Positive News is an ongoing series from The Latch turning the spotlight on all the good in the world that you may have missed.
Life is tough and the news cycle ain’t helping anything right now. Disaster, drama, and death sell papers and get eyeballs on the page but they don’t do much for our mental health.
If you’ve felt like simply switching off from the constant barrage of updates charting the world’s lurch from one crisis to the next, we’re here to provide you with a much-needed antidote.
Good stuff happens all the time. It just doesn’t get quite the same coverage as bad stuff. That means we end up thinking that everything that’s going on in the world is terrible when it really isn’t.
So, here are five of the best news stories from the past week that will put a spring in your step and give you a little something to smile about.
Daintree National Park Has Been Returned to Eastern Kuku Yalanji Custodians
The world’s oldest living rainforest has been returned to its traditional custodians in a historic handback ceremony in Far North Queensland that sparked headlines around the world.
The Eastern Kuku Yalanji people have formally taken ownership of 160,213 hectares of country from Mossman to Cooktown, including the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Daintree National Park.
“This is where we belong on country, on bubu — on land,” Yalanji traditional owner and Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation director Mary-Anne Port said.
“All our ancestors called us back to home. I broke down — to get it all back in a battle that we’ve lost so many, young and old, that fought for country, and now it’s all back.”
Britney Spears’ Father Jamie Has Finally Been Removed from Her Conservatorship
On Thursday, Superior Court Judge Brenda Penny ruled to remove Jamie Spears as conservator from his daughter’s conservatorship that has placed a chokehold on her life for the past 13 years.
The popstar will now be able to select a temporary replacement to oversee her finances.
The decision marks a huge win for Britney, her legal team and those who have been fighting for her freedom. The 39-year-old’s attorney, Mathew Rosengart described Jamie as a “cruel, toxic and abusive man,” saying his client wants him removed “today.”
“Britney deserves to wake up tomorrow without her father as her conservator,” Rosengart said.
CPA John Zabel will replace Britney’s father as conservator of her estate temporarily, controlling her financial decisions until a plan is put into place.
As for the termination of the conservatorship, Rosengart believes it should be removed soon. He has suggested setting a termination hearing within the next 45 days, in either October or November.
Tunisia’s New Prime Minister Is Now the First Woman to Lead an Arab Government
Najla Bouden Ramadhane has been lifted from political obscurity to become Tunisia’s — and the Arab world’s — first female prime minister.
Ramadhane was named to the post-Wednesday after Kais Saied, who became president two years ago, dismissed her predecessor in July and suspended parliament, Reuters reported.
The new prime minister is a professor of geosciences at the National Engineering School in Tunis. She will leave her current post as director-general in charge of quality at the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, where she is overseeing World Bank programmes.
Pfizer Is Trialing a Pill That Can Prevent COVID-19
Pfizer announced on Monday it had started a trial of its new oral antiviral drug for the prevention of COVID-19.
Drug companies have been racing to develop and easy-to-administer pill to prevent COVID since the start of the pandemic and the invention of such a drug could see life return to normality once it is in full circulation.
The study will test Pfizer’s drug in 2,660 healthy adults over the age of 18 who live in the same household as someone with confirmed COVID.
In the trial, the drug is designed to block the activity of a key enzyme needed for the coronavirus to multiply and will be administered along with a low dose of ritonavir, an older medication widely used in combination treatments for HIV infection.
Switzerland Has Voted to Legalise Gay Marriage
Swiss same-sex couples have finally been grated equal rights after an overwhelming majority vote in the country returned the positive result this week.
The Alpine country has become the latest nation in Europe to recognise LGBTQI+ marriages after lawmakers moved to legalise it in December last year.
However, an alliance of right-wing and Christian parties in Swiss parliament managed to push the vote to a public referendum which they then resolutely lost.
64% of Swiss voters backed the yes vote, which also allows gay people to adopt children and recognises the legitimacy of marriages performed on other countries.
Read more stories from The Latch and subscribe to our email newsletter.