
第2875期:Female in Ghana's capital supports northern counterparts
22/12/2025 | 2 mins.
These women own businesses in Accra, work with nonprofits and women in northern Ghana to source raw materials for their goods, such as shea butter.这些女性在阿克拉做生意,与加纳北部的非营利组织和妇女合作,为她们的商品采购原材料,比如乳木果油。The butter extracted from the nut of the African shea tree is a staple in Violet, a MOB's line of Natural Beauty products.从非洲乳木果树坚果中提取的乳木果油是MOB旗下紫罗兰系列天然美妆产品线的主打成分。She says one of their goals is to help women keep the next generation out of poverty.她说,他们的目标之一是帮助妇女使下一代脱贫。So we ensure that they're able to use the profits or the money they get from our purchases to improve their livelihood by doing things like building clinics, taking their children to school and ensuring that they have a job.我们确保他们能够利用从我们购买中获得的利润或资金来改善生活,比如建造诊所、送孩子上学以及确保他们有工作。Mobarika Awudu supports women in the north by buying their handmade fabric to make beds for Accra markets.Mobarika Awudu通过购买北方女性手工制作的布料,为阿克拉市场制作床品来支持她们。Her father came from a small northern village, so she is aware of the many hardships in the region.她的父亲来自北方的一个小村庄,因此她深知该地区的诸多艰辛。She says women's economic independence has become especially important this year as incomes were stretched because of the coronavirus pandemic.她说今年女性的经济独立变得尤为重要,因为新冠疫情导致收入紧张。Some of them are doing well. They have started with weaving alone. Now they have apprentices that they are training as well.他们中有些人做得不错,一开始只是从事织布工作。现在他们还有正在培训的学徒。Especially now that the schools are locked down, most of the girls are now learning how to make a living from weaving.尤其是现在学校停课,大多数女孩都在学习如何通过织布谋生。Threaded Tribes puts a modern twist on traditional fashion to encourage young people to appreciate African style.Threaded Tribes为传统时尚注入现代元素,旨在鼓励年轻人欣赏非洲风格。It sources fabrics from across Africa and works with northern Ghanaian women who do the weaving.该公司从非洲各地采购布料,并与加纳北部的女性织工合作。The fact that they're women makes me happy. I don't think there are barely any men weavers to be honest because they'd be in the farms.和这些女性合作让我很开心。老实说,我认为几乎没有男性织工,因为他们都在农场干活。And even though women be in the farms too, but the weaving is a women business.尽管女性也在农场劳作,但织布是女性的行当。And being a woman in a black area, it's amazing. It's so amazing to be able to do this with women. To be honest, it's great.作为一名黑人社区的女性,能和女性们一起做这件事简直太棒了。说实话,这感觉好极了。While the north produces quality materials, there are few jobs leading young people to move south, many to already crowded cities.北方生产优质原材料,但就业机会却很少,这使得年轻人纷纷南下,许多人涌入本就拥挤的城市。Ghana's business experts say more investment is needed in the north to expand job prospects and to improve working conditions.加纳商业专家表示北部地区需要更多投资以扩大就业前景并改善工作条件。In terms of development, when you look at all the different regions in Ghana, some of the most deprived can be found in north.从发展角度来看,加纳各地中一些最贫困的地区位于北部。So it's only fair that given that they are giving us so much value, at least we give back a bit to ensure that the community also thrives.既然他们给了我们这么多价值,至少我们也应该回馈一些,以确保社区同样蓬勃发展,这才公平。Investing in women, say experts, is one of the best ways to develop local economies, a practice that these Accra business women are only too happy to support. 专家指出,投资女性是发展地方经济最有效的途径之一,阿克拉的这些女企业家们非常乐意支持这一做法。

第2874期:How does an open press affect you
21/12/2025 | 0 mins.
There were a lot of mysterious processes that my team and I have had tounravelover the past two weeks that were implemented by the previous press shop,and so I can commit to a greater access and transparency,which I believe we already have,by ensuring that the 440 journalists whose credentials were revoked will be reinstalled.在过去的两周里,我的团队和我不得不理清许多由前任新闻办公室实施、但十分神秘的流程,因此,我可以承诺提供更大的开放度和透明度,我相信我们现在已经做到了这一点,通过确保那 440 名被撤销采访证的记者都能恢复他们的证件。They will get their credentials if they wish to.We've also, of course, opened up a new seat to new media,and as far as open press events here, if we tell you it's open press, it's open press.只要他们愿意,他们就能取回自己的采访证。当然,我们也为新媒体开放了一个新的席位,至于这里的公开采访活动,如果我们告诉你是开放采访,那它就一定是开放采访。

