Annnd breathe 🧘‍♀️ you made it the weekend. It’s been a heavy week, so let’s decompress with our good news round up of wholesome stories from around the globe. #GoodNews #UpliftingNews #PositiveNews

Is the Taliban already breaking its promises? Female journalists in Afghanistan have been "indefinitely suspended" from working in state media, just days after a Taliban spokesman claimed all women would be allowed to continue to work. The New York Times reported that Khadija Amin, an anchor on one of Afghanistan's state TV news shows, has been replaced by a Taliban spokesman. She told the NYT that her boss said women had been officially banned from working in the media, even though the press conference on Tuesday claimed women would continue to live with freedom. She said: "the next generation will have nothing, everything we have achieved for 20 years will be gone. The Taliban is the Taliban. They have not changed.” 📰 Also in today’s news: 🪧Protest suppressal: A new report has found that the US federal government deliberately targeted Black Lives Matter protesters with disproportionate heavy prosecutions to try and disrupt the progress of the movement. 👩‍💻We've booked the virtual room: Facebook have announced their “Horizon Workrooms” which help colleagues from all around the world sit together in a meeting room - virtual versions of them, that is. 🍬 Sugar rush: New research has called for a ban on child-friendly packaging on unhealthy food brands, after finding that almost two-thirds of yoghurts constituted at least a third of a four to six-year-old's daily intake of sugar alone. ⚔️ Nerves of steel: A Swedish company have delivered the first ever 'green steel' made without using coal to truck-makers Volvo. #Afghanistan #Taliban #WomensRights #Equality #WorldNews #News #InstaNews

Hear that? That’s the global sighs of relief at this news from Tinder today. The ID verification will be voluntary for now, but refusing to prove your identity will look suspicious and warn matches looking for love that they could be looking at a scam, instead. 📰 Also in today’s news: 🇦🇫 Withdrawal woe: Critics of the withdrawal from Afghanistan are mounting on all sides. 🎤 The R Kelly trial: After 20 years of abuse allegations, R&B singer R Kelly is on trial on charges of racketeering, s*xual abuse and bribery.  🪨 Rock on: In the latest bizarre NFT trend, people are paying up to $300,000 for a clipart image of a rock. Seriously.  🚆 Rail rage: Train users could see prices rise for the highest amount in a decade next year, despite calls for the fare to be frozen.  🐘 Mammoth trek: A herd of elephants that wandered away from their nature reserve are finally on their way back home after a pretty adventurous journey.

Haiti needs your help 🚨 Saturday’s earthquake has left rescue workers searching through rubble for people stuck in the destruction. The situation is dire, as hospitals treat injured victims are also at risk of imminent collapse. On Monday, the torrential rainfall of Tropical Depression Grace turned the rubble into mud, making it extremely hard for rescue teams to continue searching. Now, the extreme weather has been upgraded to a tropical storm, and experts predict that it'll bring up to 25cm of rainfall over the worst affected areas. That level of rainfall in such a short time could trigger landslides, putting more lives in danger. Here’s some organisations you can support to help people on the ground. 📰 Also in today’s news: 🇬🇧 UK to admit 20,000 Afghans: PM Boris Johnson will vow today to bring in 20,000 Afghan refugees over five years in recognition of the "debt of gratitude" Britain owes the country now that it's under Taliban rule. 🧥 Fashion faux pas: BooHoo say they'll be making 20% of all their ranges sustainable this autumn season; in spring/summer, they're shooting for 40%. 🌬️ Hot air: About three million UK households could start using hydrogen to power their homes, according to govt plans to attract at least £4bn of investment to the hydrogen economy by 2030. 🧮 Swiss swot: A researcher in Switzerland has used a supercomputer to calculate pi to a record-breaking 62.8 trillion figures. 🌟 Star Wars: Jeff Bezos and his space company Blue Origin have sued the US government for awarding the NASA lunar lander contract to Elon Musk's SpaceX. #Haiti #HelpHaiti #HowToHelpHaiti #HaitiEarthquake #WorldNews #TakeAction

Spokesman for the Taliban, Zabihullah Mujahid, hosted a press conference this afternoon. He described the day as, “a proud moment for the whole nation.” Mujahid gave assurances to the journalists assembled that the Taliban were here to unite the country and bring peace and stability to the region. However some commentators feel his answers around topics, such as women’s rights, were too vague. Here’s a brief summary of the key points from the conference. Were you watching - what did you think? #Afghanistan #Taliban #BreakingNews #AfghanistanUpdate #CatchMeUp #WorldNews

