Caribbean Insight

By FiFa.com:

England captain Wayne Rooney was delighted with the patience shown by his side as they caught Switzerland twice on the counter to win 2-0 and get off the mark in their UEFA EURO 2016 qualifying campaign.

Switzerland are expected to be England's closest competitors in Group E, but Danny Welbeck's double gave England an early headstart in the race to qualify. "We've put the work in, we worked on our defensive shape when we haven't got the ball and then springing from defence into attack, which you see with the goals tonight," Rooney told ITV. "We're pleased that the things we've worked on have paid off so it's a happy performance for us."

He added: "We did well as a team and we took our chances. We caught them on the break with speed and Dan got two great goals so I'm really delighted." Arsenal new boy Welbeck notched his first international goals for more than a year, first tapping home after an exquisite ball across the box from Raheem Sterling, before showing great composure and awareness to calmly slot past stranded Swiss keeper Yann Sommer in the dying moments.

The former Manchester United forward felt that his goals were ultimately just rewards for the work ethic shown by England. "I think we created a number of chances which maybe we could have done better with the final pass. Once we got the first goal I think we were in control and played a good team game today and you could see the work ethic - everyone is playing for each other and that's very important," he said.

The 23-year-old could not hide his delight after scoring his fine second goal, but was quick to praise those who worked hard to provide him with the opportunity. "Obviously we've sat back a little bit deeper and we've got the pace to get in behind them so once they went Raz (Sterling) took the ball down the wing, played it into Rickie (Lambert) and then I knew he had the ability to slide me in and thankfully he did that," he added. "My first touch was nice and it was a nice finish."

You could see the work ethic - everyone is playing for each other and that's very important. Danny Welbeck, England forward

England manager Roy Hodgson, who has endured a difficult few days following his side's uninspiring 1-0 win over Norway last week, threw his fists in the air in a show of sheer delight and, no doubt, relief when Welbeck smashed home the second goal. Since the narrow win on Wednesday, Hodgson has had to bat away constant criticism and reaffirm his belief in his players, who were mostly the same faces that failed to make it out of the group stages of this summer's 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™.

To see Welbeck put clear daylight between them and the Swiss in such an emphatic manner must have been doubly gratifying for the former Fulham boss, but he stuck to just congratulating his charges afterwards. "I've never really lost faith. I'm just pleased to see the boys play well. I thought that the way we approached the game from the first minute was exactly what we wanted and we got our reward for once," he said.

"I think we made hard work of it because there were so many chances to score goals before we eventually got the one that we needed but it was a good performance away from home against one of the better teams in the group and I'm pleased we won."
There were some shaky moments for England, with Chelsea defender Gary Cahill forced into a last-ditch clearance late on and Hodgson was delighted that his players refused to wilt under the pressure. "I thought they played some good football in the second half. I thought in the first half we were largely in control but they got better as the game went on but luckily we didn't deteriorate too much," he added.

Despite keeping a clean sheet Hodgson also emphasised that this result is just a foundation to be built upon as he looks to turn a promising group of young players into hardened campaigners ahead of Euro 2016.

He said: "I think there are areas there that we've got to improve. But you can't expect players playing their early games, or even making their debuts, to make all the right decisions and not show some naivety from time to time because of the pressures of the game. They are areas we can work (on) and we've got a couple of years to do so."

By Abby Phillip:
Washington Post

Employees at Opower in Arlington, VA, have the option of using standing desks and even have a treadmill desk. (Dayna Smith/The Washington Post).

Sitting for eight or more hours a day can be deadly.

That fact has been hammered home in study after study showing the negative health effects -- including heart disease, poor circulation and joint pain -- associated with being parked on your behind for most of the day. The only sure way to prevent those problems, researchers have said, is to sit far less.

But there is growing evidence that there are ways to reverse the damage without necessarily committing to being on your feet for eight or more hours a day.

A new study by researchers at Indiana University published in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise suggests that the impaired blood flow in leg arteries can actually be reversed by breaking up your sitting regimen with five-minute walking breaks.

Sitting can cause blood to pool in the legs and prevent it from effectively flowing to the heart -- a precursor to cardiovascular problems. After just one hour of sitting, normal blood flow became impaired by as much as 50 percent, the study found.

