The news we’ve been waiting for since March has arrived – the Pfizer vaccine has been approved for use in the UK from next week! Plus, lockdown eases for most of us today, so many people can meet friends for an al fresco meal – better get those thermals out! Here are some more optimistic snippets we’ve gathered from around the globe this week…
Meals on Ferris Wheels
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A Michelin-starred restaurant in Budapest has come up with an inventive way to serve diners while making sure they are socially distanced. Costes, which was the first restaurant in the country to be awarded a Michelin star, has teamed up with the Budapest Eye in a venture that will benefit both of businesses. Tickets for the four-course meals sold out within days, but another ferris wheel meal experience is in the works for next year…
Full Sun Ahead
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A railway line linking central London to Eastbourne is set to be solar powered by early 2022. The social enterprise Riding Sunbeams already helped to set up what is considered the world’s first solar powered railway – the HS1 link between London and the Channel Tunnel. Riding Sunbeams is working on the plans with Network Rail and hopes to use a government grant to set up a community owned solar farm.
Period Power
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Scotland has passed a historic law that will make period products freely available for those who need them – and this makes it the first country to do so. The new scheme headed by Scottish Labour’s health spokeswoman, Monica Lennon, marks the end of a four-year campaign against period poverty, which has increased during the pandemic. Research by Women for Independence discovered that women spend around £13 per month on products – and one fifth have struggled with this cost. The law will mean that schools, colleges and universities will be required to provide products for free, and local authorities will make period products available for all those who need them.
Atlantic Sanctuary
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A British overseas territory in the middle of the Atlantic will become the base of one of the largest marine sanctuaries on the planet. An area three times the size of the UK surrounding Tristan da Cunha is now a marine protection zone and a ‘no-take zone’, which means that all fishing is banned – apart from some sustainable fishing by residents. Wildlife on the archipelago includes penguins, whales, sharks, seals and even albatross!
You’ve Got Mail
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We have more Ryan Reynolds news this week! Hollywood’s golden boy has made some more people smile. The parents of a boy in British Columbia who had just moved away from his friends asked people to send their son some birthday cards. Reynolds recorded a personal video message expressing his understanding for what the boy was going through. Reynolds also recently recorded 400 messages for the crew of his upcoming film, Red Notice, thanking them for isolating so that the production could be finished safely.
Proud Penguins
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You might recall the same-sex gentoo penguin couple in the Sea Life Aquarium in Sydney that became well-known in 2018 for hatching a chick after they were showing parental tendencies towards a rock… Well, they’ve now welcomed a second arrival into their family. Sphen and Magic were given an egg that was neglected by other penguins, and are now raising their second adopted chick together.
His Airness
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Basketball legend Michael Jordan has donated $2 million of his earnings from recent 10-part documentary The Last Dance to Feeding America and its food banks in the Carolinas and Chicago. The sports superstar has also pledged to donate $100 million over the next decade to organisations that are helping to fight racism.
And Finally…
An elephant that was considered the world’s loneliest has been moved from a Pakistan zoo to a wildlife sanctuary in Cambodia where hundreds of other elephants roam. Kaavan was greeted at the airport by a very special visitor, Cher, who has been a major force in the campaign for his release from Islamabad Zoo. She even treated him to a private performance!
