A Gaza ceasefire deal was agreed, Indonesia launched a free meals scheme, and a ‘lost’ species thrived again in England, plus more good news
This week’s good news roundup

Israel and Hamas have agreed a ceasefire and hostage release deal that looks set to halt a conflict that’s claimed the lives of more than 46,000 Palestinian people, many of them children.
The ceasefire deal is set to come into force on Sunday, and last an initial six weeks. Nobody knows whether it will hold. However, the fragile agreement was cautiously welcomed by human rights agencies, which called on all parties to respect the terms.
Palestinian health authorities say that more than 46,000 Gazan people have been killed by the Israeli army over the last 15 months. Israel launched its military offensive in Gaza in response to a cross-border attack by Hamas on 7 October 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed, and 251 others were taken hostage.
In November, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for the commander-in-chief of Hamas’s military wing, Diab Ibrahim al-Masri, the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Israel’s former defence minister, Yoav Gallant, in respect of war crimes.
“Those responsible for the heinous acts of 7 October, the subsequent unlawful killings of civilians across Gaza, and for all other crimes under international law must be held to account,” said UN high commissioner for human rights Volker Türk. “Israel’s illegal continued presence in the occupied Palestinian Territory must end, as the International Court of Justice has made clear, and the internationally agreed two-state solution must become a reality.”
Image: Khalid Kwaik

An ambitious programme to provide free meals to more than a quarter of Indonesia’s population has begun.
The country’s new president Prabowo Subianto made fighting malnutrition the centrepiece of his election campaign. His aim is to provide free meals to 82.9 million people by 2029.
Doing so will be a massive challenge, one that is already under way: 190 kitchens have been set up across the country to produce dinners for schoolchildren and pregnant women.
While the food programme has been broadly welcomed, some economists expressed concerns that it could dent Indonesia’s reputation for fiscal prudence. The scheme is predicted to cost $28bn (£23) over five years.
Image: Kukuh Napaki

A bitter rift between two east African neighbours appears to have been resolved after Ethiopia and Somalia agreed to restore diplomatic representation in their respective capitals.
Somalia had severed ties with its neighbour over a sea access agreement that landlocked Ethiopia (pictured) signed with breakaway Somaliland, which Somalia considers part of its territory. There were fears that the rift could spark a wider regional feud.
However, an unexpected breakthrough came last week when Somalia’s president and Ethiopia’s prime minister agreed to resolve their differences through dialogue and restore diplomatic relations.
Image: Kaleab

In a win for climate justice, the US supreme court has given Honolulu the go-ahead to sue fossil fuel firms for misleading the public about the dangers posed by their products.
A lawsuit was filed by the Hawaiian city and its water board back in 2020. The plaintiffs claimed that misleading statements made by oil giants – including Shell, ExxonMobil, Chevron and BP – exacerbated climate change, causing damage to Hawaiian property and infrastructure. A water treatment plant would have to be protected against sea level rise at considerable cost, the lawsuit stated.
Oil firms repeatedly tried to kill the lawsuit, arguing that climate change was a federal issue. But on Monday, the supreme court disagreed, allowing Honolulu to continue with its case.
In the US, 26 lawsuits have been filed by counties, municipalities and cities against fossil fuel firms. None have yet gone to court.
Image: Jakob Kim

Assets seized during an investigation into corruption in Nigeria’s oil industry will help fund renewable energy projects in the country, the US justice department announced on Friday.
Up to $53m (£43m) of alleged illicit assets confiscated from Nigeria’s former oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke (pictured) and her associates are to be repatriated to Nigeria via the World Bank.
Alison-Madueke was accused of awarding oil contracts in exchange for bribes, and for laundering her ill-gotten gains in the US. In 2023, she was charged with bribery in the UK. She denies all allegations of wrongdoing.
According to the US Justice Department, the $53m will be help scale up a project bringing renewable energy to communities in Nigeria.
Image: World Economic Forum

Petrol powered cars have almost reached the end of the road in Norway, which is leading the global race to decarbonise the roads.
New registration data shows that 88.9% of cars sold in the country last year were battery powered, putting the oil-rich nation on track to meet its target of going all-electric in 2025.
Norway has imposed high taxes on internal combustion engines, while exempting electric vehicles (EVs) from import taxes and VAT. Its policies around EVs have been consistent despite changes in government, in contrast to nations like the UK, which pushed its target to go all-electric from 2030 to 2035.
“That’s the big lesson [from Norway]: put together a broad package of incentives and make it predictable for the long-term,” Norway’s deputy transport minister Cecilie Knibe Kroglund told Reuters.
Image: Zaptec

Thailand has become the latest nation to ban imports of plastic waste from rich countries, ending what campaigners have labelled “waste colonialism”.
Since 2018, Thailand has been a leading importer of plastic waste from countries such as the US, UK and Japan. The south-east Asian nation has received economic incentives for recycling their waste, but much of the imported plastic was burned instead of being recycling, campaigners claim.
Now Thailand, following China’s example, has banned such imports, putting pressure on nations to reach a global deal to halt plastic pollution. One such deal was on the table at a UN summit last year, only to be scuppered by petrostates.
Image: Howard Phillips

Efforts to bring back a butterfly that vanished from England half a century ago have been hailed a success.
The chequered skipper was driven out of the country’s woodlands in the 1970s, with the decline of coppicing and the increase in conifer plantations blamed for its demise.
However, in 2018, ecologists brought a donor population over from Belgium to Fineshade Wood in Northamptonshire, where it has been recorded breeding.
The charity Butterfly Conservation, which led the project, said the positive results are “very exciting” and highlighted how humans can restore natural environments for the benefit of endangered species.
The good news comes months after the charity announced record low results in its annual Big Butterfly Count.
Image: Holger Krisp

Scientists have declared that “70 really may be the new 60” after a study of English pensioners found them to be in ruder health than previous generations.
Instead of looking at the prevalence or absence of specific diseases, as other research has, the new study assessed participant’s functional abilities, chiefly their “cognitive, locomotor, psychological and sensory capacities”.
Using data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, in which some 19,000 people have taken part, the research found that “a 68-year-old born in 1950 had a similar capacity to a 62-year-old born a decade earlier”.
“We were surprised by just how large these improvements were,” said study author John Beard, professor of ageing at Columbia University, US. “Overall, the trends were very strong and suggest that, for many people, 70 really may be the new 60.”
However, he added: “There is nothing to say we will continue to see the same improvements moving forward. Changes, such as the increasing prevalence of obesity, may even see these trends reverse.”
Image: Ashkar Dave

If your New Year’s resolution was to stop grumbling about the status quo and start taking positive action, then take heart from the new issue of Positive News magazine.
Out now, it features an energising collection of uplifting people and projects: from the fine-dining restaurant staffed by people who have experienced homelessness, to the volunteer divers clearing the UK coastline of abandoned fishing gear.
The new issue also celebrates a positive trend that often goes unnoticed: modern dads are spending much more time with their children than previous generations.
“As we head into a new year, we’re faced with a fresh choice: what will we focus on, and from where will we take our compass?” said Lucy Purdy, editor-in-chief. “What about taking your steer from our steadfast power to care, to create, to contribute, to overcome obstacles and to move forward with hope? If that’s your intention, you’re in the right place.”
Main image: A child pulling fish from a fishing net with his family in the port of Gaza City. Credit: Gehad Alshrafi/iStock
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