But the men who walked for five minutes on a treadmill for each hour they sat didn't see that decline.

"American adults sit for approximately eight hours a day," Saurabh Thosar, the study's lead author, said in a statement. "The impairment in endothelial function is significant after just one hour of sitting. It is interesting to see that light physical activity can help in preventing this impairment."

The findings add to a growing body of evidence that all is not lost for people unwilling or unable to get on the standing desk train or those who can't do much about long commutes. It is also the first experimental evidence that moderate

movement can promote healthy blood flow, in spite of sitting habits.
Participants in the study were otherwise healthy males between the ages of 20 and 35 who did not have any heath problems like obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure or diabetes.

"They were inactive people though; they did not exercise regularly,” Thosar said in an interview. “There is a risk that people who don’t exercise can start sitting more and more. That’s why we chose that population.”

Going to the gym isn't likely to reverse the damage caused by sitting all day (one study found that six hours of sitting counteracted the positive health benefits of an hour of exercise). But several studies suggest that simply breaking up bouts of sitting with moderate exercise or movement can have a positive impact.

One study earlier this year found that breaking up prolonged sitting with light or moderate walking breaks reduced the blood pressure of a group of obese adults in a randomized trial. And yet another recent study found that breaking up sitting with light activity improved blood sugar levels, but breaking up sitting with bouts of standing did not.

Thosar's study did not investigate whether walking proved more effective than standing when it came to improving blood flow. But he suspects that walking prevented impaired blood flow in the legs because it requires active muscle movement.

"Walking definitely increases blood flow in the legs," added Thosar, who is now a researcher with Oregon Health & Science University. "If it's static and people are not moving, perhaps people are still not using their muscles as much as during walking."

By Arancha González:

Smart Industrialization for Africa’s Economic Transformation.

Africa’s economic rise over the past two decades is no longer news. In the decade from 2003, the region’s output expanded by over 5% a year, in spite of a protracted slowdown in many of its biggest export markets. The African Development Bank is projecting even faster growth of 6.4% this year.

At this rate, the continent’s economy would double in size before 2030.

No wonder foreign investors are looking to cater to the growing African market. Even more important, intra-African investment — an event long awaited to create more growth across the continent — is expanding, led by companies such as South Africa’s Massmart and Nigeria’s Dangote Group.

Alongside all this optimism, there is also growing disquiet. Can this growth be sustained? The likely answer is: not without sufficient structural transformation.

In Africa’s case, this requires shifting employment and resources out of traditional farming towards higher-productivity agriculture, manufacturing and services. As elsewhere, structural transformation is about boosting people’s skills and firms’ technological capabilities. To succeed, this effort must be backed by nimble, more effective public institutions. If and when those elements fall into place, then transformation makes growth resilient and hence durable.

Linking Africa’s economies

Industrialization, properly thought of, is a big part of that structural transformation. The word might still evoke images of cavernous factories and multinational corporations, but the fact is that industrialization is by no means just about manufacturing or large companies.

Manufacturing today is about value addition. It interacts with the rest of the economy — both upstream with regard to energy and raw materials and downstream, with distribution, logistics, environmental and financial services.

Economies around the world succeed because of their ability to build backward and forward links between the various sectors of the given country’s economy (as well as doing so across borders).

Independent of the level of economic development, this is the key to successful structural transformation. It applies to countries such as Germany, France and Italy just as much as to any African country.

In Africa’s case, a key aspect of industrialization also concerns agriculture. The agro-processing sector in particular holds great promise for development in rural areas.

Tourist shops and restaurants

But “classic” sectors such as natural resources and agriculture aside, how does Africa stack up with regard to services?

Recent evidence — mainly the GDP rebasing in Nigeria and Ghana — revealed that services accounted for more than half of their respective economies, far more than previously thought.

Countries like Rwanda, Mauritius and Tanzania are also performing great on services trade. Tourism is in many countries an increasingly important driver of growth and employment.

As regards industrialization, it has been long argued that Africa will have a hard time on this front because most of its firms lack proper size. However, this really is a common misconception about successful industrial activity.

