The Best News of Last Week - February 5, 2024
1. Austin experimented with giving people $1,000 a month.
People who receivedĀ guaranteed basic income in one of Texas' largest cities reported reduced rates of housing insecurity. Austin was the first city in Texas to launch a taxpayer-funded guaranteed-income program when the Austin Guaranteed Income Pilot kicked off in May 2022. The program served 135 low-income families, each receiving $1,000 monthly.
2. Germany: Tens of thousands in Berlin protest far right
Around 150,000 people have attended a protest rally in the German capital, Berlin, against the far right and its ideology, the latest in a series of such demonstrations across Germany in recent weeks.
3. Sweden: Where it's taboo for dads to skip parental leave
It's been 50 years since Sweden introduced state-funded parental leave, designed for couples to share. The pioneering policy offers some surprising lessons for other countries.
4. Germany tests 4-day workweek amid labor shortage
While Germany, struggles to find enough workers, dozens of companies are starting an experiment that will see employees work a day less. In February, 45 companies and organizations in Germany will introduce a 4-day workweek for half a year.
5. K9 finds missing endangered 11-yr-old, gives her kisses
An 11-year-old girl, reported to be missing and endangered, is now safe after she was found by a sheriffās K9 deputy in Wimauma, Florida. Her handler asked if the K9 could give the girl kisses as a reward to the K9 for locating the girl, and the heartwarming moment was captured on the deputyās body camera.
6. Oregon Zoo releases seven critically endangered condors back to nature in California
Seven California condors were released into the wild in the U.S. state after the endangered animals were hatched and raised at Oregon Zoo.
7. EU will force cosmetic companies to pay to reduce microplastic pollution
Beauty companies will have to pay more to clean up micropollutants after EU negotiators struck a new deal to treat sewage.
Under draft rules that follow the āpolluter pays principleā, companies that sell medicines and cosmetics will have to cover at least 80% of the extra costs needed to get rid of tiny pollutants that are dirtying urban wastewater.
That's it for this week :)
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