Adam and Simon Yates become the first twins to top a Tour de France stage
Good news stories from the past seven days

The British cyclists Adam and Simon Yates have become the first twins ever to achieve the top two positions in a stage of the Tour de France. Adam, who is the younger of the brothers by five minutes, beat Simon by four seconds in stage one of the tour in Bilbao, taking the first yellow jersey of the 2023 race. Their mother Susan, a civil servant, told reporters that she’d watched their victory unfold on her phone in the car, while being driven by her husband John, the twins’ father, along the stage route. “I was just screaming and shouting,” she said. “I didn’t care who won, I just wanted one of them to win.”
Company clears 13,700 tonnes of plastic pollution from sea
A US-based company that was founded six years ago to clean up the oceans has retrieved 13,700 tonnes of plastic and other man-made waste – more than any other organisation. 4ocean employs hundreds of captains and crew in the US, Guatemala and Indonesia to gather plastic from oceans and rivers. The waste is then taken to processing centres to be sorted. Depending on its type, it is then either recycled, extruded for use in plastic lumber, or responsibly disposed of.
Demand rises for ‘swift bricks’ that provide birds with homes
Demand is growing for “swift bricks”, which can be laid alongside normal bricks in new buildings to provide nesting spaces for the endangered birds. One manufacturer based in Derbyshire makes bricks that – in a design co-created with the RSPB – have a small hole in the front, a grippy entrance to help swifts land, a concave dish to make nest building easier, internal channels for drainage and tabs to aid bricklaying. Next week, a petition to make the bricks compulsory in all new housing in the UK will be debated in Parliament.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
AI hallucinations are getting worse
In the Spotlight And no one knows why it is happening
-
Social media: How ‘content’ replaced friendship
Feature Facebook has shifted from connecting with friends to competing with entertainment companies
-
The Alien Enemies Act
Feature President Trump is using a long-dormant law to deport Venezuelans. How does it work?
-
Cricket's crackdown on 'monster' bats
In the Spotlight Indian Premier League has introduced on-pitch checks to ensure bats meet strict size limits
-
The Masters: Rory McIlroy finally banishes his demons
In the Spotlight McIlroy's grand slam triumph will go down as 'one of the greatest and most courageous victories in the history of golf'
-
George Foreman: The boxing champ who reinvented home grills
Feature He helped define boxing’s golden era
-
Why Jannik Sinner's ban has divided the tennis world
In the Spotlight The timing of the suspension handed down to the world's best male tennis player has been met with scepticism
-
When 'a kiss is not a kiss': Spanish football on trial
Talking Point Luis Rubiales faces up to two-and-a-half years in jail if convicted of sexually assaulting footballer Jenni Hermoso
-
Denis Law obituary: fond farewell to 'the King of the Stretford End'
In the Spotlight Scottish footballer who was one of Manchester United's 'Holy Trinity' has died aged 84
-
Why Man United finally lost patience with ten Hag
Talking Point After another loss United sacked ten Hag in hopes of success in the Champion's League
-
Geoff Capes obituary: shot-putter who became the World’s Strongest Man
In the Spotlight The 'mighty figure' was a two-time Commonwealth Champion and world-record holder