Rise of the enterprise

Today, the prevailing approach is to operate on the basis of multi-country value chains. These integrate larger corporations with a myriad of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across multiple sectors.

In Africa, MSMEs account for over 80% of private enterprises. That level is indeed very similar to the structure of many European economies. Already the largest employment creators, particularly for women and youth, their importance will only increase.

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And they deserve much more attention on the global stage. Why? Because it will be these firms that will generate the bulk of the 500 million new jobs the world needs by 2030 — if poverty reduction is to stay ahead of population growth.

To be sure, this also represents vital challenges. Regulatory and administrative costs can impact MSMEs up to ten times more than larger companies. Where the business environment is complex, and taxation systems unfair, MSMEs will fail or go informal. That, in turn, means worse working conditions, lower innovation and a more limited contribution to growth and development.

Viewed in a positive light, Africa’s politicians have never had as much of an incentive to reduce stifling bureaucracy and anti-productive practices as they do now. It is not just a matter of better politics and policies, but of their young generation’s survival and their economies’ future growth path.

Creating human capital

How about human resource development? On education, the signs are promising. The percentage of Sub-Saharan African workers with a secondary school education is now around 40%. That is about the level where Mexico and Turkey were in the 1980s when they began the industrialization processes that eventually propelled them to membership in the OECD.

The way that education and technology are combining to drive innovation is evident from the apps being churned out by start-ups from Dakar to Nairobi. Even Silicon Valley has taken notice.

African governments are under no illusions. They know that most of the heavy lifting for structural transformation will have to be done by Africans themselves. But the international community can play a very valuable role in supporting productivity growth and employment in Africa.

In its well-understood self-interest, it should look closely not just at whether, but how to integrate African firms into foreign markets. And for that the private sector will also have to take on a greater role in development efforts.

Trade matters

Why does participation in trade matter? Tradable sectors tend to be more modern — and shifting economic activity towards them translates into making structural transformation a business and everyday reality.

At the International Trade Centre, we have seen how empowering African MSMEs to internationalize increases productivity and creates jobs, especially for women and young people.

We work with African governments to improve the climate for trade, investment and entrepreneurship. Alongside MSMEs, we help them build the skills and access the information and institutional support they need to connect to — and move up — regional and global value chains.

This also includes adapting production to climate risks, to help them leapfrog outdated technologies and to enhance competitiveness. But we also work to link these MSMEs to international markets, working with the private sector and with trade and investment promotion agencies.

Transform to grow

There is much that the international community can do to help African SMEs internationalize. One key step we could take would be to ensure that United Nations’ post-2015 development agenda encourages trade integration, entrepreneurship and the economic empowerment of women.

Realizing the African Union’s vision of prosperity, opportunity, health and sustainability will require healthy economic growth, sustained over decades. In the absence of structural transformation through smart industrialization, growth is not likely to be possible.

In historical terms, the African Union’s “Agenda 2063” aims for the right target. It is intended to allow the AU’s member countries to celebrate the centenaries of their independence in an economically integrated continent that is free of hunger and poverty-related disease — not to mention free of aid donors.

By Fifa.com:

Nearly two months have gone by since Germany claimed their fourth world title at the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil™, time enough for the experts to digest the events of those memorable four weeks and assess what they saw on the field of play.

It was with that very objective that FIFA invited coaches and directors of football from the member associations of the CONCACAF and CONMEBOL zones to Panama for a two-day conference, held on 11 and 12 September. FIFA.com was there too, and over the next few days we will be sharing with you the exclusive chats that we had with some of the conference’s many luminaries.

Among them was Mexico coach Miguel Herrera, who spoke of his passion for football, his eyecatching goal celebrations and his reactions when he sees them repeated on TV afterwards. "We were the only team in the World Cup that had the Netherlands 75 minutes on their own area, they were more worried about defending than going forward to attack," Herrera said. He also told us which goal got him going the most at Brazil 2014 and discussed the spectacular World Cup enjoyed by Tri goalkeeper Guillermo Ochoa and his side’s Round-of-16 exit at the hands of the Netherlands.

Another star of the recent world finals was Costa Rica coach Jorge Luis Pinto, who revealed just how much work he put into studying each of his team’s opponents. "I always wanted to give my players optimism and desire from the beginning to the end, and that was very useful for us in Brazil," Pinto said.

