• Kenya has made some big strides in reducing teen pregnancy, with rates falling by more than half in four years. The Standard.
• Japan has raised the age of consent from 13 to 16 and introduced far stricter laws against sex crimes. BBC.
• Diversity increased on the nation’s largest companies’ corporate boards by 38% in 2022. NBC News.
• Deforestation in Brazil fell 68% in April compared with the same month last year. NewScientist.
• Spain set to generate more than 50% of its power from renewables. Bloomberg.
• Homicide rate in Scotland falls to lowest level since records began. The National.

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• More than 1.1 million Moroccans are now connected to reliable, safe water supply. The World Bank.
• Governor Newsom announces statewide expansion of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to provide universal access to free books for young children. Ca.gov.
• Wind and solar produced more U.S. power than coal during the first five months of this year, as several coal plants closed and gas prices dropped. Scientific American.
• China’s installed non-fossil fuel electricity capacity exceeds 50% of total two years ahead of schedule. Reuters.
• For the first time, phosphates have been detected in an alien ocean. Found on Saturn’s moon Enceladus, the discovery raises the possibility that life could exist on the tiny frozen satellite. Science Alert.

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• Number of confirmed malaria cases in Tanzania declined by 55 per cent from 7.7 million in 2015 to 3.5 million in 2022. Daily News.
• Over the past two decades, the proportion of Ugandans suffering from hunger has fallen by 58 percent and only one percent still face severe hunger. Reasons to be Cheerful.
• The age-standardized death rate from cancer declined by 15% since 1990. Our World in Data.
• Cheap vaccines could prevent millions of deaths from cervical cancer. The Economist.
• Global inequality at lowest level in nearly 150 years. Axios.
• Wind and solar overtake fossil generation in the EU in May. Ember.
• Handheld device could 3D-print tissues and organs in-situ. Engineering and Technology
• Scientists have developed a super repellent that can stop 99% of mosquitos from biting your skin. Euronews.
• Lab-grown dairy doesn’t have cholesterol, lactose, growth hormones or antibiotics, doesn’t harm cows, and is good for the environment. And it’s already here. The Washington Post.

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• The share of people worldwide who say their area is a good place for gay or lesbian people to live doubled from 25% to 50% over 10 years. Axios.
• Scientists find way to make energy from air using nearly any material. The Washington Post.
• 5,000 new species found in the Pacific Ocean. BBC.
• New airborne radar could revolutionize hurricane forecasting. Axios.
• An experimental treatment has a 90% success rate at bringing patients with multiple myeloma into remission. The Jerusalem Post.
• New kind of chicken lays eggs that don’t have allergy protein. Freethink.

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• Dengue cases fall to 20-year low in region where scientists release virus-blocking mosquitoes. The Telegraph.
• Life expectancy in Rwanda increased from 49.7 years in 2001 to 69.6 in 2022. Think Global Health.
• In 2021, there were almost 2.3 million fewer Canadians living in poverty compared to 2015. Statistics Canada.
• Brain implants help paralysed man to walk again. BBC.
• NYC guaranteed income program goes from pilot to permanent. Bloomberg.
• By fighting the ozone hole, we accidentally saved ourselves. In 1987, the Montreal Protocol banned close to 100 chemicals and prevented 1°C of warming. Hakai.
• Since 1990, there’s been a decline in homicides worldwide from 6.8 homicides per 100,000 people to 5.6 in 2021. The World Bank.
• New superbug-killing antibiotic discovered using AI. BBC.

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• India witnessed 85.1% decline in malaria cases between 2015-2022. Healthworld.
• Over the past couple of decades, global suicide prevention efforts have reduced deaths by a third. Wired.
• Murder rates in the United States are down by 12.5% so far in 2023. Datalytics.
• Early warning, preparedness likely saved thousands of lives during Cyclone Mocha. AP.
• Electric car range set to double with first production of breakthrough battery. Independent.
• The end of acid rain. Works in Progress.
• The European countries setting new wind and solar records. Euronews.

