Transcription
The onehorn rhino is one of the most threatened animals in Asia. Most of them live in northern India, and data just revealed not a single one was poached there in 2025.
The European Union has just signed two of the biggest trade deals ever with India and Mercosur. More than 2 billion people will benefit from lower prices. And that's not all. Insects have gained legal rights in Peru. Protections for sharks and rays have been strengthened. And coal generation just reached a historic low, thanks to clean energy.
I'm Freddy. This is Good News. And here are the best good news stories of the month. Let's start with a clear trend. More people are surviving cancer than ever. About one in five people will get cancer at some point in their lives. But this disease has become far less deadly over the past decades. The 5-year survival rate for all cancers has just hit 70% for the first time ever. For context, it was only 50% in the mid-70s. This is really big news, as it's very unlikely for cancer to come back after surviving the first 5 years.
The most lethal forms of cancer have taken the biggest hit. Let's take myoma for example. In the 1990s, the 5-year survival rate was just 32%. Now it has almost doubled to 62%. But if you thought that was impressive, let me tell you about liver cancer. In the same period, its survival rate has more than tripled, from 7% to 22%.
More effective cancer treatment is one of the reasons it's fallen so low. Because of them, more late-stage cancer patients are surviving than ever before. Advances in cancer detection is another one. More patients know about their cancer earlier, giving them a greater chance to defeat it. And finally, people are smoking a lot less than they used to. It's the main reason lung cancer deaths have fallen by around 50% since 1991. I mean, just look at this red line. It's insane. I don't think I've ever seen such a clear demonstration of the negative effects of smoking. 4.8 million cancer deaths have been prevented since 1991 because of these trends. All in all, this is a massive blow for cancer.
Let's shift our focus to the animal world, because in 2025, zero rhinos were killed in India's largest rhino sanctuary. The greater one-horned rhino is the largest rhino in Asia. This beefy creature weighs about the same as this SUV. The fact that they still exist today is one of the greatest conservation stories of all time. 600 years ago, about 450,000 of them lived in northern India. But in the 19th and 20th centuries, they were nearly hunted to extinction. British and Indian elites nearly wiped them out for sport. And more recently, they have been targeted for their valuable horns. Apparently, these horns are an important ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine, and they're used as a status symbol to show power and wealth. Ridiculous. So, by 1975, there were only 600 left. This was about the same time that India created this national park in Assam state, where about 2/3 of their population live. Since the 80s, their population has risen by around 170%. Now there are over 4,000 in the wild.
And the good news keeps coming. In 2025, the governor of Assam reported zero deaths from illegal hunting across the state. This only happened once before. In 2022, authorities stepped up efforts to target poachers, resulting in 42 arrests. The criminals were caught because of drone surveillance, better patrolling, and intelligence sharing. Plus, greater cooperation with local communities also contributed.
And now to another uplifting story. Amazonian bees have become the first insects in the world to gain legal rights. Rights of nature is one of the world's fastest-growing environmental movements. It believes that all animals and ecosystems should have a right to exist. If rivers, trees, and animals have legal rights like humans, they will be much more protected. It's basically like human rights, but for nature. In 2017, a river in New Zealand became the first river with legal personhood. Then in 2021, the same thing happened to a forest in Ecuador to protect it from mining. In 2022, Ecuador also became the first country to give legal protection to all wild animals. Then the next year, Panama gave them to sea turtles. But so far, insects have been left out. Until now, 175 species of stingless bee in Peru have become the first insects to get legal rights. And yes, you heard that right. Some bees don't actually sting you. They bite you with tiny teeth instead. Anyway, they now have the right to exist in an environment free from pollution, habitat loss, climate change, and human activity, which means lawyers can now file lawsuits for the bees.
By the way, if you like to see more good news like this, make sure to subscribe.
