What better way to start the week than with a global round up of positive news?
Storm in a Teacup
An American scientist's suggestion that the ultimate cup of tea should involve a pinch of salt has "imperilled" relations between Britain and the US, said The Guardian. Chemist Michelle Francl announced she had come to her conclusion by looking at papers covering 1,000 years of tea history. Writing on X, the US embassy (with its tongue firmly in its cheek) responded that it would not "stand idly by" as such an "outrageous proposal" threatened "the very foundation of our Special Relationship".
How Much Tea Do Brits Actually Drink And Why? How did a beverage made from the leaves of a non-indigenous plant come to define so much about a nation? Read on...
It's Reforestation Week
Sri Lanka's cabinet just approved a plan to increase forest cover to 32 percent by 2032, the Dominican Republic is roping in the military to help with its reforestation plans, in Brazil drones are reforesting the hills around Rio, and the Philippines just passed laws requiring parents to plant two trees for every child - and requiring students to plant two trees when they graduate.
Police Arrest Bird
The Dutch police arrested a bird for taking part in a robbery and put it in a jail cell with bread and water. When the local media reported on it, they put a little black bar over the bird's face to protect its identity. Keeping up the entertainment, the police in Utrecht posted this message on Instagram: "Update! Hi, this bird sat on the shoulder of a thief we arrested for shoplifting. As we don't have a birdcage, this bird had no other place to stay than in the cell. His owner agreed to this. When the owner was released shortly after, the bird accompanied him. The bird has not been questioned and is as far as we know not guilty of any charges."
Word of The Day
Flessibile: The Italian word for a circular saw that has gained notoriety in the country as the weapon of choice of 'Fleximan', a mysterious vandal who has attained folk hero status by destroying speed cameras.
Netflix Booms
Netflix tops revenue estimates and added a whopping 13.1 million subscribers during Q4 of 2023, blowing past Wall Street predictions. This brings the total number of paid subscribers to record 260.8 million. Two of the company’s ongoing initiatives, advertising and paid password sharing, continued to yield results in the quarter. Last November, Netflix said its $7-a-month ad tier had generated 15 million monthly active users, rising to 23 million by this month.
What The World Watches on Netflix: Netflix is the largest streaming service in the world. So, what are its most popular shows?
No Greenwashing
The European Parliament has approved a new law aimed at preventing greenwashing and misleading environmental claims on products. The directive prohibits terms like "environmentally friendly," "biodegradable," and "climate neutral" in advertising or packaging without concrete evidence. When the new rules are introduced in member states, only sustainability labels based on official certification schemes or established by public authorities will be allowed in the EU. In addition, the directive will ban claims that a product has a “climate-neutral”, “reduced”, or “climate-positive” impact on the environment because of CO2 emissions offsetting schemes. Member states now have two years to introduce the new rules, says EuroNews.
Today's Stat
According to Deloitte Football Money League, Spain's Real Madrid beat England's Manchester City to the top spot in the moneymakers ranking, with a reported £711 million $903m).
EU Emissions
The European Union pumped out 8 percent less carbon dioxide from the fossil fuels it burned in 2023 than it did in 2022, pushing these emissions down to their lowest level in 60 years, according to analysis from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air.
“It is never too late to be what you might have been.” George Eliot
On This Day
29 January 1964: The British film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, a landmark Cold War farce starring Peter Sellers and directed by Stanley Kubrick, was released in theatres.
Zoo adopts a risky strategy to try to stop parrots with a propensity for profanities. What could go wrong? Manners...
New electric plane takes $8bn in pre-orders and introduces the world to a new acronym. eSTOL...
Monday Motivational Quotes: Perhaps one of these quotes will give you the inspiration to get the week off to a flying start. Quotes...
Mood Booster
Antikythera Mechanism: The extraordinary 2,000 year old computer.