Children of undercover Russian spy couple only learned their nationality on flight to Moscow

Anna Chernova and Radina Gigova, CNN
Fri, August 2, 2024 at 9:18 AM MDT·3 min read
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The children of two Russian intelligence agents, who were among the detainees released as part of a historic prisoner swap, only discovered their nationality when they were being flown to Moscow, the Kremlin said Friday.

Their parents, Artem Dultsev and Anna Dultseva, were among 24 prisoners swapped as part of a complex, multi-country deal that saw high-profile American detainees and Russian dissidents freed in return.

The pair had been posing as an Argentine couple in Slovenia where they were convicted of spying. Their two children flew back with them on Thursday from Turkey.

The boy and girl “found out that they were Russian only when the plane took off from Ankara,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.

Russian President Vladimir Putin greeted them on the tarmac in Spanish as they didn’t speak Russian and didn’t even know who Putin was, according to Peskov.

“When the children came down the plane’s steps – they don’t speak Russian – and Putin greeted them in Spanish, he said ‘Buenas noches,’” Peskov said. “They asked their parents yesterday who it was that was meeting them, they didn’t even know who Putin was.”

After coming down the plane’s stairs, Dultseva, holding her tears, hugged Putin, who was standing on the red carpet rolled on the tarmac holding bouquets of flowers. Putin kissed Dultseva on the cheek and shoulder, and gave her and her daughter bouquets.

Putin briefly hugged Dultsev too and then the rest of the released Russians, before the group walked together on the red carpet away from the plane.

Thursday’s massive swap was the result of years of complicated behind-the-scenes negotiations involving the US, Russia, Belarus and Germany, ultimately leading Berlin to agree to Moscow’s key demand – releasing convicted Russian assassin Vadim Krasikov.

A total of eight people, including Krasikov, were swapped back to Russia in exchange for the release of 16 people who were held in Russian detention, including former US Marine Paul Whelan, Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich and two other Americans.

Dultsev and Dultseva pleaded guilty to espionage in a court in Ljubljana on Wednesday and were sentenced to serve time in prison.

While living undercover in Slovenia, Dultsev posed as an IT businessman named Ludvig Gisch. After pleading guilty, he was sentenced to more than a year and a half in prison, which the court said was equivalent to time spent. He was set to be deported to Russia and was banned from entering Slovenia for five years.

Dultseva posed as an art dealer and gallery owner and went by the name Maria Rosa Mayer Munos. She was also set to be deported.

During the call with journalists, Peskov also revealed some additional details of prisoner exchange negotiations between Russia and the United States, saying that they were primarily conducted through the FSB and the CIA.

When asked about other Russians detained abroad, Peskov said that “the fate of all our Russians who are held in custody abroad, in the United States, is a matter of constant concern for all our relevant agencies, which will continue the relevant work.”

CNN’s Jennifer Hansler, Kylie Atwood and Ivana Kottasová contributed reporting.

TURKIYE

Teens invent remarkable device while searching for way to save community: 

'Can be implemented anywhere in the world'

Laurelle Stelle
Thu, August 1, 2024 


Beyza and Diyar are two members of the Turkish Team Ceres, runners-up in the Earth Prize who created a new crop-boosting technology called Plantzma.

Euronews reported that the idea came from Beyza's reading on exoplanets, faraway planets orbiting stars other than the sun. "I was reading NASA's articles so much, and NASA has so much work about plasma and its wide range of uses," she told the publication.

Plasma is a state of matter like solid, liquid, and gas. It's what happens when a gas is so charged with energy that molecules can't hold onto their electrons. As Euronews pointed out, plasma is "rare on Earth but abundant in space."

Beyza, Diyar, and their team developed an ingenious way to use plasma in farming. Their Plantzma device does two things to help.

First, it treats seeds, creating microscopic cracks in their outer coatings. This makes it easier for the seeds to sprout, so more individual plants develop, increasing yields.

"In the direct treatment, we treat the seeds in a container with plasma before cultivation … and this increases the resistance to diseases, drought, and other environmental stressors," Diyar told Euronews.

Watch now: High-speed rail can cut an hour commute to 15 minutes — so why isn't it more prevalent?

