What went right this week: France’s ‘digital pause’, plus more

Children in France will have to lock their phones away during school hours when they return to the classrooms this September. It’s part of a ‘digital pause’ scheme due to be trialled at 200 secondary schools. 

The idea is a response to growing evidence linking early smartphone use with poor mental health. The plan was announced by education minister Nicole Belloubet on Tuesday. 

Under the scheme, pupils will be obliged to leave their phones in special lockers during school hours. If the trial proves a success, Belloubet said the policy will be rolled out nationwide “from January 2025”. 

The French trial is part of a growing global movement to protect childhood from smartphones. Communities in the UK and Ireland have introduced bans on phones in schools, while the Irish government plans to outlaw them in all secondary schools. 

Image: Kenny Eliason

The UK has become one of the first countries to offer 24-hour mental health support over the phone, after England joined Scotland and Wales in launching such a service. 

People in a mental health crisis can now call 111 at any time of the day to talk to a mental health professional, who can organise mental health assessments, dispatch crisis teams and signpost users to available local help.  

Marjorie Wallace, chief executive of the mental health charity SANE, was among those welcoming the move, while echoing concerns about the National Health Service (NHS) already being stretched. 

“We are delighted NHS England has rolled out this important service nationally,” she said. “However, we remain concerned that it may raise people’s expectations because of the paucity of frontline services available to follow up people in crisis.”

She added: “Our national helpline, SANEline, has operated for more than 30 years, but we can only do so much and are happy to work with government to meet the escalating need. We urge it to consider following our unique model of calling people back and sustaining them through dark times and periods of distress.” 

Image: Derick Anies

Plans to dam one of Europe’s last wild rivers have been blocked in a major win for people power. 

A scandal over the construction of a hydroelectric plant at the source of the Una River erupted last month in Croatia. Communities and environmental groups protested against the project, while lawyers argued that the dam was built without the correct permits. 

The Croatian state authorities have now ordered construction of the dam to halt, saving a wild river that has been dubbed the “blue heart of Europe”.

“This success is more than just the prevention of a small hydropower plant,” said Ulrich Eichelmann, founder of Riverwatch. “It sets a precedent for other hydropower projects on the Una and its tributaries. Most importantly, [it] will motivate many people in the Balkans to stand up against the destruction of nature and corruption. It is a success to keep the blue heart of Europe beating.”

Image: Igorbeslic

South Korea’s lack of a plan to reduce emissions violates the constitutional rights of future generations, the country’s top court ruled on Thursday in Seoul (pictured). 

The absence of legally binding targets to cut emissions between 2031 and 2049 breached the constitutional rights of future generations, South Korea’s constitutional court found.

The case was brought by around 200 plaintiffs, including young climate activists. The court’s verdict concludes four years of legal wrangling. 

It’s the first such climate litigation ruling in Asia. Activists believe that it could set a precedent for future climate-related legal actions in the region.

Image: Creative Commons

The UK government has announced that it will not defend legal challenges brought against two proposed oil and gas fields in the North Sea. 

Legal claims against the projects – Rosebank and Jackdaw, both in Scottish waters – were brought by the environmental groups Greenpeace and Uplift. 

Their litigation followed a landmark climate ruling by the UK’s supreme court in June. It dictated that the ecological impact of emissions from burning extracted fossil fuels must be considered in planning applications for such projects – not just the emissions produced during extraction.

That ruling has cast doubt on future oil and gas projects, notably Rosebank and Jackdaw, which the government has now said it will not defend.

“This is amazing news and a big win for the climate,” said Greenpeace. “The government must now properly support affected workers and prioritise investment in green jobs.”

Image: Ben Wicks

The rollout of community diagnostic centres (CDCs) in England has been hailed a success after research showed they had performed 7m health tests across the country. 

The mobile facilities have been introduced to public places, such as shopping centres and university campuses, to provide tests – including X-rays – more quickly. 