As well as praising his midfield for cancelling out the threat posed by Italian wizard Andrea Pirlo in the group phase, Pinto spoke of his reaction to Michael Umana’s winning penalty against Greece in the Round of 16 and the reasons why he believes Keylor Navas has the edge over Iker Casillas at Real Madrid. We also asked him if he was surprised by Louis van Gaal’s last-minute introduction of giant goalkeeper Tim Krul in the quarter-final showdown with the Dutch. The answer to that question will soon be revealed.

Absent from Brazil 2014, Peru have embarked on a new era with Uruguayan coach Pablo Bengoechea, who has taken on the job after a spell as assistant to Sergio Markarian. Sharing his vision of the game with us, Bengoechea revealed the style of football he wants his team to play and discussed his sense of anticipation at taking on this new challenge and the prospect of facing the country of his birth.

Last but by no means least, the great Francisco Maturana reflected on Colombia’s performance, pondering the reasons for their defeat to Brazil and the impact of Radamel Falcao’s absence. As well as assessing the team’s stand-out performers and the work of coach Jose Nestor Pekerman, Pacho gave his views on James Rodriguez’s arrival at Real Madrid and whether the time was right for the young midfielder to move to Spain.

Find out what the wise men of Latin American football had to say at the Panama conference by checking out FIFA.com in the coming days. You will not be disappointed!

By United Nations:

“It is now the time to invest in a social cohesion agenda. There are a lot of countries which have more resources, even though the general economic picture is dark and getting more uncertain and complicated,” said Dr. Johannes Jütting, head of the Poverty Reduction and Social Development Team from OECD on 27 January in New York.

The seminar on “Social cohesion in a shifting world”, chaired by DESA’s Development Policy Analysis Division’s Rob Vos and UNDP’s Eva Jespersen, gave an overview of the report “Perspectives in Global Development 2012: Social Cohesion in a Shifting World”, published by the Organization of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The OECD Perspectives on Global Development (PGD) is part of a new series of publications from the OECD Development Centre. Each edition identifies, analyses and provides workable policy solutions for a pressing global development challenge. The previous edition published in 2010, “Shifting Wealth,” examined the impact of the rise of large emerging economies on development, inequality and poverty. The shifting wealth and widespread mobilization of citizens calling for justice across the world in 2011 opens up opportunities to discuss importance for social cohesion in fast-growing developing countries.

A cohesive society is one where people are protected against life risks, trust their neighbors and the institutions of the state and can work towards a better future for themselves and their families. Fostering social cohesion is about striving for greater inclusiveness, more civic participation and creating opportunities for upward mobility. It is the glue that holds society together.

For the analysis, social cohesion is built around three key values: social inclusion, social capital and social mobility. Social inclusion refers to the degree to which all citizens can participate on equal footing in the economic, social and political life, including whether people are protected in times of need. Social capital refers to trust between people and in institutions and the sense of belonging to a society. Social mobility refers to equality of opportunity to get ahead.

How can governments promote social cohesion? The structural transformation of economies brought about by integration into the world economy offers various unprecedented possibilities to foster social cohesion.

“Policies can make a difference” argues Dr. Jütting. New resources are now available and could be invested in social development through better health care, education, social protection and other services. Governments have to rethink social and economic policies to ensure that all citizens have a voice, by fostering civic participation and strengthening democratic institutions.

Furthermore, promoting social cohesion requires the joint involvement and active collaboration of all stakeholders of a society – government, businesses, and civil society to jointly address collective action. “Social cohesion is an end but also a useful means. To go so far without social cohesion, it would be very difficult to maintain the long term growth process,” argued Dr. Jütting.

In the concluding remarks, Mr. Vos underscores “The real question is how we should move forward and what does this mean to social cohesion around the globe? The report is timely as we start the discussion on the post-2015 Development Agenda where we have to take into account both these shifting trends in the global economy and how to address them as a part of our development agenda.”

By Alexandera Sifferlin:
An extra helping of leafy-greens is good for your heart

Eating fruit every day can lower risk of heart disease by up to 40%, new research suggests.

