Photo: Massimo Virgilio/Unsplash (CC0)
In today’s edition: Amsterdam moves to prohibit fossil-fuel and meat advertising in public spaces, Ghanaians are turning to environment chiefs to protect their land and waterways, and California becomes the first US state to join the WHO’s global outbreak response network, despite the country exiting the international body last year.
Ads from fossil fuel companies and meat producers will be banned in Amsterdam after the city council approved a new ban on climate-damaging advertising. The policy builds on restrictions first introduced in 2020 and now becomes part of local law, making Amsterdam the first capital to enact such a ban.
Source: NL Times
California announced on Friday it will become the first US state to join the World Health Organization’s global outbreak response network, after the Trump administration moved to withdraw the US from the agency.
Source: Reuters
Facing dwindling rainfall and growing water scarcity, communities in northern Ghana have turned to environment chiefs to protect their land. These local leaders are driving change on the ground, and influencing how the region adapts to a changing climate.
Source: DW
Laos is set to graduate from Least Developed Country status in 2026 after a positive United Nations assessment, joining Bangladesh and Nepal in the latest round of recommended graduations subject to formal UN approval. The move aligns with the government’s policy direction set out earlier this month.
Source: Vientiane Times
Electricity demand increased modestly to around 85 TWh, with imports accounting for less than 6 TWh, industry data show. Wind supplied about 28% of domestic generation, helping keep fossil fuel production minimal and electricity prices among Europe’s lowest in 2025.
Source: YLE
In a potentially life-saving breakthrough, a team of scientists at Carnegie Medical University has successfully 3D printed liver tissue from collagen and stem cells, all engineered to not trigger immune system rejection. Now they are working on building a liver system that could buy precious time for liver patients awaiting transplants.
Source: Techspot
Conservationists have been happily surprised at the surge in biodiversity on the rewilded Knepp estate in West Sussex, made evident by a recently release of a 20-year study. There are more butterflies, white storks have returned and the types of birds have more than doubled, now including 27 species of “conservation concern”.
Source: BBC News
The idea of rage rooms, where customers release stress by breaking objects, is believed to have started in Japan in the late 2000s. In the US, Donna Alexander recalls setting up a similar “anger room” in her Texas garage, letting people smash discarded items as a form of release.
Source: BBC News
The class is attended by men of varying abilities, aged between 50 and 80. The session begins with stretches before moving on to more strenuous exercises. So far the classes have been a success, with people noting improvements in their mental and physical wellbeing.
Source: The Guardian
The solarpunk movement creates utopias of how the future might look if humanity succeeded in solving major contemporary challenges. Jeremy Dela Rosa and Nico Shi are part of it. In our new podcast episode, they tell us why the world needs new utopias that are open to technological progress, and how they connect communal living with benevolent AI.
Source: Squirrel News