Around 160 CDCs have been opened across England to tackle the long waiting lists for vital checks, such as CT and MRI scans. Research published this week by Healthwatch England revealed that CDCs have delivered more than 7m tests, and that 93% of patients using them had a “good experience”.

Yet waiting times remain stubbornly long. Figures suggest that 21% of patients wait longer than six weeks to be seen. The Royal College of Radiologists welcomed the report’s findings but said that “urgent action is needed to expand the radiologist workforce … if CDCs are to be a continued success”. 

Image: Colynary Media

Conservationists are “chough-ed” to bits after a red-billed bird that nearly went extinct in the UK had a record breeding season.  

The chough vanished from Cornwall half a century ago, but returned to the English county in 2001, where it’s just had a record breeding season with 108 chicks raised. 

According to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), other sites in England and Wales also reported a record season, despite early fears that bad weather would impact numbers. 

The increase in population follows more than two decades of conservation work to protect chough nesting sites in Cornwall. “From near extinction to a record year – this is conservation at its best,” said the RSPB. 

Image: Jean Jacques Boujot

New-generation ‘meat’ alternatives are better for the environment and healthier than processed meats, but you’re still better off eating whole plant foods like beans. 

That’s according to a report by the Food Foundation, which analysed 71 different plant-based protein alternatives. Selected products included regular sausages and new-generation meat alternatives, such as plant-based burgers. Researchers examined their nutritional and environmental credentials, comparing them both to  each other and to whole plant foods. 

The study found that meat alternatives had significantly lower carbon and water footprints than meat. What’s more, they contained fewer calories, lower levels of saturated fat, and higher levels of fibre on average compared to meat products.

Contrary to popular opinion, meat alternatives contained nearly as much protein as regular meat on average. But they also had a higher salt content and are also ultra-processed foods. 

The authors concluded: “Less-processed alternative proteins, such as beans and grains, which are a natural source of protein, deliver the best bang for buck on health and environment, with lower amounts of saturated fat, calories and salt and the highest amount of fibre of all products.”

Read more: Why beans are having a moment  

Image: Pablo Merchan Montes

Swiss scientists have made a discovery that could make chocolate more sustainable and ethical. 

Currently, chocolate production is highly wasteful as it uses only the seeds of the cocoa fruit, leaving the rest to be discarded. However, food scientists in Switzerland have found a way to make it using the entire cocoa fruit, which has a sweet flesh and acts as a replacement for sugar in the new process. 

Those behind the technique at Zurich’s Federal Institute of Technology (FIT) believe the technique could boost profits for farmers and improve the sustainability credentials of chocolate. “The farmers get significantly extra income through utilising cocoa pulp,” FIT scientist Kim Mishra told the BBC. 

Image: Tetiana Bykovets

New rules mean that parents in England of children aged nine months and over can apply for 15 hours of free childcare per week. 

The changes – announced by the previous government but coming into effect this week – are a bid to ease the financial burden of nursery fees and empower more parents to get back to work.

Previously, most working parents had to wait until their child was three to access free childcare. To qualify for the new hours, parents must earn less than £100,000 per year. 

As part of the changes, the government is increasing the hourly rate it pays the childcare providers that offer free hours. However, there are not currently enough nursery places or workers to meet growing demand. The Department for Education estimates that 85,000 more childcare places and 40,000 extra staff will be needed by September 2025. 

Image: Troy

The perennially uplifting Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition revealed its shortlist this week, offering a spectacular glimpse into our natural world.

A shot of a manatee floating with her calf on restored eelgrass beds (main image) in Florida, US, was among the highly commended pictures. The image highlights the important role conservation has had in boosting manatee numbers off the coast of Florida. 

A ‘dancing’ stoat (pictured), a stone-collecting jackdaw, and fighting bees were among the other shortlisted shots. Winning photographs will be announced on 8 October, followed by an exhibition at London’s Natural History Museum.

Image: Jose Manuel Grandío/Wildlife Photographer of the Year
Main image: Jason Gulley/Wildlife Photographer of the Year