A new study that looked at more than 451,680 participants over seven years asked the group to report their fruit consumption, whether it be never, monthly, 1-3 days per week, 4-6 days per week, or daily.

The researchers found that compared to people who never eat fruit, those who eat fruit every day cut their heart disease risk by 25% to 40%. Those who ate the most amount of fruit also had much lower blood pressure compared to the participants who never ate fruit.

The study is not the first to find a connection between eating fruit and having better heart health. One study of about 110,000 men and women over 14 years found that people who eat fruit and vegetables every day had a lower risk of developing cardiovascular disease, and some studies have found that citrus fruits like oranges, lemons and grapefruits have especially protective benefits.

Next time you’re in need of a snack, grab an apple over a bag of chips. It’s surely not the last time science will say it.

Featured in TIME.com

By Tara Sonenshine:
Water, water everywhere … and nowhere

No matter how much you read about water, keep reading. Water is the key ingredient to our planet and today it is either in short supply or there is too much of it coming at one time. No matter where you live and where you travel, you will not be able to escape the power of H20.

Water occupies much of the coverage of events in the United States and around the world. California is under a severe drought with forest fires scorching the earth and crops wilting.

U.S. forces are raining down airstrikes over Iraq where thirsty Yazidis are trapped on a mountaintop at the same time that a strategic dam in Mosul holds back billions of gallons of water which can either provide positive good or, if breached by ISIS, could lead to massive flooding.
Flash foods from Boston to Bosnia

The United Kingdom has been pummeled by rain this past winter, causing record-breaking floods unprecedented high winds and waves, coastal damage and crop destruction.

Yet in China, there isn’t nearly enough rain. This summer has been the hottest in decades in China with only 4.4 inches of rain — 48% less than the same period in many years. Drought is threatening to ruin 1.3 million acres of farmland in agricultural regions throughout China.

In Africa, the recent outbreak of the Ebola virus has put a spotlight on the need for clean water. The virus, which has claimed hundreds of lives, is not spread through contaminated water (it is transmitted by wild animals and infected humans), but clean water is critical to caring for sick patients.

Inadequate clean water, separately, caused many diseases that reduce the capacity of people, mostly young children, to withstand any sickness. Diarrhea, which is often related to unclean water, causes 1.5 million deaths a year, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Most of the victims are children.
A source of conflicts and de-stabilization

Rapid population growth compounded by a flood of people relocating from villages to cities over the last four decades has resulted in rapidly increased demands for dwindling water supplies.

Yemen, located in a dry, arid region, is slated to be the first country to officially run out of water. Not only is annual rainfall low and not efficiently harvested, but Yemen does not have the finances to develop and support water desalination facilities. The quest for water exacerbates tensions in an already tense country.

Water is also among the biggest concerns for refugee camps as they continue to expand all over the map. In an unprecedented situation, the United Nations has declared four countries: Iraq, South Sudan, Syria and the Central African Republic as Level 3 humanitarian disasters.

For the first time since World War II, the number of refugees, asylum seekers and internally displaced people in the world exceeds 50 million. That puts an enormous burden on relief agencies and host countries to supply clean water — as well as food and medical supplies to those in need.
Water diplomacy

First, we need to stop seeing the water issues as isolated incidents and take a holistic view of the situation. Water is not just a crisis in one county or one country or one world region.

Water is an interlocking puzzle and we need to look at the big picture on supply, demand and water management. Water nightmares are bigger than a single nation. Without international collaboration around water, we all will sink.

Water diplomacy should be one of the highest priorities of the international community. Second, we need to advance research around climate change to nail down the relationship between volatile weather and water.

Let’s get away from the politics around climate and get back to the science. If the world is too hot or too cold, the result is that jet streams collide and currents lead us to wacky weather. Let’s make the connections and deal with them in rational ways, including rationing water if need be.

Last, we need better communications around water. From tsunamis to famines, we know there is simply too much or too little but often our local weatherman or woman does little more than show us scary videos and maps with competing arrows and bright colors.

Give us context. We need a road map to action.

This summer we all hope to enjoy the ocean. But as we take a dip, or take a sip, let’s think about this magnificent resource and how we protect it, preserve it, and promote it.