The vacation season is starting again. One persons’s joy, another persons’s sorrow: many cities, islands and coasts are affected by mass tourism – not good for the local community and the environment. Now Hawaii wants to introduce a levy on overnight hotel stays and cruise ships that will go towards environmental protection on the island. A small reminder that a vacation at home can also be nice.

It’s only May, but summer is arriving earlier in Europe — with recent temperatures reaching up to 29°C. As heat-related deaths rise, a project in India is exploring how “cool roofs” can reduce indoor temperatures without air conditioning. Stay hydrated.

Today, you can expect good news from research: initial tests of a male contraceptive gel on patients are promising. Also, scientists around the world want to make health data more accessible. And a study shows that adolescents who sleep more are mentally fitter. With this in mind, stay healthy!

Before we take a short Easter break, we have some good news from around the world: a new Alzheimer’s drug has been approved in the EU for the first time to slow down the progression of the disease in its early stages. In London, human remains of Indigenous people were returned to Australia. A new species of perch has been discovered in the Gulf of Mexico. And much more, but read for yourself. With this in mind: Happy Holidays!

I was already struggling to get out of bed when my alarm went off this morning. Our six pieces of Good News definitely helped me today. If you’re feeling like me, I hope you’re having a better start to the new week with our new issue: there will still be no whaling in Iceland in 2025, a new blood test detects Parkinson’s and there are more cranes in South Africa. Have a good week!

I love sport, I like to do it myself, I like to watch it live in the stadium or in the hall or sit in front of the TV. And the best thing is that more and more women are being shown as athletes. Whether it’s professional women’s soccer leagues, women’s basketball or women’s athletics. The fact that more women are being shown in sport is not a trend for me, but a change, as our Good News today also shows: There will be more women than men at the 2028 Olympics in LA.

More and more activists around the world are taking legal action for climate protection. With success – last year, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Switzerland was violating the Convention on Human Rights because it was doing too little to combat climate change. The activists, called Klima-Seniorinnen, from Switzerland had brought the case. This has now also encouraged Portuguese climate activists to take legal action against the Portuguese government, as one of today’s Good News articles shows.

Today I was impressed by Ronin – a giant hamster rat. A small animal that does big things: since 2021, Ronin has detected 109 landmines and 15 other potentially lethal remnants of war in Cambodia. It will be on duty for another two years before it retires. A story that shows what animals and humans can achieve together.

Since 2019, Iceland has had the option of a four-day week, which was initially launched as a project but has now become established. With success: stable productivity and satisfied employees. For a while now, I have also been working a reduced number of hours, spread over five days. For me, this means more flexibility and more time for personal projects.

My favorite good news stories are always the ones that focus on animals. That’s one of the reasons I’ve been eating a plant-based diet for over five years. And today, there are once again two great pieces of news from the animal world: Biodiversity in Tanzania is set to be strengthened through a new conservation program, and the world’s largest wildlife crossing is nearing completion.

We start the new week with good news from around the world: In pharmacies in England, the morning-after pill will soon be free of charge and without a prescription. In Mexico, sweet and savoury foods are now banned in all schools – for the good of health. And in Africa, farmers receive innovative irrigation systems to promote clean energy and food security. Have a good week and let’s hope for many more good news.

Just today I received an email to sign up for a petition and I always catch myself thinking: ‘Is this going to help at all?’. And yes, protest does bring something, as one of our Good News from today shows. In the Netherlands, the energy company Vattenfall has cancelled the construction of a wood pellet power plant. Forest activists had protested against this, as several studies show that wood pellets cause more emissions than coal.

Just before the weekend, there is a load of positive news about the protection of animals and people! In Colombia, a new protected area for Indigenous peoples is being set up in the Amazon, which is closed to commercial use. Also, contact with the Indigenous people living there is prohibited in order to protect their isolation. While in India, the use of AI ensures the safe passage of elephants over train tracks – with great success: since then, there have been no more accidents!

As I strolled through the streets of Berlin at the weekend, I thought to myself how much more relaxed it would be if streets and alleyways with cafés and small shops were car-free. More space for socialising instead of street noise! This is exactly what the people of Paris have now decided to do. In a public survey, they voted in favour of 500 streets without cars.