OGN Wednesday
- Editor OGN Daily
- 2 hours ago
- 4 min read
Eclectic mid-week collection of positive news stories to brighten the day.
Needs Some TLC
A 19th century diamond- and emerald-incrusted crown that once belonged to the French Empress Eugenie will be fully restored - Paris's Louvre museum has announced - after it was damaged by thieves who staged the infamous heist at the museum last October. The crown was recovered after the thieves dropped it but the rest of the stolen jewels, worth an estimated €88 million, are still missing. The museum has issued the first photographs of the crown since the theft, saying it had been left "badly deformed" after the thieves tried to remove it through a narrow hole they sawed in its glass display case. Police have arrested four male suspects who prosecutors allege are the thieves - but the mastermind behind the raid has not been tracked down.
Tourism in Europe
Spain has long drawn visitors from around the world and last year tourism hit a record high, with nearly 97 million international visitors, according to new data released by the National Statistics Institute. Tourism, up 3.2 percent from 2024, now accounts for 12.6 percent of Spain’s GDP, with foreign travellers spending roughly $156 billion in 2025. Catalonia, home to Barcelona, led all regions in visitor numbers, followed by the Balearic and Canary Islands. However, in 2025, France maintained its position as the most visited country in Europe and the world, with over 100 million international visitors. Italy came in third with approximately 65 million.
Over Italy
Before the Olympic Flame lit up Milano, a green and red aurora danced across the night. NASA astronaut Chris Williams captured the northern lights looking north across Italy towards Germany from the International Space Station in January. The green and red colours in the aurora show the presence of oxygen molecules in the atmosphere. These colours are included in the five colours of the Olympic rings because either green or red (or both) is on the flag of nearly every country on Earth.
Conservation Success
Conservation in India successfully doubled the native population of tigers, a new study reveals. India’s native tiger population has clawed its way above 3,600. Along with being 75 percent of the world’s tiger population, it was twice as many as the best estimates of the numbers in 2006. Extensive monitoring of the big cat across 20 Indian states every 4 years revealed this increase in the number of tigers, but also the amount of protected-tiger habitat - which bodes well for the future. As well as there being twice as many tigers since 2006, there is now 30 percent more habitat available for them to live (and thrive) in.
New Caffeine Study
People who have a couple of teas or coffees a day have a lower risk of dementia and marginally better cognitive performance than those who avoid the drinks, researchers say. Health records for more than 130,000 people showed that over 40 years, those who routinely drank two to three cups of caffeinated coffee or one to two cups of caffeinated tea daily had a 15-20 percent lower risk of dementia than those who went without, according to a report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. “Our study alone can’t prove causality, but to our knowledge, it is the best evidence to date looking at coffee and tea intake and cognitive health, and it is consistent with plausible biology,” said the lead author, Yu Zhang, who studies nutritional epidemiology at Harvard University.
Amazing Transformation
The Don River has transformed from a state of hideous pollution to a biodiverse ecosystem home to over 20 species of fish, says Canada’s National Observer. As with so many rivers that bisect cities all along each side of the border in the Great Lakes Region, Toronto’s River Don was so polluted in once caught fire. After CAD$1 billion in restoration initiatives, however, for the first time in virtually anyone’s living memory, the river is clean and fishable, with ecologists recently confirming the presence of Atlantic salmon, large mouth bass at every life stage, and the emerald bowfin - a warm-water fish native to Ontario - all at the same time.
"If you want your children to listen, try talking softly to someone else." Ann Landers
On This Day
11 February 1929: Benito Mussolini of Italy and Pietro Gasparri of the Vatican signed the Lateran Treaty, recognizing papal sovereignty over Vatican City, an enclave in Rome. This treaty settled the 58-year "Roman Question" (dating from 1870), recognizing the Pope's territorial sovereignty and providing financial compensation for the loss of the Papal States.
Today's Articles
Hilarious Gaffes: Italian commentator at the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics made numerous blunders.
Cracking The Code: Scientists believe they have discovered how the cheap painkiller aspirin can stop cancers spreading.
Mood Boosting Video
Playing in Snow: A couple of adorable red squirrels filmed in Finland.