Second, Plantzma can be used with water to turn it into an eco-friendly, nitrogen-rich fertilizer.

"In the indirect treatment, we treat irrigation water with plasma, enriching its properties to benefit plant growth," said Diyar. "That process turns the water into … plasma fertilizer which supplies essential nutrients for the plant and stimulates fruit and vegetables."

That kind of help is sorely needed since Turkey is being severely affected by the Earth's rising temperature and the extreme weather that follows.

"Our idea for Plantzma originated from the agricultural challenges we observed in our community and family," said Beyza. "Many people we know work in agriculture. … They face significant issues due to drought and crop failure — there has been a 40% decline in precipitation rates, leading to an 80% crop loss."

But a single Plantzma device, which costs roughly $190, can reduce fertilizer use by 40% while still preventing 60% of crop loss, Euronews said.

The team intentionally designed its product for use in even the poorest areas of the world.

"The solution can be implemented anywhere in the world where agriculture is [prevalent], including many places that don't have access to modern technologies," said Beyza.

The team is trying to raise funding to achieve that. Meanwhile, Diyar is starting a major in electrical engineering at NYU Abu Dhabi, while Beyza intends to major in environmental engineering and political science.

SHOULD BE ABOVE THE FOLD
Scientists traced roses’ thorny origins and solved a 400 million-year-old mystery

Taylor Nicioli, CNN
Thu, August 1, 2024 


Other than being a symbol for love and romance, roses are commonly known for their sharp spikes — prickles that protrude from the stems to ward off animals looking to munch on the buds.

They’re not the only plant to have this defense mechanism: Other flowers such as spider flowers or brambles, the flowering shrub responsible for raspberries and blackberries, bear the sharp points, as do certain crop plants such as tomatoes, eggplants, barley and rice.

But how could all these species, many of which evolved separately over the course of millions of years, come to have the same spiny feature? A team of international researchers found that the answer lies in their DNA, tracing the origin to one ancient gene family that’s responsible for the prickles in all these variations, according to a new study published Thursday in the journal Science.

The findings not only open the door for scientists looking to create prickle-free variants but also provide insight into the evolutionary history of an extremely diverse genus of plants, experts say.

The evolution of prickles

Contrary to pop culture references, roses do not have thorns, which are the sharp woody points of certain shrubs and trees, including honey locusts and citrus trees. The flowers instead have prickles that form from the skin of the plant, similar to how hair grows.

Prickles have been around for at least 400 million years, dating back to when ferns and their relatives emerged with some bearing prickles on their stems. The trait has since then popped up — and disappeared — at different points in evolutionary time, said study coauthor Zachary Lippman, plant biologist and professor of genetics at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island, New York.

One of the most diverse plant genera, known as Solanum — which includes crops such as potatoes, tomatoes and eggplants — first gained prickles 6 million years ago. Today, the genus has more than 1,000 species that appear throughout the world, with around 400 of those referred to as “spiny solanum” for their prickles, according to the University of Utah.

When a common trait, such as prickles, appears independently across different lineages and species, that is known as convergent evolution, and occurs when species adapt similarly to certain environmental needs. Wings are another example of a feature that evolved in this way among different species of birds, as well as other animals such as bats and even some types of squirrels that have the winglike structure, said Lippman, who is also a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator.

Prickles and thorns are an evolved defense against herbivores — animals that eat plants — and can also aid in growth, plant competition and water retention, according to the study. It was previously unknown as to what exactly caused ferns and other unrelated plants to grow the prickles. Now, the study authors have found that an ancient gene family known as Lonely Guy, or LOG, has served as a gatekeeper for the trait, switching it on and off in different species across millions of years.

Lonely Guy genes

By removing prickles from various species, including roses and eggplants, the authors found that a LOG gene was responsible for the prickles in about 20 types of plants studied. LOG-related genes are found in all plants, even dating back to mosses, which are regarded as the first dry-land plant, Lippman said. The genes are responsible for activating a hormone known as cytokinin that is important for a plant’s basic functions on a cellular level, including cell division and expansion, which in turn affects the plant’s growth.

