In today’s edition of Squirrel News, we’re closing out the week with a look at new measures to remove dishonest politicians from office in Wales, a gene therapy that cures a rare form of childhood blindness, and big news in the automotive industry as global sales of combustion engine vehicles have officially passed their peak.
Politicians who deliberately lie could be forced from office in Wales
Proposals designed to restore trust in politics would criminalise the making of false statements to win votes. Radical changes suggested by the Welsh parliament standards committee would also make candidates in elections liable to criminal prosecution for making any false statement to win votes.
Doctors in London cure blindness in children with rare condition
The children had leber congenital amaurosis, a severe form of retinal dystrophy that causes vision loss due to a defect in the AIPL1 gene. After doctors injected healthy copies of the gene into their eyes with keyhole surgery that took just 60 minutes, four children can now see shapes, find toys, and recognise their parents’ faces.
Worldwide sales of combustion engine cars have peaked
In order to decarbonise transport, society as a whole needs to shift away from petrol and diesel cars towards lower-carbon alternatives – like electric vehicles or public transit. According to new data, not only has this transition already started, but it peaked in 2018 and has been falling ever since.
Two weeks after India crossed this threshold, Germany has also hit the 100 GW milestone for cumulative installed photovoltaic capacity after adding roughly 1.12 GW of new capacity in January.
French parliament votes to limit use of “forever chemicals”
France’s lower-house National Assembly has voted to limit the production and sale of any items containing per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances – otherwise known as PFAS or “forever chemicals”:
The Welsh government has announced the intention to ban the sport, which has long been criticised by animal rights activists for being harmful to dogs, “as soon as practically possible”. No timeline has been announced, but Deputy First Minister Huw Irranca-Davies said it’s not “impossible” to come in before the next Welsh election in May 2026.
Irish people are living longer and with a better quality of life
Ireland’s healthcare workforce expansion has paid off: hospital doctor numbers are up 61.3% since 2015, with the number of nurses and midwives jumping to 34.9%. Thanks to this investment, Ireland can now boast an average life expectancy of 82.6 years, the fifth highest in the European Union.
“Clinic in a box” uses telemedicine to carry out doctor’s appointments
Thanks to thermal imaging tech, fogged windows, cameras and much more, patients are able to not only speak to a medic in the privacy of a private room, but are also given the necessary tools to get an actual diagnosis.
Giant wheelable tent uses “city language” to tackle hypothermia
Every year in the United States, roughly 700 people living on the streets die as a result of hypothermia, making it the leading cause of death for people experiencing homelessness. One solution to emergency housing is Wheelly: a huge cart which pops open to make a foldable shelter.
Refugees breathe life back into empty Spanish village
In Spain’s sparsely populated northeast, the village of Burbaguena saw its population dwindle to just over 200, with only a handful of children living there. Thanks to the arrival of a refugee centre, the number of residents has nearly doubled, much to the benefit of the local community.
