Positive News Only

Global round up of positive news stories to brighten the day.

New Mixed Events

The International Olympic Committee has just approved six new mixed events for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Track and field’s new 4x100m mixed relay adds to the growing lineup of mixed-gender events across the Games, while artistic gymnastics will feature its first mixed team competition - blending male and female routines into a single event. Four more mixed events for 2028 include golf, rowing (coastal beach sprint), table tennis and archery. In addition to these newcomers, five sports proposed by the LA28 Organising Committee - baseball/softball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse and squash - will return or debut in Los Angeles.

More Olympic News: IOC appoints its first female president (she is also the youngest ever, and the first from Africa) and Team USA athletes receive a very welcome retirement boost.

SNL in London

Over the last 50 years, Saturday Night Live has become a cornerstone of US television and a conveyor belt for new comedy talent. British TV executives are now hoping it can bring some of that lustre across the Atlantic in a deal to bring the show to the UK for the first time. After numerous failed attempts to recreate the late-night comedy format that has proved so successful in the US, Sky has announced it is making a British version of the show to premiere next year. Crucially, the show’s original creator and champion, Lorne Michaels, will be an executive producer. The broadcaster is already promising a “star-studded lineup of hosts”, adding that it will be filmed in London. It is also promising to stay true to the US show’s “live, fast-paced style” – which has included comedy sketches, a roster of comic presenters and musical guests – with a cast list of “the funniest British comedians around”.

Quirky mansion built on the roof of a hotel in Metz, France — Credit: Maison Heler

Surreal Skyline

Philippe Starck is a legendary designer and his latest hotel project has a distinctly surreal topping. Maison Heler, nestled in the French town of Metz, has nine storeys that are dedicated to the hotel's 104 rooms and suites but this otherwise fairly ordinary looking building - at least from the outside - is topped by a stunning house reminiscent of the city's 19th-century mansions. This rooftop mansion looks like it might be someone's lofty and quirky private residence but is actually a sumptuous restaurant - with 19 huge stained glass windows - with a terrace, enjoying commanding views.

Digital recreation of the Titanic's fore deck and bow — Credit: Atlantic Productions / Magellan

Digital Resurrection

A few years ago, researchers sent robots to the wreck of the RMS Titanic, which is located 12,500 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean. Using underwater scanning technology, the deep-sea investigation company Magellan spent three weeks collecting 16 terabytes of data, including 715,000 photos and 4K video footage. The team used these images to assemble the most detailed digital reconstruction of the shipwreck to date. Filmmakers followed the Magellan crew as they surveyed the doomed ship - and now, a documentary by National Geographic and Atlantic Productions is detailing the Titanic’s final moments. The film unveils the digital model in incredible detail. Using Magellan’s detailed 3D scan, as well as input from historians and maritime experts, Titanic: The Digital Resurrection brings the ship’s final hours to life. It's now available on National Geographic, Hulu and Disney+.

New York Solar

Solar energy in New York got a big boost with the announcement of a $950 million contract to construct the state's largest solar farm. Work has already begun, and the project is scheduled to come online in 2026, according to PV Magazine. It's one of 23 major projects that the state greenlit in order to get 70 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2030. While New York has consistently ranked among the top solar states, it's still a fair way behind the front runners. California, Texas, and Florida enjoy the highest capacity while Nevada is the pound-for-pound solar champion.

Electric Numbers

50.8%: The share of US electricity generated by clean sources in March 2025; the first time fossil fuels have generated less than half of US electricity.

40.9%: The share of the world’s electricity that was generated by clean energy last year.

50%: The share of Zambia’s population that has access to electricity, up from 30 percent in 2017. The country is currently installing solar mini-grids to expand access, part of a broader push across Africa.

9%: The share of Uruguay's electricity that comes from imported oil, down from 50 percent in 2008. The drop illustrates the country’s evolution into a clean energy leader.

"Stand for something. Always have class, and be humble." John Madden

On This Day

15 April 1955: American fast-food pioneer Ray Kroc opened the first McDonald's franchise, launching an enterprise that would eventually become the world's largest fast-food chain, in Des Plaines, Illinois.