A world of good...

In an effort to counter-balance all the bad news from around the world of late (mudslides, earthquakes, floods, etc.), I've found three good news stories that span the globe.

MSNBC reported on "Crazy Bake", uniquely located in the Beijing Chaoyang District Mental Health Service Center. Six patients work with one instructor to churn out loaves of bread and bagels which are sold to area residents. The bakery was formed five years ago by two foreign volunteers who had also started an organic farm project. The bakers work every Friday to produce their wares; originally begun as a way to provide structure and activities for patients, all six workers have shown marked improvement in their health and are now able to live in assisted living facilities off of the health center's campus.

London's Daily Telegraph found a glimmer of hope amidst the tragedy literally flowing through Pakistan. Nearly 1600 people have died in the massive flooding there, but a mother and grandmother to 30, Zainab Bibi, was saved from flood waters by, of all things, her cow. Sleeping in the farmyard, the waters picked Bibi up and carried her away, but from out of nowhere, Bhoori the cow floated up beside her. The two were carried along until they found higher ground.

MSNBC also has this last story - hope for Haitians. The island nation is still suffering from the effects of that devastating earthquake this past January. But the LA Galaxy and the Tony Sanneh Foundation brought smiles back to the faces of some 14 and 15 year-old boys through the world's game. A Haitian boys team was brought to Minnesota to participate in the largest youth soccer tournament in the country. Welcomed into host families, the boys were able to find happiness both on and off the pitch.

(Photo courtesy of MSNBC)

All around the world...

I realized this morning I've been monopolizing this blog with good news from the US. I suppose I'm fighting the US media bias of only reporting "local" news, but I've also been going with stories that came to me, rather than actively looking for articles. Today I did a little more of the latter and found a bunch of good news from other countries. 

The Washington Post (yay for the US reporting on something other than the US!) had a brief story on a new customer relations technique debuted in Japan - service with a smile. Now, you're probably protesting this concept is as old as the hills, but the Japanese have taken it to a new technological level. Employees at the busiest train stations - ones that serve hundreds of thousands of commuters every day - now have the option to check their uniform in the mirror and their smile on the computer. Software on laptops in 15 of rail stations can measure the employees' smile curvature to tell how broad a grin the individual is sporting. 

Also in the Pacific is news of a more far-reaching nature. Yesterday, the leaders of Taiwan and China exchanged their first direct messages in 60 years. The enmity between these two countries goes back a long ways, pretty much ever since China annexed Taiwan against the Taiwanese people's wishes. If I were Taiwanese, I'd be pretty peeved too. But according to USA Today, the Chinese president sent a congratulatory message to Taiwan's leader after he won an election to the ruling party's chairmanship. 

Moving a little farther west, presstv.ir reports that a mosaic depicting an angel has been uncovered in the Hagia Sophia museum in Istanbul, Turkey. Originally a basilica before the Ottoman Turks took over the city in the 15th century, the angel (one of a set of six, it is believed) were covered after the building underwent its own religious conversion. 

Lastly, I finish up in the West - Canada to be more precise. The Toronto Star reports on some welcome relief to prospective adoptive parents. Recently, Imagine Adoption Agency, which was handling adoptions between Canadians and children in an orphanage in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, filed for bankruptcy. That move halted the adoptions of over 40 families, many of whom spent years learning Ethiopian culture and language in preparation for their new child(ren). However, a mining company has stepped in and donated $100,000 to help the orphanage in Ethiopia keep going and facilitate the adoptions already in progress that were frozen. 

(Photo courtesy of presstv.ir)