has access to early warning systems –- the lowest rate of any region of the world,» the WMO said. © Agence France-Presse

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An agricultural sector that is supported and functioning well plays a crucial role in ensuring food security in Seychelles and helps reduce the reliance on importation, said the Seychelles Farmers' Association chairperson. Andre Sopha, from Praslin, the second largest island of the Seychelles archipelago, has been the chairperson of the Association for six years. Sopha has been a farmer for 18 years and specialises mainly in livestock and fruits. He has served two mandates and told SNA that this will be his last and that election for the new chairperson and executive committee are expected to be held this year. The Seychelles Farmers' Association set up in the early 2000, has over 110 members from the three main islands of Seychelles, Mahe, Praslin and La Digue. Around 40 farmers are from Praslin. With the high demands for produce from the population and the tourism industry, there is a need to increase agricultural production and sustainable agriculture. Sopha said, «We have undertaken major climate adaptation projects in two educational institutions namely the Grand Anse Praslin Secondary School and the Seychelles Institute of Agriculture and Horticulture (SIAH). The two projects are doing very well. Both projects have been funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) - Global Environment Facility Small Grants Programme (GEF SGP).» The chairperson said that the Association has received 12 greenhouses, 10 are for farmers across the three main islands, one at Grand Anse Praslin Secondary School and the other at SIAH. The Association will also have solar water pumps and machines they can use to make value-added products for example, if farmers have excess oranges on their farms, they can use one of these machines to make a value-added product with these fruits. The Association's board will be holding a meeting to discuss which farms will benefit from these and a few elements will need to be taken into account including being up to date with their membership contribution. The equipment will not be given free of charge and those who will receive it will have to make a small contribution as well. Sopha (1st left) with the Seychelles' delegation at an international conference. (Andre Sopha) Photo License: All Rights Reserved    Challenges farmers face Sopha said, «Farms do suffer a lot during drought periods. So we hope to have a project at Amitie to help with this issue. We also face several other challenges such as a lack of resources for us to work with such as pesticides and fertilisers, which can impact our work and productivity.» He said the Association is working to ensure that there is an availability of resources for farmers to work with and one of them is land needed for farming. «Land is also an issue because we have individuals who want to start their farming business but cannot do so as plots of agricultural land are occupied by some farmers who are not being productive. We are working closely with the government to see how best we can address this issue whereby those interested in venturing into farming can do so by accessing a plot of agricultural land,» the chairperson explained. Giving knowledge and skills One of the aims of the Association is to ensure that its members are given new knowledge and skills to help them improve their businesses. «We bring in experts in respective fields to equip farmers with the latest information or skills on different elements such as fertiliser and how to measure acidity or humidity in the soil,» Sopha explained. He said the Association wants a vibrant and productive agricultural sector and that there is a need to see it as an important sector that is making a great contribution to Seychelles. Encouraging the youth to venture into agriculture To ensure that the agricultural sector remains sustainable for the years to come there is also a move to include more young people. To encourage young people to join the agricultural sector, Sopha said the Association is bringing in the use of technology in agriculture. «The world is evolving and so must agriculture. We have chosen two schools to work with because our young people are based there. At Grand Anse Praslin Secondary we have a rotavator which we have placed there for a period of time for the students to use, and have installed a new irrigation system that you only press a button and it waters the plants,» he shared.  «This is to encourage the youths not just to take up farming but to make them realise that even in agriculture there is evolution, to see that new technology exists within this sector, and the tiring ways of farming can be replaced by smart work,» he added. «We need to have good incentives and proper educational awareness on agriculture so that this young generation can take an interest in this field. So we need to find innovative ways to encourage our young people to continue developing our agricultural sector because we want to ensure food security and successful production in the future,» Sopha said. «I meet the authorities often but we need to see more actions being done and to hear the concerns of the farmers working on the ground. Farmers need to be part and parcel of decisions made which concern and heavily impact their work,» he added. 

Students from the Seychelles Institute of Technology (SIT) will have the opportunity to pursue career opportunities and able to earn work-based experience within hotels under the Hilton brand, through a newly signed memorandum of understanding (MOU) The MOU was signed on Monday between the Institute and Hilton Seychelles by Vinesh Hurrychurn, senior director of engineering operations from Hilton and the Institute's director, Ferdinand Desnousse.   Through the agreement, Hilton-managed hotels in Seychelles and the SIT will collaborate in the Technical and Vocational Education & Training (TVET) sector, with a particular focus on engineering operations within the hospitality industry. «This agreement is huge for SIT, as students, particularly in the engineering fields will be able to gain valuable experience by working at these hotels in Seychelles, where those who perform well, could even be granted opportunities to work at other Hilton-managed hotels in the region,» said Desnousse. The agreement will see the two entities collaborate and implement educational training programmes in accordance with the curriculum provided by SIT. It will also ensure the alignment with both the Institute and international standards to facilitate the professional development of individuals in the hospitality sector. The MOU will also present opportunities to plan and conduct events, including career guidance workshops and job fairs, to improve employability within engineering operations in the hospitality sector. It will also allow the exploration of opportunities for Hilton to support SIT in creating innovative approaches to student development. According to Hilton, who manage six hotels in Seychelles, the collaboration will also encourage qualified SIT students to pursue careers in the hospitality industry by offering internships and employment opportunities at Hilton. Subject to availability, this will strengthen the students' readiness for leadership roles in engineering and implement targeted programs to promote inclusion and diversity within engineering operations in the hospitality sector. This is the first MOU of its kind to be signed with a hotel, while the SIT has agreements with other local companies, to allow students to gain work experience there. The Seychelles Institute of Technology is a technical and vocational education and training institution set up in 2015 under the aegis of the Ministry of Education. At the moment, SIT offers students programmes ranging from certificate to advanced diploma level, in areas such as mechanical engineering, telecommunications, information technology, and automotive engineering, among others.

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