“It’s not that there was one common ancestor that had prickles, and then it radiated out over 400 million years to all these others, and then they were lost sporadically. In fact, what it looks like is that they seem to be quite readily gained in different lineages,” Lippman said. “Now, the question is, how often is convergent evolution not just the trait that we see, but the genes behind the trait?”

He added, “Our study is, I think probably the first to really demonstrate the power of those tools (genetic and genome sequencing) to span such a wide evolutionary distance to ask this very classic question about convergent evolution in organismal evolution of plants or animals.”

The discovery adds a valuable tool for researchers looking into the extent of protection the prickles offer against herbivores. This level of defense has previously been challenging to assess since manually removing prickles from already grown plants — to test whether they are more vulnerable without them — damages the tissue and can compromise plants’ health, said Tyler Coverdale, an assistant professor of biological sciences at the University of Notre Dame who was not part of the new study.

“By knocking out prickles with targeted genetic mutations, we can more fully understand the ecological role of physical plant defenses,” Coverdale said in an email. “Prickles are a key evolutionary development that allow plants to withstand herbivory, which is why many of the spiny Solanum are found in areas with historically high large herbivore diversity. Without this key innovation, it is possible that Solanum would be much more restricted in its range and diversity.”

Genetically removing prickles

Before this discovery, another method of removing prickles from plants was to attempt to breed the plant with another variation that had naturally lost its prickles, Lippman said, which is why there are some rose species without the spikes today.

But now that the gene responsible for the prickles has been identified, scientists can remove the prickles utilizing genome editing techniques such as CRISPR, a method scientists use for DNA modification of living organisms. Targeted gene editing can create more variations with ease and has fewer repercussions to the plant’s growth and fruit production, Coverdale said.

“Not only does this study tell us more about the evolution of prickles specifically, it also provides us with insights into the mechanics of how to engineer plant developmental pathways for agricultural improvement,” said Vivian Irish, plant biologist and a professor in Yale University’s department of molecular, cellular and developmental biology. Irish was not part of the new study but was the senior author of a 2020 study that found thorns grow on plants through the activity of stem cells.

“(LOG genes) have been repeatedly co-opted (a biological shift in a trait’s function) in different plant species for the formation of prickles, and also repeatedly lost in lineages where prickles are lost. … (C)o-option at many different levels might be nature’s rule of thumb, and that innovation in many cases might well reflect re-using old genes in new ways,” she added in an email.

For agricultural purposes, removing prickles could make harvesting easier and pave the way to get lesser-known produce into grocery stores.

An example the authors use are desert raisins, which are berries grown on prickly bushes native to Australia. With the prickles removed, the berry could be cultivated with much greater ease and would be more similar to common grocery store berries such as blueberries and strawberries, Lippman said.

“It’s really about having more knowledge … and understanding how important mutations were to give us the food that we eat at the scale that we eat it, and knowing that there’s more potential out there,” Lippman said. “The more that we understand under the hood, the more we’re going to have a chance to tweak the system, or the  engine, if you will, to make it perform even better.”

PEACE CEREMONY

Israel not invited to ceremony commemorating 1945 atomic bombing of Nagasaki

Hanako Montgomery, Manveena Suri, Nodoka Katsura and Chris Lau, CNN
Thu, August 1, 2024 a

Israel will not be invited to this year’s peace ceremony commemorating the 1945 atomic bombing of Nagasaki to promote a “peaceful and somber atmosphere” at the August 9 event, the city’s mayor told local media Wednesday.

The decision contrasts with that of Hiroshima, where authorities told CNN last month they had no intention of retracting Israel’s invitation to their own peace event, despite calls for the country to be sidelined.

Both cities had been under pressure from activists and bomb survivor groups to exclude Israel due to its bombardment of Gaza, where tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed since Israel began targeting militant group Hamas following the October 7 attack.

Nagasaki’s mayor Shiro Suzuki told reporters Wednesday that Israel’s exclusion was due to security concerns and was not a political decision.

“I would like to emphasize that this decision was not based on political considerations, but rather on our desire to hold the ceremony to commemorate the victims of the atomic bombings in a peaceful and solemn atmosphere, and to ensure that the ceremony goes smoothly,” he said, calling the decision “difficult.”

The arrangement differs with Hiroshima, the first city hit with an atomic bomb during the closing stages of World War II, that ultimately led to Japan’s unconditional surrender.

