Welcome to Good News Stories
Here at Good News Stories we bring you upbeat news stories from around the World.
Rare Bat found in Britain
From BBC NEWS
One of Europe’s rarest bats has been found at a site in Wales further west than ever before recorded.
The Bechstein’s bat is an elusive creature that likes to hide in the undergrowth of ancient woodland.
It lives in a number of countries in western, central and southern Europe, but is rare throughout its range.
Now a researcher from the University of Bristol has identified a solitary male specimen in Pembrokeshire, 100km west of earlier recorded sites.
University of Bristol researcher Matt Zeale found the bat while pursuing another species in woodland owned by The National Trust at Colby in southern Pembrokeshire.
Fair Play to Cadbury as More Countries Go Fairtrade
Cadbury has announced that its Dairy Milk chocolate brand will be sold under the Fairtrade logo in New Zealand and Australia by next Easter.
The move follows British Cadbury’s ensuring that all Dairy Milk in Britain and Ireland is sold under the Fairtrade logo by the end of the 2009 summer, which is now in process.
The move to Fairtrade produce comes at no extra cost to the consumer, and the expansion of this policy to Australia and New Zealand means that about a quarter of Cadbury Dairy Milk global sales will be Fairtrade certified in 2010.
Cadbury’s increasing international commitment to Fairtrade, securing fair minimum prices for developing world producers on a range of products such as coffee and chocolate, transforms Fairtrade chocolate from a niche product to a mainstream staple, making the decisons landmark steps.
More Accurate Weather Reports Forecast
A research breakthrough by engineers at Queen’s University Belfast’s Institute of Electronics, Communications and Information Technology (ECIT) may lead to more accurate global weather forecasts and a better understanding of climate change.
The engineers have developed a high performance electronic device, a dual polarized Frequency Selective Surface filter, that can be used in future European space missions. The devices, which are just 30mm in diameter and 1/100mm thick, will be installed in instruments being developed for European Space Agency (ESA) meteorological satellites, used to detect thermal emissions in the atmosphere.
By measuring temperature, humidity profiles, and gas composition, these filters compile a range of new data such as ozone depletion and the size of water particles within clouds, which can be used to help forecast weather and pollution more accurately. However with the new technology only scheduled to be fitted into satellites launching between 2018 and 2020, we may well have a few more years of dodgy forecasts to put up with.
‘Dead’ Baby Comes Back To Life
A baby born won 16 weeks premature was declared dead by doctors at a state-run hospital in Asuncion, capital of Paraguay, only to wake up hours later.
Dr. Ernesto Weber, head of pediatric care, has said that the baby weighed just 500 grams at birth, had practically no respiratory reflexes and staff could not detect a heartbeat, causing them to declare the foetus dead. A death certificate was issued, and the child was placed in temporary cardboard coffin.
When the family took him from the hospital to prepare for a funeral, the impossible became possible. A family member took the baby out and he suddenly began to cry, before starting to move his legs, and arms, terrifying the family who believed him to be dead.The baby is now in an incubator, and is in a stable condition, and the hospital is beginning an investigation.
Could Shrimp Save the Planet?
Scientists in China have reportedly found a new use for shrimp – developing a catalyst from shrimp shells which could aid production of biodiesel fuel.
In a world increasingly concerned with global warming, there is a growing turn towards more renewable sources of energy. Xinsheng Zheng and colleagues in China have noticed the importance of renewable fuels like biodiesel.
Current biodiesel production processes produce large amounts of waste water, and the catalysts required to speed up the chemical reactions that transform plant oils into diesel fuel cannot be reused. This new research suggests that a catalyst derived from shrimp shells converted canola oil to biodiesel more efficiently, and quickly than some traditional catalysts, and additionally can be reused.
Their study is scheduled for release in the Aug. 20 issue of ACS’ Energy & Fuels.
Missing Dog Treks 1,200 Miles
A dog who has been missing from her Australian family’s home for 9 years was this month found 1,200 miles away from where she vanished.
Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) officers were investigating a potential case of animal cruelty when they found the white fluffy dog, Muffy, in the garden. Thanks to the microchip in the dog’s neck, Muffy’s owner, Natalie Lampard, was able to be identified and they are soon to be reunited.
Quite how Muffy made it all the way down the coast from Brisbane to Melbourne is unknown. Muffy is currently being treated by the RSPCA, and is due to fly home this week.
There’s something in my French onion soup!
On April 12th, Hodousek, age 51 was enjoying dining in the Claim Jumper restaurant for Easter with his family. After being served french onion soup, he bit down on something he apparently thought was cheese. Unable to chew on this, he pulled the hard substance from his mouth and spit it into a napkin.
In shock he discovered it was a condom, tied up! The restaurant manager came over to untie the knot to clarify it was an actual condom and not a glove, in the meantime Hodousek was throwing up several times in the restaurant toilet. Due to loss of sleep and appetite and concerned about catching sexually transmitted diseases he is now suing the restaurant for several damages.
The restaurant happily never got sued as there wasn’t enough strong claims and evidence to prove that the condom was actually from the kitchen.
Archaeologists Find Ancient Roman Shipwrecks
Off the coast of Ventotene in the Mediterranean Archaeologists have found 5 Ancient Roman Shipwrecks which have been found. The ships themselves are between 1,600 and 1,900 years old.
The wreckage and their contents have been discovered in grand condition. They established that the ships never actually capsized. The wrecks were in much deeper waters away from strong destructive currents,laden with contents found in exactly in the same positions as when the ships originally set off.
The largest wreck measures more than 65 feet. A handful of objects were taken out to be studied and will be put on display in Ventotene.
Costa Rica the ‘happiest’ country in the world
Costa Rica has topped the 2009 Happy Planet Index to earn the title of the ‘happiest’ nation.
Unlike traditional development indices, such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the Happy Planet Index takes sustainability into account – looking at life expectancy along with a country’s ecological footprint. Evaluating human well-being along with environmental impact determines where people live long and happy lives.
Out of the 143 nations included, Latin American countries filled nine of the top ten places, with developed nations such as Britain and the US ranked much lower, 74th and 114th respectively.
If you are heading to Costa Rica then make sure you take out travel insurance in case of any emergency situations you may find yourself in as health can be expensive.
US and Russia agree nuclear arms cuts in Moscow
US President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev have come to an initial agreement on nuclear power – an issue which has divided the nations since the Cold War.
The agreement sees a reduction in the number of nuclear warheads in Russian and US strategic arsenals to between 1,500 and 1,675 in a period of seven years and the number of ballistic missile carriers to between 500-1,100.
The new treaty is to replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START 1) treaty, which was due to expire in December, and sets levels lower than those proposed in the 2002 Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT).
Whilst they remained divided over the issue of Georgia, along with US plans to install a missile defence shield in eastern Europe, Obama said the two countries were both “committed to leaving behind the suspicion and the rivalry of the past”.
The White House has said that the treaty, “commits both parties to a legally binding treaty that will reduce nuclear weapons,” and while this still leaves both countries with sufficient nuclear power able to destroy each other several times over, the opening up of a dialogue represents a huge step forward in international relations.