The Pakistani activist for female education spoke out during her interview with BBC Newsnight, imploring for the international community to support Afghanistan. “I think every country has a responsibility right now. Countries need to open this borders to Afghan refugees, to the displaced people. “It’s not just important for peace in Afghanistan, but for peace globally.” 📰 Also in today’s news: 🇺🇸 Race to escape: In a televised speech yesterday, Joe Biden defended his decision and deflected blame onto Afghans. “U.S. troops should not be fighting in a war, and dying in a war, that Afghan forces are not willing to fight for themselves,” he said, adding "there was never a good time to withdraw". 🛑 Gun license learnings: People who apply for a firearm or shotgun license in the UK will now have their social media checked as part of the application process, following the tragic shooting in Plymouth. 🏡 Virtual VIPs: Do you ever feel a bit lonely while working from home? Welcome to the newest Gen Z productivity hack sweeping TikTok: A-List celeb study buddies brought by LifeAt. 📵 Pingdemic over: People in England and Northern Ireland who are fully jabbed and under-18s will no longer have to isolate if they're pinged by the NHS Test and Trace app. 💩 Murky waters: Activists warn that Southern Water are discharging raw sewage into waterways and risking an environmental catastrophe. #Afghanistan #RefugeesWelcome #WomensRights #Malala #MalalaYousafzai #News #AfghanistanUpdate

Here’s a brief explainer: how did we get here - what’s happening now -  and what you can do to help. #Explainer #Afghanistan #Kabul #RefugeesWelcome #News #WorldNews

The Taliban has taken Afghanistan. In a shockingly fast takeover of the country, the Taliban overran Kabul, the last major city to hold out. Their fighters entered the president’s palace claiming victory for their “Islamic Emirate”. There is mounting pressure on western powers to provide immediate aid to those attempting to flee the country, with chaotic scenes at Kabul airport filling our screens over the weekend. This is a big story, so we will provide a full explainer later this afternoon. 📰 Also in today’s news: 🐳 Free Willy: … Or Lolita, more like. Head to stories to support PETA’s petition to free Lolita and others just like her who are being help in captivity. 🎤 Cut the mic: [TW: s*xual assault] Did you know 40% of women under 40 have been s*xually harassed at music festivals? Some big names are pushing back with the “Safe Spaces Now” initiative for the music industry. 🚫 Facebook’s privacy switcheroo: Facebook is rebuilding its ad tools in a bid to know less about its users. 💉 Just the jab: People in England and Northern Ireland who have had two Covid vaccine doses will no longer have to isolate if they come into contact with someone who has tested positive for the virus. #Afghanistan #Kabul #RefugeesWelcome #News #InstaNews #WorldNews

What better way to start the weekend than with our good news roundup! 💛 Swipe across to enjoy some of the more uplifting stories from this week 🙏 Have a wonderful weekend! #GoodNews #PositiveNews #UpliftingNews

In what could be a huge win for Britney Spears, the pop star’s father — Jamie Spears — has said he intends to resign from her conservatorship, “when the time is right.” Jamie has presided over some aspect of the guardianship since he had it enacted in 2008. Originally, the conservatorship was supposed to be a temporary means of seeing Britney through mental-health difficulties. From then until 2019, her father served as conservator of her finances and her person, meaning that he controlled her money, who she saw, what her career would look like — basically, every aspect of her life. So, today's news - him agreeing to eventually step down at least - might be one of the last steps before Britney is finally freed. 📰 Also in today’s news: 🇦🇫 Afghan anguish: The Taliban is gaining territory at a terrifying rate amid a wave of new attacks, which the Afghan president blames on withdrawal of US forces. ♿️ Cool & comfortable: Good news: It’s getting easier for people with disabilities to find clothes that work for them as retailers lean into the adaptive clothing market. 💻 Zuck sucks: A global survey shows TikTok officially overtook Facebook as the world’s most downloaded app in 2020. 🖊️ GCSE gap: Students have received another set of record GCSE grades in England, Wales and N. Ireland - but the gap between the poorest and richest students has grown even wider. #BritneySpears #freebritney #freebritneyspears #jamiespears #endconservatorshipabuse #goodnews #worldnews #instanews

It's been pretty hard to avoid climate news this week, as the IPCC report threw out some scary facts about the future of our planet. But feel like you need to stay calm and collected - even if the planet isn't? Here are some tips for keeping cool and taking action.

This is a huge step for increasing the accessibility of cinemas, with one actor saying "this is a day we have waited to see for so many years." The film follows the story of the only hearing member of a deaf family, and has already won four awards at the Sundance Film Festival. 📰 Also in today’s news: 🇺🇸 Cuomo no more: New York governor Andrew Cuomo has resigned after women accused him of sexual harassment. 🇵🇱 Poland's 'gagging of democracy’: Protests took place in over 80 towns in Poland yesterday, against a new media law that bans non-EU countries from owning Polish media companies. Critics say that this is a real threat to democracy. 🥧 Twitter eat humble pie: A grad student has proven that Twitter's image cropping algorithm favours younger, slimmer faces with lighter skin - and while it's a pretty embarrassing moment for the social media platform, they gave him $3,500. 🧠 Brain training: Scientists are testing a new Artificial Intelligence system that could diagnose dementia in a single scan. 📱 Social success: In news that might not surprise anyone, video-sharing platform TikTok has been named as the most downloaded app of 2020.