Nuggets of good news to get the weekend off to a positive start.
Whale saves train driver! Here’s another item to add to the list of bizarre things to happen in 2020: A Dutch metro train crashed through the stop blocks at a station just outside Rotterdam and was bound to fall 10m (32ft) to the ground. But rather than a tragic free fall, it landed on top of a giant sculpture of a whale’s tail, balancing spectacularly high above. The metro driver was able to free himself from the train without injury, and there were luckily no passengers onboard.
Women give peace a chance: New research by the UN demonstrates that peace talks are more successful if women are involved. Does that surprise anyone?
Belgium’s chocolate shops have stayed open during the country’s second lockdown. Access to Belgium's national heritage of world-class chocs has been judged as too important to forego.
Reasons to be cheerful: As the UK enters another lockdown, it's important to try to look on the bright side. Here are a handful of reasons to stay calm and be positive.
The global coal phase-out gathered more steam this week with the Philippines becoming the latest nation to announce a moratorium on coal-fired power plants. The country said it would scrap all planned projects that hadn’t yet been fully approved.
Drop some mycelium spores into your watering can, and the next thing you know, your lawn is your own personal carbon offset. This looks set to be an incredibly easy way of doubling the planetary good your garden can deliver.
Volvo will begin producing heavy-duty electric trucks from next year as it becomes one of the first mainstream manufacturers to successfully tackle environmentally friendly haulage. The Swedish company said it would begin volume production of the trucks, which have a range of 186 miles, with a view to delivering them in 2022.
A Hungarian tech company is taking small steps with recycled plastic waste to make solar panels built into pavements to power buildings and charge electronic devices in public places.
There was more positive news this week for the renewables sector with the UK’s largest battery coming online in South Yorkshire. Battery storage technology is getting cheaper and can help balance the grid, which is vital as the UK relies more on intermittent renewable energy.
Canadian neurosurgeon, Daniel McNeely, was about to go into surgery when he received an unusual request from his 8-year-old patient Jackson McKie. Jackson asked Dr McNeely if he could stitch up his teddy bear which was ripped. “Patient asks if I can also fix teddy bear just before being put off to sleep... how could I say no?” McNeely wrote in a tweet. As soon as Dr McNeely finished Jackson’s brain surgery, he went on to set up a small operating table for the teddy bear and made good on his promise. “He’s one of the nicest human beings I’ve ever met,” Jackson’s father, Rick McKie, said about Dr McNeely.
This is the perfect way to calm your mood. Give it a listen, and breathe...