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In today’s edition: England is on track to become one of the first countries in the world to officially eliminate hepatitis C, Türkiye’s parliament approves limited amnesty for Kurdish PKK militants, and the world remains much more democratic than it was half a century ago despite global political turmoil.
The target of treating 80% of all known hepatitis C cases has already been met, with deaths from the virus having fallen by 36% in the last decade alone. Estimates suggest that 84.6% of those living with hepatitis C have been diagnosed – just short of the 90% target.
Source: BBC News
A key step in the peace process that seeks to end decades of deadly violence has been made, with Turkish lawmakers voting through a bill offering limited amnesty for Kurdish PKK militants. The law is Türkiye’s first legislative step towards ending the conflict.
Source: France24
With the real-world impacts of climate change becoming more apparent, evolving legal precedents and procedural developments are making it much more straightforward for plaintiffs and wider communities to hold fossil fuels corporations accountable.
Source: Mother Jones
Amid concerns that “music” created by artificial intelligence would threaten the livelihoods of artists, wholly AI-generated tracks will be banned from the ARIA charts from August 31st. Tracks can now be eligible only if “humans wrote the song and performed the lead vocal and the primary instruments,” among other requirements.
Source: AP News
The research, based on records of 70,000 people in the US, found that those who had received Shingrix had a 12% lower risk of a cardiovascular diagnosis in the following three and a half years. If confirmed, this benefit would be comparable to taking a daily blood pressure-lowering medication, the scientists said.
Source: The Guardian
Balloons can be harmful and even lethal to marine life and birds when they end up on rubbish heaps, beaches and in the sea. Now, a team of UK PhD students have created a green alternative that biodegrades in less than a year and doesn’t leach any toxic chemicals into the environment.
Source: Euronews
A successful pilot programme aiming to make public transport free of charge for all students in Detroit is set to become permanent. The Ride to Rise program provides free DDOT transportation to all K-12 students, so they can get not only to school but to jobs, sports, after-school programs and anywhere else.
Source: Detroit News
Combining flood mitigation with wetland habitat restoration, horizontal levees – such as the Palo Alto Horizontal Levee – have features such as natural appearances and gradual slopes, designed to interact with Bay waters the same way natural estuaries do.
Source: Grist
At the sacred prairie of Pe’ Sla in South Dakota, Indigenous and environmental groups banded together to halt drilling, adopting methods including road-blocking convoys, camping on drill pads, and locking themselves to construction equipment.
Source: The Guardian
Most countries began electing their leaders in the 19th and early 20th century, but it wasn’t until the second half of the 20th century that elections became the predominant way of choosing political leaders worldwide. Despite recent setbacks, the world remains much more democratic than it was only half a century ago.
Source: Our World in Data
