Small Good Things Positive news · Thoughtful choices

An independent journal of things going right

Small stories. A better perspective.

Our approach to good news

In focus · Science

Bolivia's Tilcayo named as the first new cat in a century

Scientists have identified a small wild cat from Bolivia's cloud forest as a new species, Leopardus tilcayo. It is the first new living cat species formally named and described in more than a century. The same study, published in Current Biology, found that tiger cats are five genetically distinct species.

Read the story
Topic illustration
About Small Good Things

What kind of good news can I read here?

Small Good Things publishes sourced stories about kindness, community, the environment, science, health and education around the world. Each story links to its reporting source. Our separate buying guides explain practical choices and disclose affiliate links.

Latest stories

All stories →

Positive news with source links — solutions, rescues and everyday kindness from around the world.

Health Africa

Egypt is first country to keep WHO hepatitis C gold tier

On 14 October 2026, the World Health Organization validated that Egypt has maintained its Gold Tier status on the path to eliminating hepatitis C. Egypt is the first country to keep this status. It first reached Gold Tier in 2023, after cutting hepatitis C prevalence from around 10% to under 0.38%.

Read story
Education Europe

More six-year-olds in England pass the phonics check

Provisional Department for Education figures show that 82% of year 1 pupils in England met the expected standard in the 2026 phonics screening check, up from 80% in 2025 and back to the 2019 level. Pupils with special educational needs reached 46%, their highest result since the check began in 2012.

Read story
Science Europe

Floating 'scarecrow' cuts seabird deaths in Cornish nets

A two-year trial with 10 Cornish fishers found that a 'floating scarecrow' buoy cut the chance of guillemots and razorbills being caught in gillnets by 59%. A kite shaped like a bird of prey cut it by 71%. University of Exeter scientists analysed the data, and the results appear in the journal Conservation Letters.

Read story

Browse full archive Categories

Understand the story

All explainers →

Background guides connect the news to practical questions, original sources and what remains uncertain.

Good things start somewhere

Know someone making a difference?

Tell us what happened, who helped and where we can verify the story.

Share a story

Good choices for everyday life

View all →

Not sure where to start?

Choose what you need and what you’ll use it for. Find a researched guide with clear recommendations and tradeoffs.

How the finder works →

Editors’ picks

More guides →

Shop by category

How we test →
Ask the archive

Find a story or guide

Matching excerpts from Small Good Things, with links to read more.

Try a person, place, topic or product. More specific words help narrow the matches.

This tool searches published stories, explainers and guides. For more filters, use site search.