From insects to sea creatures, a global agreement has just boosted protection for 70 endangered shark and ray species. Sharks and rays are among the most threatened species on the planet. Many are endangered because of illegal overfishing. Sharks are valued for their shark fins and liver oil, while rays are priced for their gill plates, which are used yet again in traditional Asian medicine. That's why new regulations are targeting the fishing industry. They come from an international organization called CITES. 185 countries, including the USA, China, and Russia, are part of it. Its objective is to control the trade of wild animals and plants to prevent species extinction. First, all member states have just promised to completely ban the catching of critically endangered shark and ray species. For example, animals like whale sharks and manta rays. I say promised, because although CITES is legally binding, it's up to the individual member states to pass national laws to enforce it. Secondly, all 185 countries are now also legally required to trace the origin of their products. That is to make sure they don't come from populations that are threatened by commercial fishing. These new laws will kick in within the next 3 to 18 months.
Speaking of conservation, this is a good time to give you an update on a story we covered in a previous video. Here's a very quick recap. 2/3 of the sea is like the Wild West. It's not controlled by anyone, and that makes it very difficult to protect ecosystems and endangered animals. So, in 2002, the UN began discussing solutions of how to protect them. What followed was over 20 years of discussions, and in March 2023, the UN countries finally agreed on all the details. The High Seas Treaty now allows countries to set up marine protected areas in distant parts of the ocean that have no government, and it just came into effect at the beginning of the year. Right on schedule.
Let's stick with the theme of water, but this time we are heading to Kenya. As the earth gets hotter because of climate change, more and more places are experiencing worse and worse droughts. Take Kenya for instance. Longer droughts and less reliable rainfall are damaging the country's soil. It's become so dry that much of it can no longer support essential plants and grasses. This has affected Kenya's Maasai tribe in a big way, because they live off the land. And that's exactly why Planet Wild backed local efforts there to restore the degraded landscape. The solution is surprisingly simple. It begins with digging these half-moon-shaped pits. These earth smiles are added on the natural slope of the land to slow the rain down, allowing it to be absorbed by the soil. It's pretty easy to do this on a small scale, but to make a real difference, entire landscapes need to be dug out in this way. That's where Planet Wild came in. With their funding, 8,000 Earth Smiles were graded over an area that's equivalent to 150 football pitches. And this is just one of Planet Wild's projects. Planet Wild is a community-based nature protection organization. Each month, their community of over 20,000 people funds a new mission to bring back endangered species, clean up oceans, or rescue ecosystems. And the best thing, you can see the results of these missions right here on YouTube. Every month, they upload a video showing the amazing things the community contributions have done for the planet. It's like crowdfunding, but for nature. And after reading all of your nice comments, it seems like you guys really like them as well. As I said, we literally could not ask for a better partner. And that is why we are already members ourselves. So if you want to make a difference, check out Planet Wild. The first 100 people that use our code good3 get their first month completely free. You can scan the QR code on screen or just click the link in the description. And don't worry, you can cancel anytime. You will see your impact in less than 30 days here on YouTube. If you want to see them in action first, check out their mission in Kenya with the link in the description.
And now big things are happening in the world economy, because the European Union and Mercosur have just signed a historic agreement. Mercosur is a trade partnership from South America, founded in 1991. Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay are the founding members. They all signed up because they want to make it easier to trade with each other. This is called free trade. Mercosur countries act together as one when they negotiate with other trading partners. And one of these partners is the European Union. In 2000, the EU and Mercosur began free trade discussions. But these talks soon broke down in 2004. The European Union wanted to protect its farmers from cheaper agricultural products from South America. So importing these products into the EU stayed expensive. This is called an import tax or tariff.
"I always say tariffs is the most beautiful word to me in the dictionary." You probably know what tariffs are at this point. On the other side, the Mercosur countries wanted to protect their manufacturing industries. With both sides refusing to change their positions, talks went nowhere. Things changed in 2016. Brazil and Argentina gave up on demands that had been blocking progress. Although both parties agreed on terms in June 2019, the deal was never formally signed because of concerns over weak environmental protections. Then in 2024, this orange guy won the US election and started screaming about more and more tariffs.