Every year diplomats are invited to peace ceremonies in both cities, held within days of each other, to reflect on the importance of peace and the perils of deploying nuclear weapons.

Hiroshima’s annual peace ceremony is the larger of the two and representatives from 115 countries and the European Union are set to attend this year.

Tens of thousands of people were killed by the 1945 atomic bombs, both instantly and in the months and years that followed due to radiation sickness.

In a post on X, Israel’s Ambassador to Japan Gilad Cohen described Nagasaki’s decision as “regrettable,” adding it “sends a wrong message to the world.”

“Israel is exercising its full right and moral obligation to defend itself and its citizens and will continue to do so. There is no comparison between Israel, which is being brutally attacked by terrorist organizations and any other conflict, any attempt to present it otherwise distorts the reality,” he said.

Israel has repeatedly rejected accusations from critics including rights groups and experts that it has broken international humanitarian law with the breadth of its response to Hamas’ attacks. It argues its war is against Hamas, not Palestinians.

A controversial invitation

The ceremony in Nagasaki will take place at the city’s Peace Park on August 9, marking the day the US military dropped the second atomic bomb on Japan, three days after the one that hit Hiroshima.

Nagasaki officials had previously indicated some reluctance to host Israel at the event.

In June, Suzuki sent a letter to Israel calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, leaving an invitation to the ceremony on hold due to a risk of “unexpected situations” such as protests, according to Kyodo News.

On Wednesday, Suzuki said he had not seen any changes in recent weeks that would lessen the risk of inviting Israel.

Hiroshima authorities don’t appear to have the same security concerns, despite having sidelined Russia and Belarus to order “to ensure the ceremony goes smoothly,” according to a spokesperson.

Both countries have been excluded from the event since 2022 when Moscow invaded Ukraine.

Russia used Belarus as one of the launch pads for its assault and later moved some of its tactical nuclear weapons there.

Some local activists and peace advocates accused Hiroshima authorities of double standards for excluding Russia and Belarus but allowing Israel to take part.

“It is not a double standard. Our policy is to invite all countries. However, Russia and Belarus are exceptions due to the invasion of Ukraine,” a Hiroshima city government spokesperson told CNN last month.

 Archbishop of Canterbury urges nations to respect ICJ opinion on Israeli occupation

 

Service for the new parliament at St Margaret's Church, in London

Fri, August 2, 2024

By Catarina Demony

LONDON (Reuters) - The Church of England's spiritual head urged governments on Friday to respect the findings of the United Nations top court that Israel's occupation of Palestinian territories is illegal, saying the law should not be upheld in a "selective manner".

The International Court of Justice (ICJ), known as the World Court, said in an advisory opinion last month the occupation should be withdrawn as soon as possible. It is not binding but carries weight under international law.


At the time, Israel's foreign ministry rejected the opinion as "fundamentally wrong" and one-sided. There was no immediate reaction to the Archbishop of Canterbury's comments on Friday.

Justin Welby - who also heads the worldwide Anglican Communion - said in a statement the ICJ opinion had made it clear the occupation is "unlawful" and must end.

"At a time when the world is marked by increasing violations of international law ... it is imperative governments around the world reaffirm their unwavering commitment to all decisions by the ICJ, irrespective of the situation," Welby said.

He did not spell out how governments should react, but said he prayed that U.N. member states would make their actions consistent with the ruling.

Welby said it was clear to him from many visits in recent decades the "system of military rule" imposed by successive Israeli governments in occupied Palestinian territories was one of "systemic discrimination".

The ICJ case stems from a 2022 request for a legal opinion from the United Nations General Assembly that predates the war in Gaza which began in October.

Hamas militants stormed across the border into Israeli communities on Oct. 7 and, according to Israeli tallies, killed more than 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 253 into captivity.

Palestinian health authorities say the Israeli ground and air campaign in Gaza that followed has killed more than 39,000 people, mostly civilians, and driven most of the enclave's 2.3 million people from their homes.

