Representative Image (AI-generated) For more than two decades, the soil between rows of grapevines in a Spanish vineyard has remained covered with spontaneous vegetation instead of being repeatedly tilled. The unusual approach was associated with a striking difference beneath the vines: soil managed with long-term vegetation cover contained more than twice as much organic matter…

Five new marine reserves now protect 308 square kilometres of Otago coastline (Image: Edward Carver/Mongabay) Along New Zealand’s Otago coast, a new approach to marine conservation is putting Indigenous knowledge and government authority side by side. On July 1, 2026, five new marine reserves came into force across 308 square kilometres of coastal waters, creating…

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The US Treasury Department has excluded journalists from several major news organisations, including The New York Times, Bloomberg News and The Wall Street Journal, from covering the G20 finance ministers’ meeting in Asheville, North Carolina.The meeting, hosted by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, is being held amid heightened global market volatility…