Good News Monday

2 hours ago
4 min read

What better way to start the week than with a global round up of positive news nuggets?

old woman, dressed in black, pouring tea in the canteen of a Soviet-era sanatorium in Tajikistan — Credit: Jo Kearney | World Food Photography Awards

And The Winner Is...

British photographer Jo Kearney's winning shot from this year's World Food Photography Awards captured a solitary moment in the canteen of a Soviet-era sanatorium in Tajikistan - a reminder that food photography can be as much about evoking memory and place as it is about whetting appetite. At Khoja Obi Garm in the mountains of Tajikistan, guests still gather for simple, hearty meals between prescribed treatments. Built on radon-rich hot springs, the vast concrete "health hotel" once offered workers two weeks of annual rest. Today, its low price - $28 per day including full board and treatments - attracts ordinary Tajiks plus tourists from the neighbouring 'Stans' and the odd backpacker. Treatments include hot pools and steam rooms, wax wraps and tanning barrels, plus hearty, healthy meals.

Some Good Numbers

64%: The share of US adults who say marijuana should be legalized, up from 31 percent in 2000, reports Pew Research Center.

58: The percentage share of the global population that has access to safe sanitation as of 2024, compared to 31 percent in 2000, according to Our World in Data.

24%: Namibia has received funding to permanently conserve almost a quarter of the country in the first investment-for-protection initiative in Africa designed to ensure long-term success.

82: The record percentage of adults across 138 countries say they are satisfied with their freedom to choose what they do with their lives, up from 71 percent two decades ago, according to Gallup. The biggest gains have come across the Balkans, Caucasus, Eastern and Central Europe, where the median has risen from a 2009 low of 49 percent to 82 percent. Note: the measure reflects personal, day-to-day freedom, not necessarily political rights.

€16 billion: The EU is set to release billions of euros in frozen funds to Hungary after democratic reforms prompted the EU Commission to hail “the winds of change.”

a monumental steel installation that outlines the former church at Herkenrode Abbey — Credit: Gijs Van Vaerenbergh

Striking New Form

For centuries, the church at Herkenrode Abbey stood as one of Belgium’s most important religious landmarks. The Gothic structure formed the heart of a wealthy Cistercian abbey near Hasselt before war, fire, and demolition erased it from the landscape. Today, almost nothing of the original church survives. Belgian architectural practice Gijs Van Vaerenbergh has now revived the vanished structure in a striking new form. Instead of rebuilding the abbey in stone, the studio created CLAUSURA, a monumental steel installation that outlines the former church in midair. The result feels both ancient and futuristic, like a cathedral drawn directly into the sky.

A mother right whale and her calf — Credit: Florida FWS

A Good Year

This year’s calving season along the southeast coastline of America has resulted in the most North Atlantic right whale calves since 2009, thanks to diligent conservation efforts. 23 calves were born during the 2026 calving season and, of these, 20 were returning moms. This may indicate a normalization of breeding and birthing among the animals that could accelerate population recovery.

Clark Gable’s unique 1935 Duesenberg Model JN Convertible Coupe in pale cream — Credit: Darin Schnabel | RM Sotheby's

Clark Gable's Droptop

In the 1930s, Clark Gable dominated the silver screen while Duesenbergs did the same on stateside roads. Both the actor and the automaker’s models presented a powerful and dashing visage that defined the glamor of the age, and Hollywood’s glitterati were enamored with each. It’s no surprise then that, for a pivotal period in his life, Gable owned a Duesenberg, and what a doozy it was - a droptop he customized extensively, coming up with much of the stylistic changes himself. Gable’s unique 1935 Duesenberg Model JN Convertible Coupe will be auctioned by Sotheby's in August as part of Monterey Car Week in California. It’s a vehicle with a narrative that’s nothing less than cinematic in scope, and may fetch $8 million.

Oz Battery Boom

Australia has become a global battery superstar, adding more grid-scale storage per person over the past two years than any other country. “Even for the true believers, the rush on batteries in Australia in the past two years has drastically exceeded expectations. At the grid level, more new battery capacity came online in 2025 than in the previous eight years combined. Between January 2025 and January 2026, their share of the grid increased from around 3 per cent to nearly 10 per cent. According to the market operator, the amount of power discharged by batteries in the first quarter of 2026 was more than three times greater than the same period in 2025.” Australia’s benchmark power prices will start falling from July 2026, with households saving around 10 percent and small businesses up to 20 percent.

"Success is peace of mind, which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to become the best of which you are capable." John Wooden