Hohenzollern Castle is the ancestral seat of the imperial House of Hohenzollern. The third of three hilltop castles built on the site, it is located atop Mount Hohenzollern, above and south of Hechingen, on the edge of the Swabian Jura of central Baden-Württemberg, Germany 🇩🇪
How are we more than halfway through 2026?! Wasn’t it just January yesterday? 🥴 Either way, each new month brings new positive news headlines, and July was no exception! ☀️ Come recap five good news stories from July! 🩵🌺🌊
1. ❤️🩹😷 Uganda has been declared free from Ebola!
Authorities in Uganda declared the country free of Ebola following the discharge of the country’s last patient! The country reported cases in May alongside its neighbor Democratic Republic of Congo, which continues to deal with the outbreak — Uganda, however, only ever recorded 20 cases and two deaths, with authorities finding no indication of further spread within the country! Uganda responded swiftly to the public health threat, including contact tracing and postponing potential superspreader events. Part of the reason the response was so successful was due to Uganda having experience in swiftly responding to health crises like Ebola. Uganda for now can breathe a sigh of relief as it continues to educate the public on prevention measures as well as send healthcare workers to Congo to help tackle the virus!
Uganda discharged its last Ebola patient from hospital roughly two weeks ago.
2. 📍🗺️ 7 natural wonders just became UNESCO World Heritage sites — and one country gained its very first!
These newly-christened landmarks highlight Earth’s cultural and natural diversity, from the massive ancient landscape of Greece’s Mount Olympus, to climate-resilient coral reefs in Jordan, to fossils in Denmark that provide clues into the evolution of life on Earth! Joining the World Heritage List’s 26 new sites for 2026, these natural landmarks include the first ever World Heritage site in South Sudan, which annually hosts the world’s largest land mammal migration of six million antelopes!
The UNESCO World Heritage Committee has followed advice from IUCN, as the official advisor on nature, to inscribe seven new sites on the Wor
3. 🚫🧪 Sweden plans to ban all forever chemicals in everyday products by 2028!
PFAs, or “forever chemicals,” are synthetic chemicals that take thousands of years to degrade and pollute the environment, all while being linked to harmful health impacts. The ban’s prohibition of PFAs in commonly-used products like kitchen appliances, clothes, and cosmetics is a victory for both the environment and human health!
Sweden plans to ban forever chemicals in kitchen appliances and clothing by 2028. When will the EU follow suit?
4. 💧🌱 Water is returning to the African Sahel!
Groundwater reserves are rising after decades of drought in the region, restoring water to dried water sources! While part of the shift unfortunately comes from increasingly stronger rainfall due to climate change, it is also largely in part to rain-water harvesting. From Ethiopia to Senegal, the drought of the 1970s and 1980s fueled hunger and disease, but as monsoons now grow stronger, today the region shows a vastly different story — near-extinct wildlife are resurging, farmers are planting thriving trees and harvesting higher-yielding crops, and wells and new ponds are filling! One of the most notable transformations can be seen in Lake Chad — one of Africa’s largest bodies of water before drying up during the droughts, the lake is now almost as big as in the 1960s, and is 10 times its mid-1980s size!
Warming has brought extreme rain to the parched Sahel, which is seeing aquifers refill as monsoons grow stronger. But heavier downpours alon
5. 💉🍼 Childhood immunization continues to grow globally!
Despite vaccine efforts being threatened by conflict and vaccine hesitancy, in 2025, 90% of infants globally received at least one dose of a diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis vaccine, and 85% completed the full three-dose series, an increase from 2024. Compared to 2024, the number of unvaccinated children with no doses fell by nearly 750,000! These numbers reflects the strides made in protecting children's health — in just the past 25 years, government investment, community efforts, and public trust have reduced the annual number of unvaccinated children by 40%!
Zero-dose children fell by nearly 750,000 in the past year, but drop-out numbers high and stagnant, increasing risk of disease outbreaks
Buddhist temple of Hōryū-ji, the oldest wooden structure in the world, commissioned by Prince Shōtoku, 7th-8th century, Ikaruga, Nara Prefecture, Japan. The structure represents the beginning of Buddhism in Japan.
Hōryū-ji was originally commissioned by Prince Shōtoku in the early 7th century under the name Wakakusadera and dedicated to Yakushi Nyorai, the Buddha of healing. The first temple complex, completed around 607, was likely destroyed by fire after a lightning strike in 670 and subsequently rebuilt in a slightly different orientation by the early 8th century. Over the centuries, it underwent multiple repairs and restorations.
As devotion to Prince Shōtoku grew—particularly during the Kamakura period—the temple became a major center of his veneration. New halls were added, annual memorial rites such as the Shōryō-e ceremony were established, and the temple developed close ties with the Hossō sect, especially during the Edo period, when it received regular shogunal support.
The Meiji Restoration brought severe challenges: the elevation of Shinto as state religion reduced Buddhist funding and led to sectarian reorganization. Although briefly affiliated with Shingon Buddhism, Hōryū-ji later returned to the Hossō school. Financial hardship led the monks to donate treasures for museum display, prompting compensation and eventual conservation efforts. Major restoration began in 1934, was paused during the Second World War—when parts of the temple were dismantled for protection—and resumed afterward, concluding in 1985.
Today, Hōryū-ji serves as headquarters of the Shōtoku sect and remains an important pilgrimage and tourist site. Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, it houses more than 180 National Treasures and Important Cultural Properties and continues to host religious ceremonies and public events.
Probably one of the first surrealist sculptures I've seen so far and it was done around the time the Spanish came to 'civilize' them.
It makes you really think hard about the big fat lie this system is based on white supremacy and on a Western foundation that assimilates and appropiates other cultures in every single aspect. There are even anthropologists that basically study indigenous cultures of the world just to often sell their ideas to some marketing company.
This was an entirely geographically isolated American culture, unlike Europeans with historical exchange and trade with Africa and Asia.
"Iranian mosques hold some of the most mesmerizing art ever created by human hands. Their domes and walls unfold into endless geometric universes — stars, spirals, and radiant tessellations repeating into infinity. These intricate patterns were designed not simply as decoration, but as a visual meditation, guiding the mind toward contemplation and the experience of the infinite.
Standing beneath these domes can feel almost mind-altering. The symmetry, colour, and mathematical precision transform architecture into something like a living mandala — an outer structure that mirrors the inner architecture of consciousness. Many scholars note that these patterns were meant to purify the mind and reflect deeper spiritual realities beyond the material world.
And while the world is often focused on the painful and difficult events unfolding on the land where these masterpieces stand, it is also a moment to remember the extraordinary beauty that has emerged from this culture. The mind-bending, visionary art of Iranian Islamic architecture remains one of humanity’s most profound expressions of geometry, spirituality, and the infinite imagination of the human mind."
