What went right this week: the good news that matters

Marine protected areas are succeeding in deterring high seas poachers, new research suggests, dispelling the widely held belief that the conservation measure is ineffective.

Ships ‘going dark’ by turning off tracking devices along with patchy enforcement have fuelled concerns that marine protected areas (MPAs) are little more than ‘paper parks’ which lack true protection.

However work led by experts at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, US, suggests that the opposite is true. Focusing on MPAs where industrial fishing is outlawed, they spliced tracking data with satellite imagery and used AI to identify which ‘dark’ ships were likely to be fishing vessels.

The “striking” results revealed “little to no signs of industrial fishing” in highly-protected MPAs. A further study revealed “substantial” fishing activity where protection is low.

“Combined, these two studies lead to a clear conclusion,” said study lead Jennifer Raynor. “Marine protected areas with weak regulations see substantial industrial fishing, but where bans are in place, they’re largely respected.”

She added: “These technological advances in vessel tracking have the potential to reshape marine law enforcement by significantly reducing the costs of monitoring.”

Image: Francesco Ungaro

The general public is more in favour of climate action than policymakers think, according to fresh research by academics at the University of Oxford, England.

The team asked attendees at the United Nations Environment Assembly to guess what percentage of the global population would give up 1% of their salary to help fix climate change. The work built on previous research which revealed 69% of people would be in favour. The UN attendees, however, guessed at 37%, pointing to a perception mismatch. 

Study authors said the skewed view could be hampering policymaking, suggesting leaders are throttling their climate ambitions based on a misconception. 

“I hope our research encourages policy officials to be braver and pursue more ambitious climate policies,” said study co-author Dr Joshua Ettinger. “They have more public support than they may realise’.

The work chimes with an ongoing drive by a coalition of global media giants to amplify the voices of the ‘silent majority’ who care about climate change.

Image: Nikolas Gannon

In a world first, a gonorrhoea vaccine was rolled out at sexual health clinics in the UK on Monday in efforts to curb a rising tide of infections.

Those most at risk from catching the disease – gay and bisexual men with a history of multiple partners or sexually transmitted infections – are being given priority for the free jabs.

The groundbreaking vaccine, known as 4CMenB, was originally developed to shield newborns from meningitis. However, it also protects against gonorrhoea thanks to close similarities between the bacteria which cause the two diseases.

The UK’s National Health Service (NHS) said that the vaccination programme could prevent as many as 100,000 cases of gonorrhoea and save £8m in treatment costs over the next decade.

Sexual health charity the Terrence Higgins Trust spearheaded calls for the vaccination roll out and welcomed the move this week.

“We asked and the government listened,” said its chief executive Richard Angell OBE. “The potential impact is huge: reducing the burden on sexual health services, avoiding complications the virus can cause, and 100,000 people over the next decade who won’t get gonorrhoea.”

Image: Polina Tankilevitch

Chinese and EU leaders have shaken hands on fast-tracking the green energy transition. 

Tensions were high when the two sides met in Beijing to iron out new trade agreements aimed at bypassing US tariffs. The summit ended in a stalemate where trade is concerned, but found common ground in renewables.

A joint climate statement reaffirmed China and the EU’s commitment to the Paris agreement, calling it the “cornerstone of international climate cooperation”.

It comes as China emerges as a renewables superpower, with recent analysis showing how its embrace of clean tech may have tipped its emissions into reverse.

The two sides also pledged to accelerate the deployment of renewables infrastructure and lead the way on global efforts to reduce greenhouse gases. “Green is the defining color of China-EU cooperation,” they said.

Image: iStock

Diplomats have begun thrashing out plans to combat the scourge of plastic waste after last year’s efforts to secure a pact on pollution were derailed by oil states. 

Delegates from 184 countries resumed discussions on a global plastics treaty at the UN Environment Assembly conference in Geneva, Switzerland, which began on Tuesday. According to Greenpeace, fossil fuel lobbyists outnumber scientists at the talks by one to four. 

