Photo: Blake Wisz/Unsplash (CC0)
At Squirrel News, we’re kicking off November talking about how the Maldives became the only country in the world with a generational smoking ban, the world’s largest heat pump entering construction in Germany, and new research suggesting that extinction rates are slowing across the globe.
Under the new provision, individuals born on or after 1 January 2007 – including visitors to the nation – are prohibited from purchasing, using, or being sold tobacco products within the Maldives. The ban applies to all forms of tobacco, and retailers are required to verify age prior to sale.
Source: The Guardian
The heat pump will be able to generate enough energy for 40,000 households in the Rhine-Neckar metropolitan region. It will use water from the Rhine as a heat source, generating district heat reaching temperatures of up to 130°C.
Source: Global Construction
Although research studies have suggested that Earth is currently experiencing another mass extinction, a new study revealed that, over the past 500 years, extinctions in plants, arthropods and land vertebrates peaked about 100 years ago and have declined since.
Source: Phys.org
Deforestation in the region fell by just over 11% in the 12 months through July compared with the same period a year earlier, according to new government data. President Lula has pledged to end all deforestation in the country by 2030.
Source: Reuters
The drug has so far saved the lives of eight young people suffering from an extremely aggressive form of the most common childhood cancer: B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The patients, all under the age of 24, had been declared terminal after multiple relapses and the failure of all conventional treatments.
Source: El Pais
The French criminal code will now define rape or sexual assault as “any non-consensual act”, adopting an “only yes means yes” policy. It states consent must be “informed, specific, prior and revocable” and “cannot be inferred solely from the silence or lack of reaction of the victim”.
Source: The Guardian
Starting this month, any parking facilities with more than 80 spaces will be legally required to install solar canopies and carports. The law goes further than similar laws in Europe, as not only will it apply to new construction projects, but existing lots will also need to comply.
Source: Electrek
The decision by the government affirms that creators retain the right to decide how their work is used, and that consent, control, and compensation remain central.
Source: Russh
Data shows that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are largely overrepresented in US prisons and jails. A team within the LA public defender’s office known as the neurocognitive disorder team is hoping to change that, working on the premise that prison is not always the right place for people with these types of disabilities.
Source: NPR
Moving from a small cell back into the real world can be a jarring change for many former prisoners. Located in Coucy-le-Château-Auffrique, a small village in the north of France, the Moyembrie farm hopes to bridge that gap by hosting inmates through a detention programme run by a small nonprofit.
Source: Reasons To Be Cheerful
