Good News Headlines 2/9/2026
Photo courtesy PJH via unsplash
Childbirths and Marriages Are Up and Divorces Are Down in World’s Least Fertile Country
by Andy Corbley, Good News Network
At 0.77 children per woman in 2025, South Korea was the world’s least fertile country. Perhaps heralding a reversal of fortune, though, childbirths have grown at the fastest pace in 18 years on the Peninsula, with a 6.2% increase totaling 233,708 babies between January and November. The number of divorces, meanwhile, went down 9.8% on-year to 6,890 by November. It’s a big problem the world over, receives virtually no attention compared to other existential issues, and demonstrates cross-cultural spread: most native populations aren’t having enough babies.
From Dorset To The World: Wave Of Donations Helps To Secure Cerne Giant’s Home
by Steven Morris, The Guardian
It feels like a very British monument: a huge chalk figure carved into a steep Dorset hillside that for centuries has intrigued lovers of English folklore and legend. But an appeal to raise money to help protect the Cerne giant – and the wildlife that shares the landscape it towers over – has shown that its allure stretches far beyond the UK. Donations have flooded in from more than 20 countries including Australia, Japan and Iceland, and on Tuesday, the National Trust confirmed it had reached its fundraising target to buy land around the giant.
Israel Reopens Gaza’s Key Rafah Border Crossing With Egypt
by Yolande Knell, BBC
Only a few sick and wounded Palestinians from Gaza arrived in Egypt on Monday after the Rafah border crossing reopened for the movement of people. The crossing has largely been closed since the Gazan side was captured by Israeli forces in May 2024. The reopening was supposed to happen during the first phase of US President Donald Trump’s ceasefire plan between Israel and Hamas, which began in October. But Israel blocked it until the return of the body of the last Israeli hostage, which happened last week. It will come as a relief to many Palestinians who see it as a lifeline to the world.
13-Year-Old Boy Speaks Out After Swimming Miles To Save Family Stranded At Sea
by GMA Team
A 13-year-old Australian boy is speaking out after swimming alone for four hours without a life jacket in order to get help for his mom and siblings, who were stranded at sea. “I just said, ‘Not today, not today, not today. I have to keep on going,'” Austin Appelbee told Australia’s ABC News. Austin and his family, including his mom Joanne Appelbee and his two younger siblings, said they were on a beach trip on Jan. 30 and had taken a kayak and two inflatable stand-up paddleboards out into the ocean. Initially, the family said the ocean was calm but then the weather suddenly changed and their kayak flipped over and started to take on water.
Africa Records Fastest-Ever Solar Growth, As Installations Jump In 2025
by Vivian Chime, Climate Home News
Installations of solar power in Africa jumped 54% in 2025, new data shows, marking the fastest annual growth on record, driven by governments and development agencies deploying utility-scale projects and households and businesses putting in rooftop and commercial systems. A new report published by the Global Solar Council (GSC), a nonprofit trade body, shows that Africa installed around 4.5 gigawatts (GW) of new solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity last year, topping the previous record set in 2023 and outperforming initial predictions.
