Taylor Heyman

Beshara | The National Your weekly dose of good news, delivered to your inbox

There is so much more to discover in this week's newsletter - check it out, and if you like it, sign up for a weekly email of good news: www.thenationalnews.com/newsletters/...

Former British soldier aims to run 630km across the UAE in less than six days | The National Harry Amos, who rowed across the Pacific in 2023, faces a challenge closer to home

Most people complete a feat like running a marathon and say 'never again!' but Harry Amos had decided to run 630kms across all 7 of the UAE's emirates, just 2 years after completing a row across the Pacific Ocean www.thenationalnews.com/news/uae/202...

Children in Gaza find respite from war in music lessons | The National When the Israeli bombardment made it too dangerous to enter a music institution in Gaza city, its tutors took instruments to the enclave's camps

I've been awed - as I so often am - by the willingness of Gazans to give to others in such a horrific time. This week the brilliant Nagham Mohanna spoke to Fouad Khader about his initiative to bring music lessons to children living under Israeli bombardment www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Who is Joseph Aoun, Lebanon’s new president after two-year deadlock? | The National Army chief emerged as consensus candidate after years of stalemate

Let's start with the long-awaited election of a president in Lebanon yesterday. It's the first step in a long road to Lebanon rebuilding after a devastating war between Hezbollah and Israel on its soil. Find out more bout Joseph Aoun here www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

It's Beshara day, when I share the most positive and uplifting stories from around the Middle East this week. I've got a load of wonderful and inspiring stuff for you...

Push to change Syria flag emoji may take time | The National Unicode Consortium says details of emoji design are up to device manufacturers

When might Syria's flag emoji be changed to the banner of the revolution? Lots of people were asking Unicode, which creates the code behind new emojis, that question this week. But it's actually individual operating systems that will need to change it, and it could take a while tinyurl.com/2vnhpswx

Cotton-and-squid-bone sponge can soak up 99.9% of microplastics, scientists say Filter performs well in removing plastic pollution from water and Chinese researchers say it appears to be scalable A sponge made of cotton and squid bone that has absorbed about 99.9% of microplastics in water samples in China could provide an elusive…

Cotton-and-squid-bone sponge can soak up 99.9% of microplastics, scientists say

Syria's departing PM recounts dramatic final hours before fall of Damascus | The National Mohammad Al Jalali accused Bashar Al Assad of 'abandoning' the government and leaving the country in chaos

Leading by example as always, our editor Mohamad Ali Harisi snagged an interview with outgoing PM Mohammad Al Jalali www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

'I had faith in God’: Syrian families return home after years of exile | The National The fall of the Assad regime has paved the way for families to return home after years of displacement

In Ghouta, the site of a chemical attack launched by the Assad regime on its own people, families were reunited after years of exile - “There is no better feeling. Now we’re happy, now we’re glad," one person told Nada www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

'We haven't heard from them for over a decade': Thousands of Syrians flock to Sednaya's infamous prison | The National About 100,000 detainees, including political prisoners, are still unaccounted for

Jubilation quickly turned to concern for the thousands with relatives and friends in Syria's notorious prisons. Nada Maucourant Atallah went to Sednaya Prison in Damascus www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

‘Welcome to Free Syria’: jubilant Damascus residents grapple with uncertainty | The National Syrian border checkpoint with Lebanon abandoned

Our team @thenationalnews.com are on the ground in Syria covering the fall of the Assad regime. I'd like to share some of their important work, starting with this from Nada Maucourant Atallah, Nada Homsi and Danny Makki on the first hours in Damascus www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

‘Welcome to Free Syria’: jubilant Damascus residents grapple with uncertainty | The National Syrian border checkpoint with Lebanon, once heavily controlled, now abandoned

“Welcome to free Syria, at last!” said Syrian Mohamad, who was among many celebrating the end of decades of Assad family rule. “After decades of massacres and chemical attacks, we finally have our country back," he said amid uncertainty over what comes next for the country.

I'm once again asking for a show where a librarian, a bookseller, and a carpenter travel around helping people manage their out-of-control book collections. Discuss their sentimental value, their rarity, their histories, then build amazing book nooks and shelves and little libraries to organize them

Two Iberian pond turtles, who were among 120 rescued from flooding in Valencia, Spain

Stories in this edition include families reunited after two months of intense war in Lebanon, a new asthma treatment and how to be a better gastrotourist. Plus these super cute turtles

I loved this story - 2 million asthma attacks could be treated better in the UK alone!!

The West Bank villages wiped off the map by Israeli settler violence Since October 7, over 50 rural Palestinian communities have been forced to abandon their homes amid intensifying settler attacks and harassment.

The West Bank villages wiped off the map by Israeli settler violence - https://www.972mag.com/west-bank-villages-israeli-settler-violence/

Syria's rebel offensive fuelled by diplomatic dead end, senior opposition figures say | The National Failure of political transition paved way for assault after year of stalemate

#Syrian rebels launched their military offensive after long-term inertia from #Damascus in political talks, despite openness to the process from #Assad ally #Russia, opposition officials & diplomats told me www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/20...

Beshara | The National Your weekly dose of good news, delivered to your inbox

Feeling like all the bad news is getting too much? I'd like to offer a little respite in my newsletter, Beshara. It brings together positive stories and solutions journalism from around the region and beyond. You can read this week's edition and sign up here: www.thenationalnews.com/newsletters/...

Well here we are! I've not engaged in public social media for a while, but ready to take the plunge again. What are your favourite parts of Bluesky and who should I be following?