Ensuring the day gets off to a sunny start with a global round up of positive news nuggets.
Perfect Cloud
Chilean photographer Francisco Negroni has been named the Standard Chartered Weather Photographer of the Year with his incredible photograph of a lenticular cloud surrounding a volcanic crater. The gigantic lenticular cloud surrounds the crater of the Villarrica volcano, while the lava illuminates the cloud from within. Francisco Negroni camped out at the volcano - one of Chile’s most active - for ten days to capture this special moment, during a period of intense volcanic activity. Negroni can add the award to his impressive resume, which is filled with prizes from international photo contests. You can follow Negroni on Instagram.
Good News From J&J
Johnson & Johnson has announced will not enforce patents on a lifesaving treatment for tuberculosis in 134 low- and middle-income countries. The treatment is called bedaquiline, and it’s essential in treating “multidrug-resistant” TB, a particularly deadly form of the virus that impacts half a million people every year. For years and for millions of people, the drug has been out of reach since J&J’s patents prevented affordable, generic versions of it from being created. The news is being celebrated by global health organizations who have long been pushing for the company to end its patents and make the treatment affordable and accessible where it’s most needed.
Undersea Bullet Train
The UAE has never shied away from audacious projects. Still, their latest idea seems more science fiction than future reality: An underwater bullet train to India. Crossing over 1,240 miles (2,000 km) miles of deep ocean at 600 miles (1,000 km) an hour with scenic views? On the face of it, that sounds more like a wildly expensive amusement ride than transportation infrastructure. Yet with feasibility studies underway, they seem serious about it. Connecting Mumbai and Fujairah in mere hours would deliver enormous economic benefits.
Final Series Dates
The final season of The Crown will be released in two parts, starting next month. Season six of the hit royal series will begin on 16 November, with the second half arriving on 14 December, the streaming service has announced.
Irish Wind
In Ireland, wind power generation temporarily exceeded the total demand for electricity for the first time ever, reports EuroNews. In total, Irish wind farms provided 32 percent of the country’s power over the first eight months of 2023.
Town Unites to Help
Jack Steel figured it was worth a shot to put up a missing person poster for his lost Lego, and his instinct was correct. The 10-year-old from Ulverston, England, made a Lego figure over the summer that looked just like him, and carried it everywhere. When he realized it fell out of his backpack and was nowhere to be found, he created a poster with a drawing and description of the Lego and put it on a pole along his route to school. His mom, Lorna Walker, shared an image of the poster on her Facebook page, and neighbours started searching for the figure. It was found by a teenager whose mother saw Walker's post. Steel had offered a reward of £2 ($2.50), but instead bought the teen a box of chocolates. A grateful Steel told The Washington Post it meant a lot to him that "when all the people saw the poster, they wanted to help."
"Don't fear failure. Not failure, but low aim, is the crime. In great attempts it is glorious even to fail." Bruce Lee
On this Day
11 October 1975: The TV sketch comedy and variety show Saturday Night Live debuted on NBC and became a landmark in American television.
Mood Booster
The remarkable story of the boy who invented Braille.
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