第2873期:How do interactive conversations change communication
20/12/2025 | 0 mins.
A new live video platform that builds communities around interactive conversations with leaders and content creators from every subject area, Mark and his colleagues welcome all voices into discussions that are spirited but respectful.一个全新的直播视频平台,围绕与各领域领袖及内容创作者的互动对话来建立社群。Mark 和他的团队欢迎所有声音参与讨论——既充满活力,也保持尊重。They have over 375 million video views, over 36 million watch time hours since the platform began just last year.自平台于去年推出以来,已累积超过3.75 亿次视频观看量,以及 超过 3,600 万小时的观看时长。This is new media in its truest sense allowing the people to ask questions, make comments and be an active part of engagement on the most important issues facing the country and our world.这是真正意义上的“新媒体”——让公众能够直接提问、发表评论,并主动参与到有关国家及世界重大议题的讨论之中。

第2872期:A longer daily walk could be better for your heart
19/12/2025 | 0 mins.
The study looked at more than 33,000 adults aged 40 to 79 in the UK who walked fewer than 8,000 steps a day. The researchers, from the University of Sydney and the Universidad Europea in Spain, tracked their health over eight years.这项研究分析了英国 33000 多名成年人,他们的年龄在 40 岁到 79 岁之间,每天走路的步数少于 8000 步。来自悉尼大学和西班牙马德里欧洲大学的研究人员在八年间对这些人的健康状况进行了追踪。People who walked in longer stretches had a lower risk of heart problems than those who walked in short bursts. Whether that's because they were fitter to begin with isn't fully clear from the study, but the researchers did try to control for this by taking into account factors such as whether the person smoked, was obese or had high blood pressure.每次走路时间更长的人比多次短距离走路的人出现心脏问题的风险更低。研究并未判明这是否是由于走路时间更长的人原本身体就更健康,但研究人员确实已经尝试了通过把多种因素考虑在内来控制这个变量,比如这个人是否曾吸烟、肥胖或患有高血压。Even among the least active, those who walked under 5,000 steps a day, longer walks appeared to make a difference.即使是在最不活跃的、每天步行少于 5000 步的人当中,进行更长距离的步行也显示出了一定的效果。

第2871期:The power of friendship to keep you young
18/12/2025 | 2 mins.
If you've ever felt the benefit of a loved one's warm embrace when you're feeling stressed or sad, it might not surprise you that strong relationships can do wonders for your wellbeing. Research over the years has shown that people with strong social ties tend to be healthier, but a 2025 study, published in Brain, Behaviour and Immunity now suggests that it could also slow down the ageing process.如果你曾在压力大或情绪低落时,从挚爱的人温暖拥抱中得到力量,那么你大概不会惊讶:稳固的人际关系对身心健康有奇效。多年来的研究显示,拥有强大社会联系的人往往更健康;而 2025 年发表在《大脑、行为与免疫》上的一项研究更指出,人际关系甚至可能减缓衰老过程。Researchers in the United States came up with a measure called 'cumulative social advantage', which takes into account the benefits of maintaining strong, supportive relationships over time, rather than just newer relationships. They looked at things like support from parents growing up, participation in the community, and ongoing support from friends and family. People who had these things were more likely to have a younger biological age and less inflammation in the body. Co-author of the study, Anthony Ong, says "Think of social connections like a retirement account. The earlier you start investing and the more consistently you contribute, the greater your returns".美国研究人员提出了一个名为“累积社会优势”的指标,它强调的是长期维持稳定且具支持性的人际关系所带来的效益,而不仅仅是新建立的关系。他们考察的因素包括:成长过程中来自父母的支持、参与社区活动的程度,以及来自亲友的持续支持。具备这些条件的人,往往拥有更年轻的生物年龄和更低的身体炎症水平。该研究的合著者安东尼·翁(Anthony Ong)说:“把社交联系当作退休账户。越早开始投资、越持续投入,回报就越大。”So, how are friendships so powerful? Humans have evolved over hundreds of thousands of years as social beings – we're wired for connection. For our ancestors, being part of a group wasn't just about having company, it kept us safe and made it easier to find and share food and raise offspring. And it now appears that these connections affect our bodies on a biological, cellular level.那么,友谊究竟为什么如此强大?人类在数十万年的演化中始终是社会性动物——我们生来就需要连接。对祖先而言,成为群体的一部分不仅意味着有伙伴,更是保护自身安全、寻找食物、分享资源与养育后代的重要方式。而现在看来,这些连接甚至会在生物学与细胞层面影响我们的身体。"While it is always good to make new friends, there is often a greater sense of trust and dependability with people you've known for a longer time," says Hillary Ammon, a clinical psychologist at the Center for Anxiety and Women's Emotional Wellness. Of course, maintaining relationships as we get older can be difficult as people closest to us move away, or prioritise other things. Hillary says not to worry if your friends are newer, as connection is what really matters. A strong network of friends not only adds years to your life, it adds life to your years.“虽然结交新朋友当然很好,但与认识更久的人往往更容易建立深度的信任与可靠感。”来自焦虑与女性情绪健康中心的临床心理学家希拉里·阿蒙(Hillary Ammon)说。当然,随着年龄增长,维持关系变得更困难——朋友可能搬离,或将生活重心转向其他事情。希拉里强调,即便你的朋友比较新,也无需担心,关键是“连接本身”。稳固的友谊网络不仅能延长生命,更能让生命更有质量。



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