BTN Newsbreak 18/06/2025
OVERTOURISM PROTESTS
There are massive protests going on across Europe right now about overtourism. This is the Louvre, home of the Mona Lisa, and this is the line to get in. Yeah, last year the museum saw 8.7 million visitors more than the buildings designed to hold! And on Monday, the Louvre was shut as its workers went on strike, protesting how busy it gets. Right now, similar protests are happening right across Europe including in Lisbon and in Barcelona. Protests against overtourism aren't a new thing. They actually happen quite a bit over in Europe, with locals concerned about tourisms impacts on the environment, overcrowding and misbehaviour from tourists. Over in Spain, locals have actually been protesting for a while now. Their signature protest move? Squirting tourists with water guns. Some cities have bought in entry fees and visitor caps to help with the problem.
TIKTOK EXTENSION
Time is running out for TikTok to find a buyer in the United States. The social media platform is owned by Chinese company ByteDance, which was forced to either shut down, or sell TikTok to a US-based company last year. President Donald Trump has already pushed back the deadline for TikTok to find a buyer, twice, and now the White House says Mr Trump will extend it for a third time, giving TikTok another 90 days to sort things out.
YOOROOK WALK FOR TRUTH
Thousands of people have walked to Victorian Parliament to mark the end of something called the Walk for Truth. They were led by Gunditjmara Kerrupmara traditional owner Travis Lovett, who is the deputy chair of the Yoorrook Justice Commission. That's a 4 year Aboriginal-led inquiry, and is actually Victoria's longest ever state run royal commission. Since 2021, the inquiry has been tasked with creating an official record of the history of colonisation in Victoria and its ongoing impact of First Nations People. To raise awareness of the report, Commissioner Lovett has walked 500km from his traditional country near Portland all the way to Melbourne where he has been joined by thousands of different people along the way.
MOON PLANTS
Ever dreamt of living on the moon and growing your own plants up there in a nice little garden? Well, some Aussie scientists are trying to figure out how to do just that. If we ever want to see if plants can grow on the moon, we have to get them there first. So to test whether plants can handle the journey up there, an Aussie company called 'Lunaria One' have been working with Aussie scientists to develop a bio-module, basically, a tiny space greenhouse that's designed to keep plants and seeds warm and hydrated while on a 380,000 kilometre journey to the moon. But why go through all this effort? There are big plans to build a permanent base on the moon, but to do that we're going to have to find a way to grow our own food. If all goes to plant, ahem, I mean plan, we could see plants heading to moon around April next year.
AI-POWERED AIRCRAFT
Now would you trust AI to fly you around? A new type of driverless flying aircraft, powered by AI, has taken to the skies at the Paris Air Show. It kind of looks like a mix between a plane and a helicopter, it can take off vertically, meaning it doesn't need a runway. It also doesn't need a pilot. According to the company behind it, it's best at doing short 15 to 20 minute trips and takes just 15 minutes to charge.
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