<i>Welcome to The National's weekly newsletter Beshara, where we share the most positive stories of the week</i> If you're reading this, it means you've kept up with Beshara for almost two years now. And while the news cycle over the past 24 months has felt more dark than usual, there were tiny rays of light and stories of good in the world that kept this newsletter and our wits ticking over. Starting a new year is equal parts refreshing and intimidating. I am approaching 2025 with cautious optimism as my home country, Lebanon, is in the midst of a fragile ceasefire agreement with Israel. I choose to seize every second I have with my family while I'm here and to have faith and hope that a better tomorrow awaits. It's a vow I made to myself at the start of 2024, a resolution if you will, but one I followed through and one that brought me so much inner peace. So I'm keeping the ritual alive in 2025, and I'm using this edition of Beshara to shed light on hope emerging from Beirut, Damascus and Gaza. Happy new year. Yours truly, Fatima Al Mahmoud A courageous Palestinian schoolboy who was forced to have his leg amputated without anaesthetic after being injured in an Israeli air strike, is still smiling, despite it all. Last January, Yazan Al Sawda, 12, had ventured outside to collect wood to build a fire when he was struck in an Israeli attack. “I found myself on the ground, bleeding,” Yazan told The National. “I was awake but then fainted. I woke up with no leg,” he recalled. Yazan was taken aboard the UAE's floating hospital in Egypt for treatment, where he initially had become withdrawn and was reluctant to socialise with others. Doctors say he has since made significant progress and is regularly smiling and dancing as he sets his sights on walking again. Read his story <a href="https://are01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenationalnews.com%2Fnews%2Fuae%2F2025%2F01%2F03%2Fthe-dancing-gazan-schoolboy-who-refuses-to-give-up-hope-as-war-rages-on%2F&data=05%7C02%7CSNelmes%40thenationalnews.com%7Cdba4ba0ae4e4445667c508dd2bf9decd%7Ce52b6fadc5234ad692ce73ed77e9b253%7C0%7C0%7C638715074374809012%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=U5SK46tgf33SIbbWExRZEzWEd978ynvSKPN%2FT9AGZbs%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank">here</a>. - <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/news/mena/2025/01/01/we-have-hope-syrians-celebrate-a-new-year-and-new-era-after-fall-of-assad-regime/" target="_blank">Fatima</a>, one of thousands of Syrians who were celebrating a fresh start for the country and New Year's Eve in the historic Umayyad Square in Damascus, nearly a month after rebels ended more than 50 years of Assad family rule over Syria Read more <a href="https://are01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenationalnews.com%2Fnews%2Fmena%2F2025%2F01%2F01%2Fwe-have-hope-syrians-celebrate-a-new-year-and-new-era-after-fall-of-assad-regime%2F&data=05%7C02%7CSNelmes%40thenationalnews.com%7Cdba4ba0ae4e4445667c508dd2bf9decd%7Ce52b6fadc5234ad692ce73ed77e9b253%7C0%7C0%7C638715074374821740%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=7GuZ8%2Fd%2FHKFiZhKlEdMI%2FfMHWR22%2FInXmcN5Xsem0qw%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank">here</a>. A Dubai schoolgirl embraced her passion for dance to raise Dh63,000 to support breast cancer patients after being inspired to step up for the cause by her great grandmother's battle with the disease. Reyna Mehta, 16, organised and took part in a performance featuring a cast of cancer survivors. Her dance teacher helped to choreograph the show. The money was donated to Al Jalila Foundation, a non-profit healthcare organisation carrying out key work in the fight against cancer via YallaGive, the first licensed online donation and crowdfunding platform in the Middle East. Read more <a href="https://are01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenationalnews.com%2Fnews%2Fuae%2F2025%2F01%2F03%2Fdubai-schoolgirl-shares-love-of-dance-to-raise-dh63000-for-breast-cancer-fight%2F&data=05%7C02%7CSNelmes%40thenationalnews.com%7Cdba4ba0ae4e4445667c508dd2bf9decd%7Ce52b6fadc5234ad692ce73ed77e9b253%7C0%7C0%7C638715074374836355%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=2E96%2BRoTdd0vuV1GDe0kDX3NV%2BAs4mJFa9fDbmHZzck%3D&reserved=0" target="_blank">here</a>. This week's selection includes a winter's morning in Chennai, northern lights in Alaska, and New Year's fireworks in Abu Dhabi <a href="https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/2023/08/31/beshara-the-most-positive-pictures-of-the-week/" target="_blank">See the Beshara photos of the week here</a>
