🌞 The female athletes getting paid more

I WAS planning to use this introduction to talk about the viral video of the brave doggos escaping an illegal transport truck being led home by a corgi (if you don’t know what I’m talking about, watch it here).

However, it turns out the story behind the video is fake, and they were not on a courageous multi-day journey home, escaping the bad guys. Instead, CNN has found that they likely belonged to villagers who lived a few kilometers from the highway where they were filmed.

There you go, even good news needs a fact-check!

The top women’s basketball players in the U.S. have agreed to a new contract to improve their salaries. 

Players in the WNBA negotiated with league leadership for a seven-year contract they’re calling “one of the most transformational labor agreements ever reached in major professional sports.”

The new contract includes a revenue-sharing system, which is expected to deliver over $US1 billion ($AU1.45 billion) in player salaries and benefits over the seven years. The salary cap for this year’s season will be $US7 million ($AU10.17 million). The 2025 salary cap was $US1.5 million ($AU2.18 million). 

All players will get a salary increase, with average salaries expected to exceed $US583,000 (around $AU848,000) and the top players earning salaries of $US1.4 million ($AU2.03 million). 

The contract will also invest in benefits for veteran players, players who are mothers, and those planning to retire or start a family.

In the next two years, the number of games per season will also increase to up to 50.

Better pay AND more games in women’s sports? Great result. 

Southern white rhinos have returned to Kidepo National Park in Uganda for the first time in 43 years.

The national park is located in north-eastern Uganda and is known for “abundant wildlife species”.

Uganda Wildlife Authority Executive Director Dr James Musinguzi said the re-introduction is the first step in restoring the rhino population in the park and a major conservation milestone.

Two rhinos have been returned, with six more expected to re-enter the park.

You’re looking at the winner of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year People's Choice Award for 2026. It’s a young Iberian lynx caught mid hunt, duh.

A Swiss museum will return 11 objects from the Kingdom of Benin to Nigeria. 

Not to be confused with the modern country of the same name, the Kingdom of Benin (in what is now Nigeria) was known from the 13th Century onwards for its sculptural works. 

Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments (NCMM) filed a claim of ‘restitution’ with Zurich City Council, which agreed to “transfer ownership” of 11 artworks from the Rietberg Museum. 

City of Zurich Mayor Corine Mauch said: “We are convinced that a fair treatment of items of cultural heritage means admitting and actively rectifying past injustices.” 

NCMM Director General Olugbile Holloway said the decision will “go a long way in healing certain aspects of our fragmented colonial past and I have no doubt that the Benin Royal Palace, the Benin people and all Nigerians will truly appreciate the symbolism of this significant return.” 

After the ownership transfer, some pieces will be permitted to be exhibited at Museum Rietberg as a loan. The remaining works will be returned to Nigeria this winter.

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New data from Cancer Research UK (CRUK) shows the number of deaths from cancer in the years between 2022 and 2024 is at a record low.

Deaths from cervical cancer, stomach cancer, and testicular cancer have seen particularly large drops over time.

CRUK scientist Dr Sam Godfrey said: “These figures represent decades of crucial scientific breakthroughs – from vaccines that prevent cancer to kinder, more targeted treatments”.

The ‘Rolling Scones’ is an elderly cooking group based in an aged care home in the U.S. state of Illinois.

Every Saturday, around six residents come together to make healthier versions of their favourite dishes. One gluten-free member says they’re even finding enjoyment in meals they once avoided. The Rolling Scones use fresh ingredients to cook up delicious meals, often improvising. 

The aged care worker who thought of the club, Jamie Murphy, says the group are happy – not just from the meals they make, but just by being creative and working together. 

Sometimes, the group makes enough food to share with their community and visitors who are passing through. 

One Rolling Sconer, Nancy Riek, told U.S. news show Today that her “husband loves all the salads and the pastas and everything that I bring back from cooking club to him… sometimes he comes down and watches”.

Anyways:

Scientists have confirmed they discovered two new species in Cambodia. 

Following field reports between December 2023 to July 2025, a team of researchers working with the Cambodian Government have announced they’ve found two new millipedes, a new gecko-like lizard, and a new kind of snake. 

The surveys also confirmed the presence of endangered species, such as the Sunda pangolin, long-tailed macaque and Bengal monitor lizard. 

No matter how much we think we have the world figured out, there’s still so much we don’t know – and I find that so exciting.