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• Poverty is down in Indonesia. The number of those living on less than $3.20 a day dropped from 61% in 2002 to 16% in 2022. World Bank (PDF link).
• In Uganda, new HIV infections declined by 39% between 2010 and 2021, and AIDS-related deaths fell from 51,000 a year to 17,000 a year, a decline of 67%. New Vision.
• Philippines rescues over 1,000 trafficking victims. The Straits Times.
• Black rhino populations are starting to thrive in Zimbabwe for the first time in decades. ABC News.
• British wind power overtakes gas for the first time in Q1 2023. Reuters.
• About 80 percent of new cars sold in Norway are battery-powered. As a result, the air is cleaner, the streets are quieter and the grid hasn’t collapsed. New York Times.
• In San Francisco, Waymo is now covering the entire peninsula, operating a free, 24/7 robotaxi service and Waymo’s service area in Phoenix is doubling. The Verge.
• Deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon falls 68% in April. Reuters.
• Bangladesh eliminates lymphatic filariasis. WHO.
• Thai voters choose democracy in a stunning election. Vox.

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• Globally, the death rate due to chronic respiratory diseases fell by 41.7% between 1990 to 2019. The Lancet.
• Despite doom and gloom news reports, France has one of the lowest levels of inequality in the world, one of the highest life expectancies, its workers retire earlier than anywhere else in Europe, unemployment is the lowest it’s been since 2008, and it has the lowest climate footprint of any large wealthy country. The Guardian.
• Australia’s murder rate has fallen by 55% since the early 1990s. Since 2009, physical assaults are down by 39%, face-to-face threatened assaults are down 44%, and robberies are down 50%. The Conversation.
• Meet the 2023 Goldman Environmental Prize Winners: Alessandra Munduruku, who saved indigenous lands in the Amazon from mining, Chilekwa Mumba, who successfully sued the owners of a copper mine in Zambia, Delima Silalahi, who reclaimed swathes of Indonesia from a paper company, Zafer Kizilkaya, who expanded Turkey’s marine protected areas, Tero Mustonen, who pioneered peatland restoration in Finland, and Diane Wilson, who held a plastics company to account for dumping in Texas. Goldman Prize.
• 50 years ago, Project Puffin brought puffins back to Maine. There are now more than 1,300 breeding pairs. Down East.
• An estimated 68 million child marriages have been averted globally over the past 25 years. Unicef.
• World’s largest battery maker announces major breakthrough in energy density. The Driven.

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• This year marks the 20th anniversary of Bush’s mammoth program to fight HIV and AIDS that turned the tide of the epidemic and has saved 25 million lives so far. The New York Times.
• Breast cancer survivorship doubles in Canada compared to 2007. Science Daily.
• Black unemployment rate hits record low 5 percent. The Washington Post.
• Last year, an initiative called Deworm the World helped India, Pakistan, Kenya and Nigeria provide treatment to around 249 million children. Evidence Action.
• Poland has experienced the longest uninterrupted period of growth in European history. Real GDP has increased sixfold in three decades, and the country has a record-low unemployment rate of 3%, lower infant mortality than Canada, higher female life expectancy than the US, and less violent crime than the UK. The Guardian.

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• In Cambodia, 99% of women now give birth with help from a trained healthcare provider, a huge increase from just over one in three women in 2000. Also, neonatal and under five mortality rates have rapidly declined over the past two decades and life expectancy has gone up. Khmer Times.
• There is no sixth mass extinction going on. Warp News.
• Critically endangered porpoise shows signs of recovery. Bird Guides.
• Volcanic microbe eats CO2 ‘astonishingly quickly’, say scientists. The Guardian.
• With bird-tracking AI and turbines that grind to a halt before strikes occur, today’s wind farms are safer than ever for travelers on the wing. Reasons to be Cheerful.
• By intervening early, often with small rent payments, a Portland shelter kept nearly 100 families out of homelessness last year, saving thousands of dollars in future rehousing costs. Reasons to be Cheerful.
• Spain sees the world’s first lung transplant performed entirely by robot. Euronews.
• Convictions cleared for nearly 850K Michiganders as ‘Clean Slate’ program takes effect. Michigan Advance.

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