(Reporting by Catarina Demony; Editing by Andrew Heavens)

Federal investigators suspected that Egypt may have bribed Trump with $10 million in cash

Nandika Chatterjee
Fri, August 2, 2024


Donald Trump; Abdel Fattah El-Sisi Mark Wilson/Getty Images

In January 2017, a bank manager at the National Bank of Egypt in Cairo received a letter from an organization linked to the Egyptian intelligence service asking them “kindly withdraw” about $10 million in cash from the organization’s account. That took place just five days before Donald Trump became president, The Washington Post reported in an exclusive on Friday, revealing that federal investigators believed the withdrawn cash may have been intended as a bribe for the Republican.

According to bank records, the state-run branch emptied a considerable share of Egypt’s reserve of U.S. currency by filling two large bags with bundles of $100 bills weighing a combined 200 pounds. Later four men arrived to carry away the bags.

This sizable withdrawal caught the attention of federal investigators early in 2019, reviving a secret criminal investigation that had begun two years prior into allegations contained in a classified U.S. intelligence assessment that Egypt's dictator, Abdel Fatah El-Sisi, had agreed to give $10 million to Trump's campaign. In office, Trump repeatedly praised Sisi, his administration releasing hundreds of millions of dollars in aid that had been held up over concern about Egypt's abysmal human rights record.

Candidates for federal office are barred from accepting foreign donations. There is no proof that any money made it to Trump's coffers, but as the Post reported that could in part be due to the fact they were unable to subpoena the former president's bank records for the time he was in office. Trump had, in October 2016, injected $10 million into his own campaign in the form of a loan; this after meeting with Sisi when he was in New York for a trip to the United Nations.

The investigation was closed under former Attorney General William Barr, a Trump loyalist who reportedly questioned whether there was sufficient evidence to continue the probe, which has not been renewed under Attorney General Merrick Garland

Investigators "were blocked from seeking key records to determine if Trump took the money, then the case was shut down,” the Washington Post investigative reporter Carol Leonnig noted on X.

News of the investigation comes after Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., was convicted last month for himself accepting bribes from the Egyptian government.

Maduro warns he’ll call for a ‘new revolution’ if forced by ‘North American imperialism'

SAY'S NORTH AMERIKAN  IMPERIALIST MEDIA

Abel Alvarado, CNN

Wed, July 31, 2024 


Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro warned Wednesday that he will not hesitate to call on the population for a “new revolution” if forced by what he calls “North American imperialism and fascist criminals.”

Maduro’s comments come amid deadly protests across the country following its disputed presidential election victory, which the US and several other countries have refused to recognize.

“I would not like to go to other ways of making revolution, I say it solemnly from political power, we want to continue the path that [Hugo] Chavez outlined,” Maduro said in Caracas during a press conference with international media.


“But if North American imperialism and fascist criminals force us, my pulse will not tremble to call the people to a new revolution with other characteristics,” he added.

The president’s comments come just hours after US National Security spokesman John Kirby called on Maduro to “come clean” on Sunday’s election.

“Our patience, and that of the international community, is running out on waiting for the Venezuelan electoral authorities to come clean and release the full, detailed data on this election so everyone can see the results,” Kirby told reporters during Wednesday’s White House press briefing.

Kirby said the US and other nations share “serious concerns of the reports of casualties, violence and arrests, including the arrests warrants that Maduro and his representatives issued today (Wednesday) for opposition leaders.”

“Alongside the international community, we are watching, and we are going to respond accordingly,” Kirby said.

20 ‘credible reports’ of deaths

The Venezuelan leader’s comments came as Human Rights Watch (HRW) said it had received 20 “credible reports” of deaths connected to the nationwide protests over the election results.

“We are working to document and corroborate each case,” Juanita Goebertus, HRW Director for the Americas, wrote on X.

Foro Penal, a local NGO, reported on Tuesday that a total of 11 people have died during the protests.

Of those killed, five died in Caracas, two in Zulia and Yaracuy, and one in Aragua and Tachira, the head of Foro Penal, Alfredo Romero, told reporters on Tuesday.

CNN has reached out to Venezuela’s Public Prosecutor for comment.

So far, the Venezuelan government has not published any information regarding the death of civilians

Alberta renewable energy pause has left legacy of cancelled development: study

A GOVT OF CLIMATE DENIERS FUCKS UP

Bob Weber
Fri, August 2, 2024

The Canadian Press


EDMONTON — Alberta's seven-month moratorium on renewable power approvals has left a legacy of dozens of cancelled projects and legal uncertainty, says an analysis done on the one-year anniversary of the move.

