Global round up of good news stories.
Childhood best friends Ana María Wahrenberg and Betty Grebenschikoff said goodbye to each other in a German schoolyard in May 1939. Now the school pals, who were separated aged just nine when their Jewish families were forced to flee the Nazis, have hugged each other in person once again after spending more than eight decades fearing the other had died in the Holocaust. But in a St Petersburg, Florida, the 91-year-olds were finally physically reunited thanks to the USC Shoah Foundation – a non-profit organization founded by Steven Spielberg that records and preserves audiovisual recollections of Holocaust survivors.
Pregnant women in the UK who are at risk of miscarrying are to be offered a hormone, which could prevent thousands of miscarriages annually. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence recommends prescribing progesterone to pregnant women who have a high risk of miscarrying. Professor Arri Coomarasamy, director of Tommy’s National Centre for Miscarriage Research, welcomed the move. He said: “Our research has shown that progesterone is a robust and effective treatment option, which could prevent 8,450 miscarriages a year in the UK.”
40 percent of Spanish children between six and nine years old are overweight, and 17 percent are obese, according to the Spanish Agency for Nutrition and Food Safety. To help fight obesity in young people, the Consumer Affairs Ministry in Spain has come up with a regulation banning the advertising of unhealthy foods and drinks. "Our children are very vulnerable to advertising and it is our obligation to protect them," Minister Alberto Garzon said on Twitter.
Good news for skiers who want to save space: Award-winning new Voyager skis, based on a design originally developed for the military, fold using a four-axis mechanism and are then reinforced with a carbon plate that swings into place. Amazingly, you end up with a ski with the same rigidity as “normal” skis.
Act of kindness: Sam, the owner of Sunrise Bagels in New Jersey, decided to shave his head so that Meg, one of his regular customers, would feel more comfortable and that others were supporting her. According to Meg's mum he did this solely because he feels the world needs more kindness and he doesn’t want Meg to feel alone.
UK bookies’ favourite is LadBaby, even though the sausage-roll-loving dad and his family are yet to reveal whether they are competing for this year’s coveted Christmas Number 1. Superstars Adele, Elton John, Ed Sheeran, and Abba are also in the running, say the bookies. But they now face competition from an unlikely quarter. The Church of England has announced its first Christmas single, a new version of the carol In the Bleak Midwinter, sung by the professional ensemble at the London church St Martin-in-the-Fields. The single is released today and all royalties from the digital streams and downloads of the track will be donated to charity.
Readers of a certain age will remember the awesome, all-conquering Lancia Delta Integrale of the 80s and 90s. Now, an electric version of this rally beast is set to make a comeback in the inaugural electric FIA World Rallycross Championship in 2022. Some might sniff at the idea of an electric rally championship, as the noise of the cars is part of the experience, but there’s more to it than just switching from petrol to electricity. As GCK Motorsports’ website states, it will be “Using a combination of solar energy and power collected from green energy networks ahead of race weekends, [and in turn], GCK Energy will supply electricity to recharge the batteries of all cars between races from its custom containers, making the new generation of World Rallycross one of the most environmentally conscious disciplines in motorsport.”
Ignoranus: The Washington Post asked readers to take any word from the dictionary, alter it by adding, subtracting, or changing one letter, and supply a new definition. How about Ignoranus? A person who's both stupid and an asshole. More great substitutes tomorrow!
Dive in Deeper
Millions of Keepy-Uppies: An 11-year-old girl who inspired thousands to do 7.1 million "keepy-uppies" for charity has been nominated for a FIFA Fan Award. Read on...
Rita Hayworth
Clever old school mash up using movie clips to show Rita dancing to Bee Gees classic, Stayin' Alive. Guaranteed to get your pulse racing...