Uplifting collection of global positive news nuggets to brighten the day.
Private Eye made us all laugh at OGN Towers! It's an amusing take on the news media's natural tendency to dig out the bad news, rather than search for the good. But have no fear! You can rely on OGN Daily to always find the good stuff and to look on the bright side.
Speaking of which, here's two very promising bits of news on the vaccination front: Israel leads the world in vaccinating its citizens and a new Israeli study has found that just one dose of the Pfizer vaccine offers an 85 percent protection rate.
Furthermore, the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine may no longer need to be kept at super-cold temperatures, new results suggest, a development which will make it considerably easier to distribute. If approved by regulators, the findings mean the vaccine can be kept in a normal medical freezer at between -15C and -25C for two weeks.
And some good news on the media front too as UK tabloids are turning green. Tabloids like The Sun and The Daily Express have, historically, been vehemently skeptical of climate change. But, happily, things are changing.
If you’re an artist who’s always dreamed of getting your Gaugin on with an immersive island getaway where you can fully indulge yourself in all things nature, you just might be in luck. Located a few miles east of Michigan’s Keweenaw Peninsula in Lake Superior, Rabbit Island may not be Tahiti, but it does boast 91 acres of practically pristine paradise and the call for its annual artist’s residency programme is now open. Three lucky applicants will score three-week residencies sometime from mid-June to mid-September this year. If that’s not inspiration enough, the Rabbit Island Foundation is also offering a $3,200 stipend to sweeten the pot.
The Nigerian-American economist Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is to become the first female and first African leader of the World Trade Organization. She has an impressive CV.
YoungPlanet: a great app that enables UK parents to put no longer used children’s things to good use with new families and away from landfill, for free. “Although our primary goal is to help families become greener, YoungPlanet is also helping parents receive items that they couldn’t otherwise afford in these tumultuous times,” said co-founder Jason Ash.
Moscow plans to replace all petrol or diesel-powered public transport vehicles with greener alternatives by 2030.
New tech blocks scam calls: the technology is so good it has been blocking as many as 500,000 calls a day.
Electric-vehicle pioneer Tesla continues to cut its prices, as much as 28 percent in some territories, spurring endless debate on what that means for the company’s profitability. But one thing is for sure: lower prices from the EV leader will keep pressure on everyone else and help attract more EV buyers.
Colombia: In a country with both housing shortages and world-leading coffee production, a small construction company has found a way to leverage one in order to fix the other. Coffee husks, a papery material surrounding the prized beans, are being turned into resilient, light, and versatile building panels of a house for as little as $4,500.
Device creates light and drinking water using clean energy: Brilliant no-cost desalinating skylight is a finalist in the Lexus Design Award 2021, and is already being used in shanty towns in Chile.
Unstoppable eating machines: La Niña has been good to the backyards and farmlands eastern Australia. Cooler, wetter conditions have led to a flourishing of lush grass, trees and - unfortunately - weeds. Lawnmowers are noisy and polluting, and scythes are so last century; what they need is an unstoppable eating machine that will relish the dietary challenge of eating weeds, requires no fuel, and needs only to be left to do its job. Across Australia, mobs of voracious goats are being unleashed – in a carefully controlled fashion – on unwanted flora.
Sultans of Swing: Dire Straits' classic is one of the greatest guitar tracks of all time. Have 40 Fingers improved it? You decide....