Photo: Matheus Oliveira/Unsplash (CC0)
In today’s edition: Bolivia’s Amazon lowland protections grow to cover over 2.2 million acres of land, a coalition of companies are helping domestic abuse survivors relocate safely without the financial burden, and Mexico’s Senate has officially approved a bill implementing a 40-hour workweek by 2030.
The protections span almost one million hectares of the Amazon lowlands and Andean highlands, and are intended to improve wildlife migration as well as forest-based economies for local families. The four new areas are also designed to act as corridors between Madidi National Park and Cotapata National Park.
Source: Mongabay
A two-year-long experiment in Singapore saw scientists release sterile Aedes aegypti male mosquitoes infected with Wolbachia – a naturally occurring bacteria found in many insects – in clusters across the city. In these areas, mosquito numbers fell sharply, and people living in treated neighbourhoods were about 70% less likely to develop symptomatic dengue.
Source: Medical Xpress
With over 2,226 work hours recorded per person per year, Latin America’s second-largest economy has the worst work-life balance in the OECD. Now, a new bill aims to reduce the workweek by two hours per year until 2030, benefiting some 13.4 million workers.
Source: Reuters
For much of history, slavery and forced labour were widespread practices, with tens of millions of people made to work under the threat of violence or punishment. The situation today is very different: most governments have ended their own use of forced labour, changed laws, and now prosecute those who use it.
Source: Our World In Data
Since The Netherlands became the first country legalise same-sex marriage back in 2001, at least 39 other countries have followed suit. Two more countries were added to the total in 2025, and one of these was Thailand: the first country in Southeast Asia to legalise the practice.
Source: Our World In Data
Getting out of an abusive relationship is daunting – but moving to a safe location isn’t always possible. A group of eight moving companies across the US have joined forces to help survivors relocate without the financial burden. Additionally, their scheme #MoveToEndDV has seen more than 200 businesses pledge free services, including security companies who will send a guard during a move.
Source: Good News Network
Founded in 2012, Amal is a Marrakesh-based nonprofit that sees chef training as the key to women’s empowerment in Morocco. The nonprofit’s mission is to address the substantial gender inequalities in the north African nation, with more than 350 having successfully completed the course.
Source: Reasons To Be Cheerful
On King Island, local fisherman are seeing results from their collaboration with the international NGO Fauna and Flora. They dropped concrete blocks along the most-used routes of illegal trawlers two years ago, which they say have deterred the trawlers, increased fish close to shore, and are increasing biodiversity by acting as artificial reefs.
Source: PRX The World
A new 33-strong drone unit is being deployed to investigate the scourge of illegal waste dumping across England, the government has announced. Some drones will be equipped with light detection and ranging technology, which can create highly detailed maps of illegal waste sites.
Source: The Guardian
Researchers chose 23 hybrid tortoises with the closest genetic links to the extinct subspecies and began breeding them in captivity on Santa Cruz island – and by 2025, more than 600 hatchlings had been produced. Now, 158 juvenile tortoises have been released onto the island of Floreana as part of a wider ecological restoration project.
Source: BBC News