"We will implement reciprocal tariffs on other nations." So the EU and Mercosur accelerated their talks, and in January this year, this free trade agreement was finally signed after more than 25 years. 90% of tariffs will be eliminated between the two partners. Analysts predict EU exports will grow by 39% as a result. Cars, machinery, chemicals, clothing, soft drinks, and alcohol are just some of the products affected.
Right now, however, this deal is still a little controversial. The problem is agricultural imports. In 2004, they caused talks to collapse. And in January this year, thousands of European farmers protested outside the European Parliament. They are worried that they won't be able to compete with cheaper beef, chicken, and sugar from South America. As a result, the deal has been blocked by members of the European Parliament. The European Court of Justice is now going to review the deal, which could result in a 2-year delay. Just to clarify, this is not just a trade deal. It's much, much broader. It also covers workers' rights, education, political cooperation, security, and environmental protection, to name a few. For now, the European Union still plans to apply the trade deal provisionally before it can fully come into effect.
The European Union has been extra busy at the start of 2026 due to the threat of US tariffs. They have just agreed on another trade deal with India. This one took a little less time, only 20 years. It's been called the mother of all deals. India has removed or reduced tariffs on 96% of all products from the EU. These include cars, alcohol, machinery, electrical equipment, chemicals, and more. European businesses are going to save about $6.9 billion every year. India will also benefit, obviously, because the EU has eliminated or lowered tariffs on 99.5% of all Indian goods. This applies to things like leather, textiles, and metals. Like the Mercosur-EU deal, they have also agreed to enhance cooperation in other sectors like defense and security. The official signing should come later this year. It could affect up to 2 billion people and 2/3 of global trade. So, it's a pretty big deal. As always, we will keep you updated.
To Australia now, which has made its gun laws much stricter. In December last year, two armed men launched an attack on Bondi Beach. Just over a month later, Australia strengthened its gun laws. They have stopped importing a range of guns, ammo, and weapon modifications. Weapons that use belt-fed ammunition, magazines with more than 30 rounds, silencers, and speed loaders will no longer be available for sale. A variety of powerful firearms will also no longer be accessible to the general public. Many of these freshly banned guns will be taken off the streets by a buyback scheme. They will be purchased by the government and destroyed. Incredibly, one of the Bondi attackers actually had a firearm license and six guns. So background checks on gun users have also become much tighter. Now, the Australian version of the FBI will be required to check additional information on people before they receive gun licenses. Finally, plans to create a national firearm register have been brought forward. The initiative started in 2024 and will be ready next year at the earliest. It will allow law enforcement to track firearms and gun license holders in and out of Australia in real time. Thanks to this, Australia just got a lot safer.
Let's finish with energy, and the news that wind and solar just overtook fossil fuels in the EU. For years, the European Union has slowly been reducing its reliance on fossil fuels. And now they just hit a major milestone. Last year, a record 30% of its electricity came from wind and solar. In comparison, only 29% was generated by fossil fuels. Just over half of member states made more electricity using wind and solar than sources like gas and coal. Just look at this map and all of the positive trends. This gain in renewable power in 2025 mostly came from the rapid growth of solar. This happened in sunny countries like Cyprus, Greece, and Spain. But the most surprising contribution came from the cloudy Netherlands. Like the others I just mentioned, over 20% of their energy came from the sun.
As solar grew, coal generation in the EU fell to an all-time low. It accounted for less than 10% of all power. And the same downward trend happened in China and India. They are the world's largest producers of coal. But for the first time since 1973, coal power dropped in both nations at the same time. It's the result of massive investments in solar, wind, and hydropower. Renewables are now replacing coal in both China and India. This is absolutely huge.
So, which of these stories did you like the most? And do you think the Mercosur deal with the European Union is a good thing? Let me know in the comments below. Huge thank you to all of our channel members. And also big thanks again to Planet Wild. If you want to make a difference for the planet, scan the QR code or use the link below. And if you're interested about their work with the Maasai tribe in Kenya, you can watch that video right here. Thank you for watching, and I will see you in the next one. Bye-bye.