The clean energy think tank The Pembina Institute says in a report released Friday that 53 wind and solar projects were abandoned after the United Conservative Party government paused approvals for seven months then failed to clarify new rules for those developments.

The capacity of the cancelled projects adds up to more than 8,600 megawatts of generation — more than enough to power every home in Alberta, the report says. Many of those projects would have come with substantial storage capacity.

Another 42 projects have delayed their in-service date by an average of 15 months.

The province — once Canada's hotbed of renewable activity — has seen three new projects come before its system operator since the moratorium was announced Aug. 2, 2023.

"No one that wasn't already in Alberta is looking at Alberta," said Will Noel, one of the report's authors.

Alberta's minister of affordability and utilities called the report "misinformation."

"(The institute's) latest report yet again puts ideology before common sense and intentionally misconstrues the facts," Nathan Neudorf said in a statement.

On Aug. 3, 2023, the province announced no new renewable generation applications would be approved while it considered their effects on agriculture, the environment, municipalities and "pristine viewscapes." That pause came off in February and a new series of draft guidelines on where and how solar and wind projects could proceed was instituted.

Based on information from the Alberta Utilities Commission and the Alberta Electric System Operator, the report says before the moratorium was imposed, there were 118 projects that had notified the system operator of their intention to proceed.

"Looking at the electricity system operator’s project queue is a good reflection of the renewable development interest in Alberta," said co-author Jason Wang in an email. "The first step in any type of electricity project development is to submit project plans and engineering details to the (system operator) before projects seek regulatory approval."

Of those projects, 33 have been cancelled.

The report also says many projects tried to move forward despite the pause by "clustering" their proposals before the system operator in hopes of being grandfathered. Twenty of those have since been cancelled.

Neudorf said basing the report on notices to the system operator distorts its findings. He said before the moratorium, 13 projects had applied to the utilities commission.

"The Pembina Institute is ignoring the reality that not every proposed energy project leads to shovels in the ground," he said.

"What we have in truth is a growing queue for energy projects, not a shrinking one. Alberta continues to be a leader in renewable energy and jurisdiction of choice for investors."

Projects listed by the system operator are often abandoned before they apply for regulatory approval. But the report found cancellations also increased after the moratorium.

In the two full years before the moratorium, an average of 13 per cent of the renewables generating capacity before the system operator was squelched. In the six months before the moratorium, cancellations reached 23 per cent.

That figure skyrocketed after the pause was imposed. Between August 2023 and July 2024, 43 per cent of the generating capacity before the system operator was cancelled.

The report also says none of the guidelines for renewables development have been finalized.

"There's a draft map," said Noel. "It still says draft. There's no official draft."

Final drafts have been promised by the end of the year.

Project proponents have blamed the new rules for at least some of the cancellations. TransAlta CEO John Kousinioris said in May that his company walked away from 300 megawatts of renewable generation because of the restrictions.

Meanwhile, other jurisdictions are moving forward.

Ontario has announced plans for 5,000 megawatts of wind and solar over the next decade. Nova Scotia has committed to getting 80 per cent of its energy from renewable sources by 2030. Hydro-Québec says it will add 10,000 megawatts of new wind capacity to its network by 2035.

In April, BC Hydro called for bids to add about three million megawatt-hours by 2028. That's expected to generate up to $3.6 billion in investment and create up to 1,500 jobs a year.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 2, 2024.

Bob Weber, The Canadian Press

Renewables records and free public transport: Positive environmental stories from 2024

Angela Symons
Fri, August 2, 2024 

Renewables records and free public transport: Positive environmental stories from 2024

Eco-anxiety, climate doom, environmental existential dread - as green journalists, we see these terms used a lot - and often feel them ourselves.

While there's a lot to be worried about when it comes to the climate and nature crises, we must not lose hope - because hopelessness breeds apathy.

The media has an important role to play in combatting climate doom. It's our job to be truthful and accurate in our reporting, not trying to downplay or greenwash the situation. But it's also our job to show that there is hope.

