The World Bank’s latest data shows a quiet global triumph: 93% of people aged 15 to 24 can now read and write, up from 87% in 2000. In many regions, including East Asia, Latin America, and Central Europe, youth literacy has reached or neared universal levels, marking one of the most successful, least reported stories in development. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.ADT.1524.LT.ZS?end=2024&start=2000&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
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The World Bank’s latest data shows a quiet global triumph: 93% of people aged 15 to 24 can now read and write, up from 87% in 2000. In many regions, including East Asia, Latin America, and Central Europe, youth literacy has reached or neared universal levels, marking one of the most successful, least reported stories in development. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.ADT.1524.LT.ZS?end=2024&start=2000&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
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Smart irrigation is transforming Nigerian farming. In northern Nigeria, a new irrigation project has rehabilitated canals, upgraded dams and expanded irrigation to 434 km², enough to feed an extra million people. Rice yields in Kano and Jigawa States have more than doubled, while women’s cooperatives now farm larger plots. With plans to irrigate 5,000 km² by 2030, Nigeria is trying to strengthen food security in the face of erratic rainfall. World Bank
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Smart irrigation is transforming Nigerian farming. In northern Nigeria, a new irrigation project has rehabilitated canals, upgraded dams and expanded irrigation to 434 km², enough to feed an extra million people. Rice yields in Kano and Jigawa States have more than doubled, while women’s cooperatives now farm larger plots. With plans to irrigate 5,000 km² by 2030, Nigeria is trying to strengthen food security in the face of erratic rainfall. World Bank
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Aztec-era farms revived by women to heal Mexico City wetlands
Women farmers in Xochimilco and San Gregorio are restoring chinampas (high-yield island farms) using canal-mud fertiliser, biofilters and invasive-fish barriers. The programme has certified 16 producers and is improving water quality in a wetland that’s just 3% of its original extent but buffers floods, cools the city and shelters the axolotl. AP https://apnews.com/article/mexico-xochimilco-chinampas-women-island-farms-427086e05486eedbceb478c6dc6cb819?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
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Aztec-era farms revived by women to heal Mexico City wetlands
Women farmers in Xochimilco and San Gregorio are restoring chinampas (high-yield island farms) using canal-mud fertiliser, biofilters and invasive-fish barriers. The programme has certified 16 producers and is improving water quality in a wetland that’s just 3% of its original extent but buffers floods, cools the city and shelters the axolotl. AP https://apnews.com/article/mexico-xochimilco-chinampas-women-island-farms-427086e05486eedbceb478c6dc6cb819?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
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“With a tiny eye implant and special glasses, some legally blind patients can read again”
A face-worn camera sends signals to a surgically-implanted chip inside the eyeball, which electrically stimulates the remaining healthy retinal cells.
“One patient said in a statement provided by the hospital that her life before she received the implant was akin to ‘having two black discs in my eyes ….’ A self-described ‘avid bookworm’ before she lost her vision, Irvine said she was now able to do crosswords and read prescriptions.”
Canada has made its national school food programme a permanent part of the federal budget, committing to C$1 billion over five years and ongoing annual funding thereafter. The initiative will provide healthy meals to up to 400,000 additional children while supporting local producers, and marks a historic step from fragmented local efforts to a universal, rights-based approach to child nutrition.
https://www.readthepeak.com/stories/10-25-canada-is-learning-how-to-serve-up-school-lunches?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
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Canada has made its national school food programme a permanent part of the federal budget, committing to C$1 billion over five years and ongoing annual funding thereafter. The initiative will provide healthy meals to up to 400,000 additional children while supporting local producers, and marks a historic step from fragmented local efforts to a universal, rights-based approach to child nutrition.
https://www.readthepeak.com/stories/10-25-canada-is-learning-how-to-serve-up-school-lunches?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
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Social media use begins global decline. For the first time, time spent on social media is falling worldwide. An analysis of 250,000 adults across 50 countries shows average daily use dropped nearly 10% since 2022, reversing a decade of growth. The steepest declines are among teens and 20-somethings, suggesting humanity’s fever may have broken. Financial Times https://www.ft.com/content/92c241d7-e265-4b4d-938a-6a60200f2c6d
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Social media use begins global decline. For the first time, time spent on social media is falling worldwide. An analysis of 250,000 adults across 50 countries shows average daily use dropped nearly 10% since 2022, reversing a decade of growth. The steepest declines are among teens and 20-somethings, suggesting humanity’s fever may have broken. Financial Times https://www.ft.com/content/92c241d7-e265-4b4d-938a-6a60200f2c6d
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Solar in California now out-generates fossil fuels. California’s vast solar farms, now backed by giant batteries, have flipped the state’s electricity balance, driving record emissions drops and lower power prices. The shift, built on three years of storage expansion, shows how clean energy can run an economy the size of France’s without the grid collapsing. Reuters https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/californias-solar-battery-combo-packs-transformational-punch-2025-10-03/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
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Solar in California now out-generates fossil fuels. California’s vast solar farms, now backed by giant batteries, have flipped the state’s electricity balance, driving record emissions drops and lower power prices. The shift, built on three years of storage expansion, shows how clean energy can run an economy the size of France’s without the grid collapsing. Reuters https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/californias-solar-battery-combo-packs-transformational-punch-2025-10-03/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
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