Worldwide collection of positive news nuggets to perk up the day.
Work From Anywhere
As companies start asking people to return to work, they’re offering a set number of weeks of remote work as a way to entice employees. The offering may demonstrate that, in the modern workforce, control over one’s time is just as important as pay. Companies as varied as American Express, Google, and Patagonia have introduced WFA weeks as part of their benefits package. For companies that generally want people back at the office, WFA weeks give employers something flexible to offer in order to attract or retain employees that have been converted by the remote-work revolution.
Rights of Nature
A new law in Panama has given legal rights to turtles to live and pass freely. The law will allow any Panamanian citizen to be the voice of sea turtles and defend them legally - boosting the 'rights of nature' movement.
Wonderwoods
Few designers have done as much to popularize the modern trend of covering buildings in greenery as Stefano Boeri. Since his Bosco Verticale met with critical acclaim, the Italian architect's firm has been steadily producing lush tree-covered buildings around the world. Its latest will be adorned in thousands of plants and hundreds of trees, which the firm says will be equal to around 1 hectare (approximately 2.5 acres) of forest. The Wonderwoods Vertical Forest is nearing completion in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and will house 200 apartments.
Poverty Progress
Canada's poverty rate fell to 7.4 percent in 2021, despite pandemic benefits ending, says Statistics Canada. This is down from 10.3 percent in 2019, and nearly half the rate in 2015. In 2021, there were almost 2.3 million fewer Canadians living in poverty compared to 2015, including 653,000 fewer children, 11,000 fewer seniors, and 556,000 fewer persons with a disability.
World's Top Selling Car
For the first time ever, an all-electric vehicle - the Tesla Model Y - is now the world’s bestselling car. According to analyst data from Jato Dynamics published by Motor1, the Tesla Model Y topped global sales rankings in the first quarter of 2023. It sold 267,200 units globally in the first quarter - about a 69 percent year-on-year increase for the Model Y.
Fixing Fashion
According to Bloomberg, regulators in both the US and UK are working on new rules that would force clothing companies to pay for textile-recycling programs to deal with all of their waste worldwide.
New Breast Cancer Test
Could a simple fingerprint test be used to screen women for breast cancer? That is the possibility raised by a study that found that sweat on the fingers contains proteins that make it possible to detect breast cancer with a high degree of accuracy. Researchers at England's Sheffield Hallam University analysed fingerprint smears from patients with benign, early or metastatic breast cancer. With machine-learning applied, the technology was able to predict the category of cancer with an accuracy rate of 98 percent. Current methods of screening and detection, such as biopsy and mammogram, are effective, but they can be uncomfortable and culturally unacceptable. The team said their trial had only provided proof of concept, but that with such promising results they hoped now to take the research to the next stage.
"One word sums up probably the responsibility of any vice-president, and that one word is 'to be prepared'." Vice President, Dan Quayle
On this Day
31 May 1790: The United States established copyright law.
The world's oldest Homo sapiens footprints have been discovered in South Africa's Cape. Ichnosites...
USA is on the verge of an indoor air quality revolution - it could be one of the most important public health stories of the century. New guidance...
Mood Booster
Barbie: Main Trailer - To live in Barbie Land is to be a perfect being in a perfect place. Unless you have an existential crisis. Or you’re a Ken.