In 2023, as part of our ongoing effort to tackle eco-anxiety (both that of our readers and our own), we kept track of all the positive environmental news throughout the year. We racked up over 200 stories of eco-innovation, green breakthroughs and climate wins - more than double the number in 2022 and a sure sign of momentum.

In 2024, we're confident the good news will keep on coming, as renewable power soars, vulnerable ecosystems gain rights, and climate protocols start to pay dividends.

This article will be regularly updated with the latest good news. It may be something small and local, something silly that made us smile, or something enormous and potentially world-changing.

If you come across a great, positive story that we haven't covered here - please reach out to us on Instagram or X to share your ideas.

Positive environmental stories from July 2024

‘Freedom from fossil power’: Wind and solar electricity grew to all-time high in first half of 2024

For the first time, wind and solar generated more of the EU’s electricity than fossil fuels in the first half of this year.

A new analysis from energy think tank Ember has found that electricity from wind and solar grew to an all-time high of 30 per cent in the last six months compared to 27 per cent from fossil fuels. The remaining 43 per cent was made up by a mix of hydropower, nuclear and other sources.

Belgium, France, Austria: The European countries where employers must pay for public transport

In a bid to increase the attractiveness of sustainable transport and lighten the financial load of citizens, some European governments have mandated that employers must pay for the cost of public transport.

This typically works by taking out your monthly or annual travel subscription as normal and then handing your receipt to your company who will refund some or all of the amount.

Polar bear tracking tech breakthrough could boost conservation as climate heats up

Scientists have developed a new way of tracking polar bears and it could help us better understand how they cope with disappearing sea ice.

This breakthrough in stick-on GPS tracking tags will help researchers fill gaps in their knowledge about the behaviour or movement of polar bears like never before.

King Charles III bestows royal title on at-risk goats

King Charles III has bestowed a royal title on an “at risk” golden goat breed.

Christopher Price, the chief executive of the UK's Rare Breeds Survival Trust, said the King's honour offers recognition of the breed’s historical significance and its value to biodiversity, the environment and sustainable food production.

Travel by public transport and get free tickets with Copenhagen’s new green initiative for tourists

Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen, has launched a new initiative called CopenPay in an effort to promote sustainable tourism.

Tourists who choose to travel by public transport or bike without using cars or taxis will be rewarded with perks such as free coffee, museum admissions, and an extra 20 minutes' ski time on the slope of a heating plant.

Trams from Switzerland and Germany are helping to decarbonise Ukraine’s public transport

Switzerland and Germany are sending more than 100 used trams to Ukraine to help the embattled country improve its public transport.

It's helping the country phase out more energy-intensive Communist-era vehicles with new ‘eco friendly’ options.

The world’s first hydrogen-powered passenger ferry is free to ride for six months

The world's first hydrogen-powered commercial passenger ferry will start operating on San Francisco Bay as part of plans to phase out diesel-powered vessels and reduce planet-warming carbon emissions.

"If we can operate this successfully, there are going to be more of these vessels in our fleet and in other folks' fleets in the United States and we think in the world," says Jim Wunderman, chair of the San Francisco Bay Area Water Emergency Transportation Authority, which runs commuter ferries across the bay.

Rice is a silent source of methane emissions: Meet the startup helping farmers tackle the problem

Rice feeds nearly half the world’s population, but the way we grow it has left a surprisingly high methane footprint.

In Indonesia, Rize is helping farmers to adopt new agricultural methods, which could cut the region’s emissions while boosting farmers’ profits.

Meet the Turkish teens developing a cheap and fast solution to crop failure

“In Türkiye, we are living the effects of climate change. This region was Mesopotamia, where agriculture and civilisation was born, but now people are struggling with climate change and drought,” says 17-year-old Beyza, a runner-up of The Earth Prize.

Beyza and her team set out to address these issues with Plantzma: an easy-to-use device that leverages plasma to create more resilient crops and enrich irrigation water.

Hungarian scientists capture majestic wild horses in their natural habitat thanks to drones

Researchers in Hungary are using drones to track the movements of an almost 300-member herd of endangered horses.

The Przewalski's horses live on remote plains, far away from human interference.

These wild horses were once extinct in the wild, but thanks to captive breeding programmes there are around 2,000 Przewalski's horses roaming free again.

