Positive news with source links — solutions, rescues and everyday kindness from around the world.
Indigenous students at Brandon University in Manitoba can now study Indigenous languages without paying tuition. The university's Board of Governors approved the fee waiver unanimously in January 2026. It launched this fall, and the first students are taking part.
On 12 October 2026, brothers Maddox and Grant Larger, aged 15 and 14, pulled a grandmother and two young children from a retention pond in Carmel, Indiana. Neither the grandmother nor the 4-year-old could swim. Carmel public safety teams said the brothers' quick actions saved the life of the 2-year-old.
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%.
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.
On 17 September 2026, the US Food and Drug Administration approved Fayuvi, the first treatment for children with Sanfilippo syndrome type A (MPS IIIA). Until now, care was limited to managing symptoms. The one-time gene therapy helps the body make an enzyme the disease leaves missing.
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.