We’re wrapping up the week at Squirrel News talking about China’s plan to create the world’s biggest national parks system, the Council of Europe committing to a special tribunal for Russian crimes of aggression on Ukrainian soil, and the unique way in which Denmark is tackling deepfakes.
China is building the largest national parks system in the world
By creating a network of wilderness bigger than Texas, China plans to overtake the US by building the world’s largest national park system, despite only announcing its first national park four years ago. The goal is to secure 49 parks covering 272 million acres by 2035.
Council of Europe human rights body establishes tribunal for Russian officials
The agreement, co-signed by Ukraine’s leader Volodymyr Zelensky on Wednesday, is intended to prosecute Russian officials responsible for the “crime of aggression” in the invasion of Ukraine.
Denmark to tackle deepfakes by giving people copyright to their own features
The Danish government is to clamp down on the creation and dissemination of AI-generated deepfakes by changing copyright law to ensure that everybody has the right to their own body, facial features and voice, in what it believes to be the first law of its kind in Europe.
Younger generations less likely to have dementia, study suggests
People born more recently are less likely to have dementia at any given age than earlier generations, research suggests, with the trend more pronounced in women. According to the World Health Organization, in 2021 there were 57 million people worldwide living with dementia, with women disproportionately affected.
The fast food chain training staff to spot child exploitation
A partnership between the Children’s Society and Chicken Cottage means staff members are being educated on the tell-tale signs of exploitation. The Children’s Society says groomers often use offers of food and clothes to gain the trust of young people before abusing them or forcing them into slave labour or into criminal activities.
The growth in the tiger population, which has in some areas increased almost fivefold in fifteen years, is largely thanks to conservation measures including prey release (the practice of releasing animals into the wild to restore or augment wild populations) and wider ecosystem restoration efforts.
Researchers begin work to create artificial human DNA from scratch
In what is believed to be a world first, the project aims to create the building blocks of human life from scratch in order to better understand how it works – and how conditions like cystic fibrosis or Huntington’s disease could potentially be treated.
Sexual assault survivors in Kansas can now track rape kit status
Traditional sexual assault evidence processing tends to leave survivors in the dark for months, if not years. In Kansas, this is changing. As early as 2025, the status of evidence kits will be available via an online system that can be accessed by healthcare facilities, forensic laboraties, and attorneys.
How children’s books on male friendship could combat toxic masculinity
The prevalence of so-called toxic masculinity on social media is taking place at the same time as statistics tell us that reading for pleasure, especially among boys, is on the decline. Children’s books with a central theme of male friendship are hoping to change that.
The Bicycle Mayors making the world more bike-friendly
Although they’re not officially mayors, a growing number of community leaders are spearheading an interest in two-wheeled transport across the globe. Launched in 2016 by Amsterdam-based NGO BYCS, The Bicycle Mayor Network is helping steer towns and cities worldwide in the right direction.