New UK government lifts ‘absurd’ onshore wind ban: What could it mean for bills and net zero?

The UK’s new Labour government has scrapped a de facto ban on onshore wind farms in England, opening up the potential for every UK home to be powered by clean energy.

Deforestation in Colombia fell to historic low in 2023: How did they achieve the drop?

Deforestation in Colombia fell by 36 per cent in a year, marking a new record low.

It's especially good news the world's largest rainforest, the Amazon, one-third of which is in Colombia.

The drop happened between 2022 and 2023 and comes off the back of years of campaigning by Indigenous activists who depend on the Amazon for their homes and livelihood.

'Great news': Ecuador river is granted the right to not be polluted in historic court case

In an unusual ruling, a court in Ecuador has ruled that pollution has violated the rights of a river that runs through the capital, Quito.

Activists who filed the complaint said the decision is “historic”.

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GM raises bar for employee performance with new ratings system

GM raises bar for employee performance with new ratings system
General Motors shows a prototype of its 2024 GMC Sierra EV Denali Edition 1

Updated Thu, Aug 1, 2024,
By Nora Eckert

DETROIT (Reuters) -General Motors is changing the way it rates the performance of its salaried employees in the U.S. in a move to better reward high-performers and put pressure on low-performers to improve or leave.

According to an internal memo viewed by Reuters, the Detroit automaker is now rewarding its top 5% of employees with 150% bonuses, higher than what was available in the previous system, to better attract and retain the talent needed to achieve its goals in the cut-throat automotive transformation to electric vehicles.


"To ensure GM has the talent needed to achieve our ambitious goals, a more intentional process is required that sets clear expectations for performance and holds people accountable," according to the memo, which was first reported by Reuters.

Legacy automakers like GM and Ford have been tweaking their performance evaluation systems for U.S. salaried employees to better compete with the stock-heavy pay packages of EV rivals like Tesla and Rivian.

GM's new performance ranking system evaluates employees on a five-scale system, from "significantly exceeds expectations" to "does not meet expectations." Employee bonuses are tied to their ranking. The company has about 53,000 salaried employees in the U.S.

“GM is proud to have a culture where we foster and reward high performance, which will help us attract and retain top talent in a competitive industry environment. That includes everything from ensuring employees know what is expected of them, providing feedback so they can develop, and rewarding them for their performance," a GM spokesperson said.

GM employees will be evaluated on the updated rankings during their year-end performance review, the spokesperson said.

Ford CEO Jim Farley said in February that changing the company's performance review system to make bonuses more tied to creating shareholder value has been an important part of its business transformation.

"We've learned that the right talent is not sufficient. Over the last two years, it's been imperative that we go to a right performance management system. It's a fundamental change in the way we're running the company," Farley told analysts on the earnings call earlier this year.

The new GM system adds a top and bottom tier to the previous three-category one, which separated employees into "partially meets expectations," "achieves expectations" or "exceeds expectations."

Kristine Bhalla, partner at consulting firm ClearBridge Compensation Group, said the additional rankings for employees can allow for a more precise evaluation of where they stand.

"Having a five-point scale is a common approach, and allows companies to differentiate performance in a more nuanced way than a three-point scale," Bhalla said.

In the new rankings, GM estimates about 70% of the organization would land in the "achieves" middle category, receiving 100% of their target bonuses.

The estimated 5% of the "does not meet expectations" category would be subject to what the company calls "appropriate action ... including being exited from the company."

Major automakers have been in cost-cutting mode to preserve funds amid the expensive EV transition, slimming down their white-collar ranks in the process. GM offered buyouts to most of its salaried employees in March 2023, and in May of that year cut several hundred full-time contract workers. Ford and Stellantis have also cut their ranks over the last year.

Bhalla said the new ranking system may not add significant cost in the vein of bonuses or severance packages in the long-term.

"While sometimes these types of changes can result in incremental cost, in many cases, there is not necessarily an additional cost to the company, it just allows them to spend their dollars in a more targeted way to pay employees commensurate with their performance," she said.

(Reporting by Nora Eckert; Editing by Ben Klayman, Nick Zieminski and Daniel Wallis)