“We owe it to future generations to secure a treaty that turns the tide on plastic production,” said the charity’s Rudy Schulkind. “Polluters cannot be allowed to derail the talks.”

The planet currently produces some 460m tonnes of plastics a year, 20m of which end up soiling our environment. Crunch talks in Korea last December were scuppered by petro states. 

Inger Andersen (pictured), executive director of the United Nations Environment Programme, struck a note of hope by saying she had seen a “surge in diplomacy” since the showdown in Busan, offering “a path to a possible agreement”.

Image: Senado Federal

Budding dad bands and punk mum wannabees rejoice – picking up an instrument later in life helps tune up the grey matter, research shows. 

Two separate studies concluded that playing music led to better brain health and helped ward off dementia, even when participants started learning in their seventies. 

In the first study, scientists at Japan’s Kyoto University followed up previous work with a group of older learners and found that those who abandoned the hobby fell behind on memory tests while suffering brain shrinkage.

In the second, researchers discovered that the brains of older musicians were just as sprightly as youngsters with no musical training, while older non-musicians showed signs of cognitive decline. 

The findings support the theory of ‘cognitive reserve’, which suggests that learning new things into older age can ward off mental slowdown. 

“A positive lifestyle helps older adults cope better with cognitive aging,” said study lead Dr Lei Zhang from Beijing’s Chinese Academy of Sciences. “It is never too late to take up, and stick with, a rewarding hobby such as learning an instrument.”

Image: RDNE stock project

Students from low-income backgrounds in the UK are set to get a leg up on the civil service job ladder through a government internship programme open only to working-class candidates.

The measure targets a class divide on the civil service’s graduate initiative. The UK government admitted this week that applicants from poorer backgrounds were less likely to get a place on the scheme.

“We need to get more working-class young people into the civil service so it harnesses the broadest range of talent and truly reflects the country,” said minister Pat McFadden. “Government makes better decisions when it represents and understands the people we serve.”

Applications for the 200 paid placements open in October, with the first new recruits starting next summer. 

The definition of ‘working class’ is open to interpretation, however. Students will be quizzed on their parents’ employment histories to see if they fit the bill. The brightest stars will be fast-tracked through selection if they go for a civil service job after uni.

Image: Fauxels

First it was beavers, then water voles – now “talismanic” white storks could be set for a return to London.

The giant birds, with wingspans of up to two metres, were once a common sight in Britain, where hunting and habitat loss drove them to extinction. 

They still thrive in urban settings across continental Europe and reintroductions in southern England have led to a boom in sightings around Greater London.

Now social enterprise Citizen Zoo is asking Londoners for their thoughts on sharing the city’s trees, rooftops and buildings with the iconic birds after a 600-year absence. Its London White Stork Project will also scope out likely habitat hotspots in the city.

White storks are seen as an ‘umbrella species’ whose protection brings a boost for other species. Their huge nests provide shelter and a food source for insects and other birds.

“We can make the conscious choice to integrate more nature into our cities,” Elliot Newton, co-founder and director of rewilding at Citizen Zoo. “[Doing so] will bring a whole wealth of benefits.”

Image: David Dixon

A photo series has shone a light on India’s nascent female skateboarding scene, taking a top gong in an international competition in the process. 

Italian snapper Chantal Pinzi documented the boarders for a series titled ‘Shred the Patriarchy’. Her images feature 23-year-old Asha Gond who has skated her way out of hardship by excelling at a male-dominated sport in a country that remains stubbornly patriarchal.

“Through the art of falling and getting back up, these women challenge stereotypes, fight marginalisation and reclaim public spaces in both urban and rural areas,” Pinzi said.

Read more about Pinzi’s work, which won the sports category at the 2025 Sony World Photography Awards, here.

Image: Chantal Pinzi
Main image: Paweł Fijałkowski