Good News Headlines 3/1/2023
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Australia To Triple Size Of Macquarie Island Protection Zone To Shield ‘Remote Wildlife Wonderland’ In Southern Ocean
by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes, EcoWatch
Australia’s Albanese Labor Government has announced its plans to triple the size of the Macquarie Island Marine Park to protect millions of seals, seabirds and penguins in the Southern Ocean. The expansion of the marine park would protect the entire Exclusive Economic Zone surrounding the island and expand Australia’s marine parks to 48.2 percent of its oceans. “The proposal includes a new high protection zone larger than the area of Germany, an important contribution to our commitment to protect 30 per cent of our land and 30 per cent of our oceans by 2030,” Plibersek said in the press release. “Macquarie Island Marine Park is a remote wildlife wonderland.”
5th Person Confirmed To Be Cured Of HIV
by Dr. Kaviya Sathyakumar, ABC News
Researchers are announcing that a 53-year-old man in Germany has been cured of HIV. Referred to as “the Dusseldorf patient” to protect his privacy, researchers said he is the fifth confirmed case of an HIV cure. Although the details of his successful treatment were first announced at a conference in 2019, researchers could not confirm he had been officially cured at that time. Researchers announced the Dusseldorf patient still has no detectable virus in his body, even after stopping his HIV medication four years ago. “It’s really cure, and not just, you know, long term remission,” said Dr. Bjorn-Erik Ole Jensen.
South Korean Court Grants Legal Status For Same-Sex Couple In Landmark Ruling
by Soo-Hyang Choi, Reuters
The Seoul High Court ruled that the state’s health insurer should provide spousal coverage to a same-sex couple, in a decision that marked the first legal recognition of same-sex union in South Korea. The ruling overturned a lower court decision that a same-sex dependent was ineligible for benefits afforded other common law couples by the National Health Insurance Service. Ryu Min-hee, a lawyer for the plaintiff couple said the High Court’s decision was the “first recognition of the legal status of a same-sex couple.” The couple, So Sung-wook and Kim Yong-min, said in a statement: “We are delighted. It is not only our victory but also a victory for many same-sex couples and LGBTQ families in Korea.”
Speech Pathologist Sits Next To An Autistic Boy On An 8-Hour Flight And Shares An Incredible Journey With Him
by Jisha Joseph, Upworthy
Rachel Romeo was about to begin the second leg of her long flight home after a conference in Helsinki, Finland, when a flight attendant approached her with a warning. She would be seated next to a 10-year-old boy with behavioral issues, they said, and as the flight was fully booked, there was no way they could move her to another seat. Little did they know, Romeo—a speech-language pathologist (SLP)—would end up changing the lives of the young boy and his father during the eight-hour journey. As soon as Romeo took her seat, the child’s father preemptively apologized on behalf of his son—who he said has autism—as he warned her that it was likely to be a difficult journey.
