The Know Daily - Monday 29 January 2024

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Stunning snaps of a crab-eating macaque 👇 and a pink pygmy seahorse are among the winners of this year’s Ocean Art Underwater Photo Competition - and we strongly recommend diving into the other winning images.

🌬️ Up in smoke

Disposable vapes are set to be banned under UK-wide plans to tackle their growing use among children.

But isn’t it illegal to sell vapes to under 18s?
Yes - but according to the charity Action on Smoking and Health, 7.6% of 11 to 17-year-olds now vape regularly or occasionally, up from 4.1% in 2020. 

The government says that disposable vapes - which are often sold in more colourful packaging than refillable ones - are a “key driver” behind the rise in youth vaping, and has now decided to ban their sale altogether.

Go on…
In a statement, the PM said that while vaping can be a “useful tool” to help smokers quit cigarettes, the long-term impacts of vaping are “unknown” and marketing them to children “is not acceptable”. 

On top of the ban, the government announced plans to restrict vape flavours which are “specifically marketed at children” and to force employers to produce “plainer, less visually appealing” packaging. 

Why is the ban being introduced now?
According to The Guardian, the move forms part of a “wider response” to a public consultation on smoking and vaping. This also resulted in last year’s announcement of a ban on the sale of cigarettes to anyone born on or after 1 January 2009 in a bid to create a “smoke-free generation”.

How has the news gone down?
The UK Vaping Industry Association said it was “dismayed” by the announcement, which it described as a “desperate attempt” by the government to “sacrifice vapers for votes” ahead of the next election.

But health experts have welcomed the move, as have environmental groups, who have “long argued” that disposable vapes are wasteful, said the BBC.

🛤️ The inside track

A major new train network has opened in Mexico, connecting the country’s beaches with its archaeological sites. But why is it so controversial? 

Go on…
The first leg of the Tren Maya (or Maya Train) opened to the public in December, with much fanfare but also “hours-long delays” and “huge cost overruns”, reported the Associated Press.

Once fully open, the seven-leg, $28.5bn line will span “five states, 40 municipalities and 181 towns in south-eastern Mexico”, said the BBC, linking tourist hotspots such as Cancún and Tulum with “lesser-visited towns, biosphere reserves and inland archaeological sites”.

What’s behind the project?
Mexico’s government hopes the Tren Maya will “kickstart the economy of the south-east”, said The Guardian. Ministers have argued that it will bring more tourists and investments to the region, which is one of the country’s poorest. 

So why is the line so controversial?
It’s partly down to its environmental impact. According to Euronews, critics fear that the line’s construction risked “irreversible damage” to the “unique ecosystems it is taking tourists to see”, such as the region’s fragile underground cave systems. 

And despite Mexico’s president promising in 2018 that not a single tree would be felled for the Tren Maya, the government subsequently admitted that 300,000 were cut down last year. Climate campaigners put the real number as high as nine million.

Others have expressed concern that the railway will “only bring benefits to tourists”, said CN Traveler. Indigenous groups - after whom the train is named - have said they were excluded from the consultation process.

🗞️ Drone attack latest: Iran has denied involvement in a drone attack on a US service base in Jordan over the weekend - an incident which President Biden has vowed to respond to.

🖼️ Mona Lisa targeted: Two environmental protesters hurled yellow-coloured soup at Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece in Paris on Sunday - but the painting was protected by its bulletproof glass.

🎫 Friday fare cuts: Transport for London is set to trial off-peak (£3.60) fares all day on Fridays for three months, in what Sky News described as “a bid to increase passenger numbers and boost the economy”.

🌡️ Spain’s “winter heatwave”: Many Spanish cities are experiencing their highest January temperatures in more than 20 years - a phenomenon that scientists have linked to climate change. 

🐵 Monkey on the loose: A cheeky Japanese macaque was filmed wandering through a village and snacking from a bird feeder after it escaped from a wildlife park over the weekend.

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Trivia answer: A) Jennifer Lopez is among the co-producers of a new Bob the Builder film - and where it’s going to be set may surprise you…

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