The Week in Good News: Marriage in Cyprus, France’s World Cup Win, Opera for Children
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Version 0 of 1. Sometimes it seems as if we’re living under a constant barrage of heavy news. But it isn’t all bad out there. This feature is meant to send you into the weekend with a smile, or at least a lighter heart. Want to get The Week in Good News by email? Sign up here. Here are seven great things we wrote about this week: Many Israelis and Lebanese worry that a war could erupt across the border that separates them. But some share something else: a desire to circumvent their religious authorities when getting married. Enter Cyprus, where fast civil marriages are provided to anyone who shows up to the bureau, has the right paperwork and pays the fee. Couples from enemy nations stand peacefully together in line and exchange congratulations. During one Lebanese wedding, an Israeli group clapped when the couple were declared husband and wife. “It’s important for me to meet my neighbors and to get to know them, because I feel that I am part of the region and I don’t want to be a stranger,” an Israeli groom said. “We are very close and we are hoping for peace, most of us,” said the bride. Read more » The joy that washed over France on Sunday came at a time when Europe is strained by hostility toward migrants. The country embraced cross-cultural celebration — a sharp contrast to the divisions deepened by terrorist attacks in Paris and Nice in recent years. The French soccer team, with its nexus of stars of African descent, is seen as a rebuke to countries that have historically been less open to immigration. “There are people of all origins,” Alexis Canto, 23, said of the team, amid the revelry on the Champs-Élysées. “It’s in the image of France — a team that is representative of France today.” “We all need this,” Mr. Canto added. Read more » “People have tried to stop me from playing,” said Riziki Abdallah. “They say, ‘Don’t play soccer. Soccer is only for men.’ ” In Zanzibar, the sport is limited to men and boys. Women are discouraged through shaming and lack of sponsorship. Ms. Abdallah is part of the six-team women’s club in Zanzibar, which plays out of sheer love of the game, despite enormous pressure. The club hopes women’s soccer will one day receive government recognition and support. “I am committed to playing,” Ms. Abdallah said. “I am not afraid of anything.” Read more » Trachoma, a bacterial infection, is the world’s leading cause of blindness. In May, the World Health Organization declared that Nepal had eliminated it as a public health problem, the sixth country to do so. In June, Ghana became the seventh. Experts say these successes show the wisdom of advocating and enforcing basic public health practices, rather than waiting for a miracle cure or a new vaccine. The generosity of Americans is playing a big part, too. Much of the progress was made through donations by an American drug company, American foundations and American taxpayers. Read more » Brother Nut, an artist and activist, filled 9,000 bottles with groundwater from a Chinese village and put them on display in the popular 798 Art District of Beijing. The water was brown and polluted with heavy metals, most likely the result of nearby coal mining and gas exploration. Within two weeks of the show’s opening, the authorities tested 11 drinking sources in and around the village. Ten were contaminated. Officials promised a new water supply network by the end of July. Read more » Opera camps for children are part of the Salzburg Festival’s effort to engage with players and singers of all ages and abilities. As part of the prestigious classical music event, held each year in Mozart’s birthplace in Austria, the program aims to show that this type of music can be fun and accessible. Children sing, play an instrument, act, dance and design sets and costumes. At the end of the week, they perform an opera. Read more » “It really is like the upgrade from black-and-white film to color,” Anthony Butler said of a new medical scanner derived from technology used by particle physics researchers. Mr. Butler is a radiologist, and his father is a physicist; they developed the tool together. The scanner may eventually help diagnose cancers and blood diseases without invasive surgery. “It’s about being able to first find the explanation for somebody’s symptoms, like a tumor, and then find the best way to reach it with the least amount of detours and misadventures,” Dr. Gary E. Friedlaender, an orthopedic surgeon, said. Read more » What would you like to see here? Email us at goodnews@nytimes.com. You can enjoy more of this feature at nytimes.com/goodnews. |