Today's eclectic bundle of positive news nuggets from around the globe.
Slice of Life
German photo printing company CEWE has just announced the winners of its photo competition, which it says is the world's largest. Indonesian photographer Dikye Ariani was the overall winner for her image of a woman immersed in a card game with locals at a traditional Indonesian café, or 'Warung Kopi.' Ariani's slice-of-life image won out over the 509,612 photos submitted by amateur and professional photographers around the world. “Dikye Ariani impressively captures the atmosphere of a special moment with her photo,” states the jury.
Be Hurd on Climate
Hurd, a new, free app, dedicated to helping employees demand more and do more on climate at work, has launched across three platforms - Apple, Android and web.
Runner Duck - Again
A duck that was born with a twisted leg that left it unable to walk has been given a new lease of life thanks to a 3D-printed limb. Hope, a runner duck, was born in Germany to a flock kept as pets by Jennifer Laszenszky. After an operation failed to straighten its twisted leg, she refused to have the duck put down, and got in touch with a 3D-limb designer, who made a limb that could be attached with Velcro to Hope's damaged leg. To see him quacking "excitedly" after having the 3D limb attached brought "tears to my eyes", Laszenszky told Bild.
The Queen of Pop
Madonna has been re-certified by Guinness World Records as the biggest-selling female recording artist of all time, a title she has held since 2009. The singer has reportedly sold over 400 million records - albums and singles - across her 40 year career. Although precise sales figures are difficult to obtain and are often disputed, GWR has said it is widely acknowledged that only The Beatles, Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson have conclusively sold more records worldwide than Madonna.
Female Quarters
Five more women will feature in a special run of quarters to be minted for 2025, the US Treasury Department has announced. They are journalist and NAACP co-founder Ida B. Wells, Girl Scouts founder Juliette Gordon Low, astronomer Vera Rubin, disabilities activist Stacey Park Milbern and tennis and golf star Althea Gibson. The designs will be revealed next year. A total of 20 women have been featured on quarters since the American Women Quarters Program started in 2022. Other notable women who already feature on coins include writer Maya Angelou, astronaut Sally Ride and former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt.
Inspiring Maya Angelou Quotes: A jack of all trades and master of everything, Maya Angelou is widely regarded as a brilliant mind. She was a poet, storyteller, playwright, activist, and autobiographer. Quotes...
Motoring in Milan
Milan is to ban cars in its city centre from 2024, including the Fashion Quadrilatero, where many of the high-end boutiques are located, to tackle rising pollution levels, reports EuroNews. This Italian city follows the lead of Sweden's capital, Stockholm, which announced a similar initiative last month.
NYC Investment
New York is making a massive investment in renewable energy - the largest state investment in clean energy in US history, reports Electrek. Here’s how it breaks down. The total of 6.4 GW is made up of three offshore wind farms and 22 onshore clean energy projects, and it’s going to be enough to power 2.6 million New York homes and deliver around 12 percent of the state’s electricity needs once it’s all online.
"Love does not consist in gazing at each other, but in looking outward together in the same direction." Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
On This Day
2 November 1960: In a landmark British trial, a jury ruled that D.H. Lawrence's Lady Chatterley's Lover was not obscene, thereby allowing Penguin Books to publish the work in its entirety.
Italian court orders middle-aged sons to leave home, much to the relief of their elderly mother. Bamboccioni...
Locking Eyes: A stunning series of images capture the moment an animal “sees” the photographer as their eyes meet. The Jungle is Watching...
Mood Booster
A vivacious troupe of colorful paint blobs dance across a stage of oil and soap liquid to the sounds of Chopin’s Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 (E Flat Major).