25-07-2025
BTN Newsbreak 24/07/2025
ICJ CLIMATE RULINGA huge decision has been made by the International Court of Justice that could see countries that fail to tackle climate change held accountable. Intense weather events, loss of species, rising sea levels. The effects of climate change are all around us, but some of the countries experiencing the 'biggest' impact are some of the 'smallest' contributors, like Vanuatu. It's why a group of small island countries, led by Vanuatu, brought the problem to the world's biggest court, asking them to answer two big questions: what legal duties do countries have when it comes to climate change, and what happens if countries do not meet those legal duties? Today the court delivered its opinion. The court ruled that countries do have a legal responsibility to look after the planet, meaning countries that fail to act could now be seen as violating international law. And this is a biggie. Countries like Vanuatu, that are already suffering the effects, could potentially take major polluters to court. The decision isn't legally binding, meaning it can't force countries to act, but it adds pressure, and lots of people are calling it a path to climate justice.
COMMONWEALTH GAMES MASCOT The mascot for next year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow has been unveiled: Finnie the Unicorn. She was designed with the help of school kids in Glasgow, and one of her standout features is her horn, which was inspired by a traffic cone. You see, there's a famous statue in Glasgow that's known for having traffic cones put on it by the locals, a quirky tradition that started in the 1980s. And has since become a bit of a symbol of the Glaswegian sense of humour. I expect we'll see a bit more of Finnie when the Glasgow games kick off next year in July.
AI COMPANIONS Who do you go to when you need someone to talk to? Is it a friend, a family member? What about an AI chatbot? New research shows more and more young people are using AI as companions! It's becoming more and more common for young people to be turning to AI for things like friendship and advice, and are using platforms you've probably seen before. Now a new study that looked at a group of teens in the US found that 72% of them had used AI companions before, and that 52% of them used them regularly. Experts want us to be mindful about how we're using these AI companions. The study found that a quarter of AI companion users share personal information, and that younger people are more likely to trust AI with info like their real name, location or secrets.
ROMANIACS First up, to the streets of Romania, where riders from 63 different countries took part in the first stage of this year's Romaniacs tour. More than 100 tons of rocks, 80 tons of wooden logs, and plenty of other obstacles proved to be no match for these daredevils. Well, maybe there were a few rough moments here and there.
TITANIC EXPERIENCE Now to a 360-degree Titanic experience in London. Admittedly a little bit macabre, but if you're a history buff, this might be up your alley. Audience members are teleported back in time using VR headsets, where they can explore the ship's interiors and hear stories from people on board.
ROBOT FARMING DOG
And finally to Scotland where these researchers are working out a way to make robot dogs work for farmers. But there's one big problem they've had to overcome: constantly losing signal in remote areas. They've been working on a portable 5G network that can be set up on the side of a paddock, hopefully bringing farmers one step closer to using these robot dogs in their day to day farming.
