What went right this week: the good news that matters

More than 86 million girls in the most at-risk nations have received a vaccine against human papillomavirus virus (HPV) – the leading cause of cervical cancer – since 2023. 

That’s according to data published to coincide with the first World Cervical Cancer Elimination Day on Monday. Marking the commemorative date, the World Health Organization (WHO) said there was “powerful momentum” globally to end the preventable disease, which kills around 350,000 women globally each year.  

Data from Gavi, the vaccine alliance, revealed that 86 million girls had been vaccinated against HPV since 2023, protecting an estimated 1.4 million women from dying of cervical cancer in future. The WHO name-checked more than a dozen nations that launched HPV vaccination programmes this year, including Cuba, Pakistan and Rwanda.

“More and more countries are scaling up HPV vaccination, improving screening, and expanding treatment, bringing us closer to a future free of cervical cancer,” said Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the WHO.

Research shows the HPV vaccine to be highly effective. In 2024, a study revealed that no cases of cervical cancer had been detected in young women in Scotland who received it. 

Image: Rohit Dey

World Bank figures show a big rise in the number of women globally with bank accounts, a development that it said pointed to a “remarkable transformation”.

According to a new World Bank report, the number of women in low- and middle-income countries who have an account has risen to 73%, compared to 50% a decade ago. 

Barriers remain. Some 700 million women worldwide still have no bank account. Not having enough money to open one is the main reason given by women, according to the World Bank. High financial services fees are another. 

Still, the World Bank described the progress as “a hopeful sign”. “The work continues to ensure every woman who wants a financial account has access to one – and can use it to her full advantage,” it added. 

Image: Derrick Pare

In a boost for concertgoers, the resale of gig tickets for profit is to be made illegal in the UK, the government announced on Wednesday. 

Industrial-scale ticket touting has soured the live experience for many music and sport fans, who are often beat by bots to tickets that are then sold on resale platforms for vastly inflated sums. Tickets for Oasis’ reunion shows this summer were listed for upwards of £4,000 on resale platforms, just moments after they had gone on public sale for £200. 

The new legislation will put an end to that. Rocio Concha, director of policy and advocacy at Which?, the consumer watchdog, said it was “great news for music and sports fans”, adding that it would “put tickets back in the hands of real fans”.

Not everyone is happy about the proposals. Ticket resale platforms have criticised the move, claiming it will create a black market for resale tickets. 

Image: Tijs van Leur

Football fans will be able to buy tickets for the men’s 2028 Euros without having to worry about dynamic pricing, after the Football Association (FA’s) confirmed that it would not permit the controversial practice. 

Dynamic pricing sees the real-time price of tickets rise with demand. To the dismay of many fans, it was deployed when tickets went on sale for the 2026 men’s World Cup. 

Lisa Webb, consumer law expert at Which?, said the FA’s decision would avoid fans “feeling under pressure to pay more than they can afford.” She added: “Many will be saving up to buy tickets so it’s important that they know in advance what the prices will be”.  

The FA’s move has renewed calls for an outright ban on dynamic pricing. 

Image: James Kirkup

Denmark has become the latest country to announce a social media ban for under-15s, amid concerns that childhood is getting lost in the digital ether. 

The policy, which has cross-party support, is part of a wider commitment to boost protections for young people online, which the Danish government has earmarked DKK160m (£19m) for. 

It’s unclear how the ban will be policed, what platforms it will apply to, or when it will take effect. There is also a loophole: children aged 13 and above will still be able to access social media with parental consent.  

In a statement, the Danish government said that the forthcoming ban “makes it clear that children should not be left alone in a digital world where harmful content and commercial interests are too much a part of shaping their everyday lives and childhoods”. 

Denmark will be watching Australia closely. Its social media ban for under-16s comes into effect next month. 

Image: Özge Sultan Temur

The Paris agreement has spurred solar power on to become the fastest-growing source of electricity ever, with no signs of it letting up. 

That’s according to a report by the thinktank Ember. It credited the global deal to constrain emissions – signed a decade ago – with solar’s rapid growth. The summit, it added, provided finance, removed barriers and set targets, which rapidly reduced the cost of solar. 

When the deal was signed, said Ember, solar accounted for 1% of global electricity; today it’s 9% and rising. 

That growth has been even more rapid in developing nations, the report noted. In China, it has grown more than 20 fold, with India not far behind. In Brazil, host of this year’s Cop30 climate summit, solar has grown by 70% annually since 2015. 

“The Paris agreement contributed to these trends,” the report said. The document was published as delegates gathered in Brazil for the Cop30 climate conference.   

Image: Andres Siimon

A valley touted as “the most beautiful glen in Scotland” has joined the UK’s largest rewilding project. 

The Affric Highlands initiative aims to restore nature across 200,000 hectares of the Highlands. This week, Glen Affric National Nature Reserve – managed by Forestry and Land Scotland – became the 20th landholding to sign up to the community-led initiate. 

The glen is home to one of the largest and last-remaining fragments of Caledonian forest, a unique habitat that has been reduced to less than 2% of its original extent. The aim now is to expand the forest and restore other habitats, while opening up opportunities for tourism. 

“This is a huge step forwards for the entire area to become richer in nature, with new opportunities for people,” said Stephanie Kiel, Rewilding Affric Highlands executive director. “Glen Affric is at the heart of [the project]. This special place is hugely important.”

Image: Rewilding Affric Highlands

French researchers have observed a recovery, albeit a small one, in insect-eating bird species since the European Union (EU) banned neonicotinoid use in fields. 

Widely used in agriculture, neonicotinoids are the world’s most common class of insecticide. Deadly to pollinating insects, their use has been linked to a decline in insect-eating birds. 

This promoted the EU outlawed them in 2018 – a move that French researchers believe could be helping birds to recover. A study by the French Foundation for Biodiversity suggested that bird abundance had increased by up to 3% at sites previously sprayed with – and still contaminated by – imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid.   

Researchers said their findings pointed to “only a weak recovery”, and called for “additional conservation actions in landscapes contaminated with neonicotinoids to restore insect and bird populations”.

Image: Matthieu Rochette 

England is to phase out the sale of wet wipes containing plastic, after the government signed legislation on Tuesday to tackle the stubborn and costly source of pollution. 

Plastic wet wipes have become a familiar blight. A recent beach survey showed an average of 20 wet wipes littering every 100 metres of beach across the UK.

“This ban will put an end to plastic wet wipes which choke our sewers, litter our beaches and poison wildlife,” said environment secretary Emma Reynolds. 

Retailers have until spring 2027 to comply – a timeline campaigners said is too generous. Read the full story here. 

Image: Михаил Руденко

For the first time, breeding season at England’s largest grey seal colony will be broadcasted live over the web. 

The spectacle was previously only available to people who had the time and money to take a boat trip to Blakeney Point in Norfolk. But now a solar-powered camera is set to provide a live stream from the heart of the colony, giving more people the opportunity to witness pup season. 

“Some of the highlights included a live seal birth, cows suckling their pups and bulls vying for dominance and the chance to mate with the females,” said Edward Stubbings, a ranger for the National Trust charity, which manages Blakeney Point. 

An estimated one in 10 of the UK’s seals are born at Blakeney Point (pictured), where their numbers have increased by more than three-quarters since 2018.

Image: National Trust Images/Hanne Siebers
Main image: iStock