World News

By Serena Payne ‘26 in Summer 2025

It's easy to get sucked into the negative rabbit hole that can be the news as of late, but it's important to remember that usually the bad news is the one that makes the front page, and with just a little digging, you can find some light in the darkness. 

My first piece of good news is that the artist and influencer Joseph Awuah-Darko, a Ghanaian man who moved to Poland in pursuit of medically assisted death, and the subject of my article in the Winter edition, is no longer dying! Joseph met a man with whom he fell in love and promptly proposed to– his fifth proposal ever. “I met a guy who made the idea of sticking around more bearable than the idea of leaving,” he said of his Polish fiancé, Alex Miller.

In other news, this summer saw progress in regional wars with peace negotiations and deals occurring between four countries: Armenia with Azerbaijan, and The Democratic Republic of Congo  with Rwanda. Similarly, the Russia-Ukraine war made leaps with agreements to exchange certain prisoner of war groups, talks of security guarantees for Ukraine, and significant Russian concessions. On the environmental side, a new UN report revealed that “​​countries implementing stronger climate policies could increase their GDP by 0.2% by 2040” (OECD), positively associating decarbonization with greater economic success. This statistic could incentivize countries, corporations, and even individuals to invest in climate positive energy, technology, and action.

Bad news is often more sensationalized and popular than good news because of the shock factor and high emotions that come with it, but by seeking out positive news stories, even surrounding seemingly despondent events, you can find a sense of hope and tranquility.