OGN Monday
- 26 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Ensuring the week gets off to a bright start with today's global collection of upbeat news nuggets.
The Earth's Eye
“An aerial view of the Hveravellir geothermal area in Iceland shows a natural formation that looks like an animal’s eye. A dark, deep-blue pool sits at the center, surrounded by rough, textured ground in rich brown shades. The mineral deposits create a layered effect, adding to the eye-like appearance. The surrounding rocky landscape is barren, making the formation stand out even more. The whole scene has a raw, natural beauty that feels almost alive,” says photographer Pawel Zygmunt, who won the Natural Landscape category in the latest Nature Photography Contest.
Medellín, Colombia
UNESCO has named the South American city next year’s World Book Capital. The literary distinction recognizes a major cultural shift for Medellín, which, alongside a drastic decrease in crime, has seen a huge rise in bookstores. Today, the city of 2.5 million boasts over 110 bookstores and 25 libraries, many of which were once prisons and police facilities.
Abortion Rights
Luxembourg will become the second European country after France to protect abortion in its constitution, after legislators just overwhelmingly backed a constitutional amendment stating that “the freedom to resort to voluntary termination of pregnancy is guaranteed.”
Looking Good
NASA has released stunning new Saturn images, revealing the planet in spectacular detail, capturing the gas giant in both visible and infrared light. The images, which were taken by NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and Hubble Space Telescope, show the planet’s turbulent atmosphere, offering the “most comprehensive view of Saturn to date.” Hubble captured the planet’s reflected visible light and highlighted Saturn’s iconic yellow hues - which are, in part, a product of the sunlight-reflecting ammonia crystals and hydrocarbons such as methane in its atmosphere. JWST, meanwhile, looked at the planet’s infrared light to peer deeper into the layers of its atmosphere.
Deep-Sea Mining
The latest session of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) Council has drawn to a close with none of the outcomes the deep-sea mining industry had hoped for. No mining was approved, and the long-delayed Mining Code - the regulatory rulebook that would need to be in place before any commercial extraction could legally proceed - remains unfinished. ISA says that all outstanding issues must be fully resolved before any mining could even be considered. Happily, and at long last, it appears that humanity is coalescing around the conclusion that deep-sea mining is a bad idea, says Oceanographic.
Really Going For It
India is really starting to come to the party on climate and energy. Emissions growth has slowed to a trickle, and the country is now a solar panel manufacturing powerhouse. That positions India as a major global solar production hub, which is crucial because… drumroll please… India’s government just announced plans to quadruple solar capacity and triple wind power by 2035, signalling a major acceleration in its energy transition. Climate Action Tracker reckons it will achieve this by 2030, meaning that 60 percent of the country's power will be from renewables. That is remarkable, considering where the country was a decade ago.
How Old do You Look?
In a new Instagram post, Katy Perry, 41, shared a glimpse into a recent date night with Justin Trudeau, the former Canadian prime minister, 54. In the photo, the pair grinned at the camera as they held up their phones. It seems the couple had just taken part in a biological age test courtesy of Function, a health platform offering access lab tests and advanced imaging. “How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you were?” Perry captioned the post. Perry’s screen read 33.1, about eight years younger than her real age, while Trudeau’s read 43, about 11 years younger than his real age.
Did You Know?
If you don't click on the OGN Daily newsletter for 5 consecutive days, you get knocked off the mailing list. Sorry, but it's a sort of tech hygiene thing. We over-ride it once a month - generally the last Sunday of each month. So, if you wonder why you suddenly stop receiving OGN Daily, that's why. You can, of course, just head to the website if you fancy an uplifting dose of good news.
"If the time is not ripe, we have to ripen the time." Dorothy Height
On This Day
30 March 1867: The United States buys Alaska from Russia for $7,200,000 (approx. $159m in 2026), roughly 2 cents an acre. Negotiated by Secretary of State William H. Seward, the treaty added 586,412 square miles to the U.S.. Though initially mocked as "Seward's Folly," the acquisition proved highly strategic and valuable. The discovery of gold in the 1890s and later oil reserves turned the acquisition into one of the most profitable land deals in U.S. history.
Today's Articles
Simple Daily Habit: Longevity is often attributed to diet, genetics, exercise or stress levels. But a vascular surgeon says a key to healthy aging may be far simpler.
Mood Boosting Video
Aviation Masterpiece: Astronaut Tim Peake flies in Spitfire for its 90th anniversary.
