Beshara | The National

Welcome to The National's weekly newsletter Beshara, where we share the most positive stories of the week.

While Fatima takes a much-needed and deserved break, I will endeavour to fill her giant shoes by bringing you this week's good news.

There is a real sense of renewal here in the UAE. It's the first day of the Make it in the Emirates summit and it feels like a signal that the country is moving on beyond the shadow of the Iran war and charging ahead towards a stronger future. It's the energy I hope for every nation in the region (and beyond) that has endured bombardment or hardship.

In Gaza, municipal elections were held for the first time in 20 years - with Hamas choosing not to run. Turnout was low, at 23 per cent, reflecting the devastation across the Strip and an outdated electoral register. Yet for many, it has renewed hope that we may one day see the green shoots of a better future for Palestinians in Gaza.

In Iraq, rain has breathed life back to the drying Hawizeh marshes, bringing relief to the families, who rely on the land for their livelihoods.

Revival can arrive in dramatic leaps or in quiet, tentative steps - both are worth celebrating.

I hope this week brings a sense of renewal for you too.

Juman Jarallah,

Newsletters and Special Projects Editor

A boy rests as fishermen sail their boat through the Hawizeh Marshes in Maysan province. AFP

In some ways, renewal feels all around us. In Iraq, winter rain brought relief to the drought-affected Hawizeh Marshes in the south east.

The marshes, known for their wildlife and water buffalo population are also sometimes linked to the biblical Garden of Eden - and from the beautiful photos I highly recommend you look through, it's not difficult to see why.

For Hashim Mahdi Lazim, 36, the return of the water means a home reclaimed.

“All the people are happy here. The buffalo, the fish, the reeds and the birds are back, as are the tourists,” he said.

– Aarti Jhurani on experiencing a disconnect between looking and feeling younger and society's expectations of an aging woman - also known as Millennial Age Dysmorphia.

Researchers are advancing the AI model work into clinical testing. Getty Images

Seeing AI being pushed into every aspect of our lives can feel unnerving but, every now and again, it is used in a way that will undoubtably improve the human experience - like in medical care.

An AI model developed by the Mayo Clinic can help detect pancreatic cancer on routine abdominal CT scans up to three years before it is diagnosed, research has shown.

The model identifies subtle signs of the disease before tumours are visible when treatment to eradicate it could be possible.

“The greatest barrier to saving lives from pancreatic cancer has been our inability to see the disease when it is still curable,” said Ajit Goenka, the study's senior author, and a Mayo Clinic radiologist and nuclear medicine specialist.

“This AI can now identify the signature of cancer from a normal-appearing pancreas and it can do so reliably over time and across diverse clinical settings.”