Bite sized chunks of good news from around the world to help perk up your day.
SAvEWhales
Ship strikes are responsible for half of all the deaths of Mediterranean sperm whales, a genetically-distinct population from those in the world’s oceans, and which are endangered. The good news is that Greek scientists have developed technology to pinpoint a sperm whale’s location to within 40 meters, by tracking the whale’s clicks. Their early warning system is called the “System for the Avoidance of Ship-Strikes with Endangered Whales” (SAvEWhales) and can track their position in vertical, as well as horizontal marine space - it should save a lot of lives!
Megalithic Complex
A huge megalithic complex of more than 500 standing stones has been discovered in southern Spain that could be one of the largest in Europe, archaeologists have said. “This is the biggest and most diverse collection of standing stones grouped together in the Iberian peninsula,” said José Antonio Linares, a researcher at Huelva University. It was probable that the oldest standing stones at the La Torre-La Janera site were erected during the second half of the sixth or fifth millennium BC, he said. “It is a major megalithic site in Europe.” Major excavation work has now started.
Scottish First
Scotland has become the first country to offer tampons and pads for free nationally. Thanks to legislation approved in 2020, free menstrual products are now available in pharmacies and community centres for anyone who needs them. New Zealand, Kenya and the states of New York, Virginia and Oregon currently distribute products for free in public schools.
Riddle
What's the difference between a bad marksman and a constipated owl?
(Answer at end of page)
US Coal
Thanks to a lawsuit brought by environmental activists, a US federal judge has revived a nationwide Obama-era ban on new coal leases that was tossed during the Trump administration, saying a thorough environmental assessment is needed before the moratorium can be lifted, reports Reuters.
e-India
In the past seven years, India’s digital revolution has increased the number of people connected to the internet from 19 percent to 60 percent of its 1.3 billion population. The government launched Digital India in 2015 with a mission to make India a trillion-dollar digital economy by 2025.
Streaming Wars
And lo, as the prophets foretold, the Autumn streaming wars have started. With hundreds of millions of dollars at stake, HBO screened the first episode of the Game of Thrones prequel last night and will be challenged for viewer numbers when Amazon slaps its Lord of the Rings adaptation premieres on 2 September. Early reviews of both indicate that millions of fans will be delighted! Want to see the trailers? Click here
Quote of the Day
“Do not stop thinking of life as an adventure. You have no security unless you can live bravely, excitingly, imaginatively; unless you can choose a challenge instead of competence.” Eleanor Roosevelt
On this Day
23 August 1617: The first one-way streets were established in London. An Act of Common Council was passed to regulate the "disorder and rude behaviour of Carmen, Draymen and others using Cartes." Seventeen narrow and congested lanes were specified.
Results of a massive new study show that rewilding some land on farms can boost both biodiversity and overall crop yields. Read on...
This year's top gags (as voted for by both professionals and the general public) at the Edinburgh Fringe. Read on...
Mood Booster
Nervous Scarlet Macaws arrive at clay licks in the Amazonian jungle to reap the benefits of the medicinal clay.
Riddle answer: One shoots but can't hit, the other hoots but can't...