Good News Worth Celebrating
- Editor OGN Daily
- Sep 14
- 5 min read
Quick summary of last week's top good news stories from around the world.
Health & Wellbeing
Rice Bonanza: Rice prices fall, and a record harvest looms. Favourable weather and decades of farming improvements mean the world is on track for its biggest rice crop in nearly two decades - helping to push prices down to their lowest in 18 years, and easing food costs for billions of people, reports the Financial Times.
Universal Childcare: A groundbreaking new law in New Mexico makes it the first state in the USA to guarantee no-cost childcare for all families - designed to boost the economy by enabling parents, particularly mothers, to enter or re-enter the workforce. The state estimates it will save families an average of $12,000 per child. This progressive move could set a new national standard by showing that investing in children and families is a powerful path to long-term prosperity.
Alzheimer's Test: More than 1,000 people across the UK with suspected dementia are to be offered a blood test for Alzheimer's disease which it is hoped could revolutionise diagnosis of the disease. The blood test can detect biomarkers for rogue proteins which accumulate in the brains of patients with the condition. As early diagnosis is important, scientists believe the blood test will improve the accuracy of diagnosis from 70 percent to more than 90 percent.
New Ireland Policy: This week brought another small but symbolic step forward in Ireland: free public transport for all children under nine as part of the country’s broader effort to reduce costs for families and cut emissions by getting more people onto buses and trains.
African Economies: For the first time in ten years, no African country is officially in debt distress, says Bloomberg. Debt burdens remain high and still weigh on growth, but the pressure is easing thanks to IMF-backed restructurings, falling inflation and renewed investor appetite.
Conservation & Wildlife
Good News For Koalas: Australia's embattled koalas have been given some good news for once, with the approval of the world's first chlamydia vaccine for the marsupial. More than a decade in the making, the vaccine will protect koalas from the widespread disease and is a milestone in the efforts to save vulnerable koalas.
Chicago River: After more than a century of industrial abuse, the Chicago River is now seeing fish populations return, recreational use expand and pollution decline. Multi-billion-dollar investments in sewage treatment and stormwater infrastructure have transformed what was once an open sewer into a recovering urban waterway, reports Inside Climate News.
Population Explosion: New Zealanders woke up to a new population overnight. One day it was 5 million, the next day it was 695 billion.
Bluefin Tuna: After decades of absence, Atlantic bluefin tuna are making a remarkable comeback to Cornish waters off England's south west coast. Their reappearance signals improving ocean health and successful conservation efforts.
Benefits of Bison: Conservation efforts mean that about 5,000 bison currently call Yellowstone National Park home. A new study underscores just how important these large mammals can be for maintaining a healthy and heterogeneous ecosystem. Researchers found that the animals play a key role in the nitrogen cycle as their movements increase the amount of microbes in the soil. In turn, these microbes increase the amount of nitrogen for plants, improving their nutritious value by up to 150 percent.
Coral Hotspot: Another important victory for marine conservation has been achieved in the Philippines, where a new law establishes a protected area off Panaon Island, covering approximately 151,000 acres and home to some of the world's most climate-resilient coral reefs. It also brings the Philippines closer to its international conservation goals.
Bogs For Security: Finland and Poland are drawing up plans to restore their wetlands to mitigate two looming threats: climate change and Russian tanks. Despite being vital carbon sinks, many of Europe’s bogs have been drained to make way for agriculture. But amid concerns that Russian tanks could roll across the border, Finland and Poland see the wetlands as a useful ally, and plan to restore them along their borders with Russia. “It’s a win-win situation that achieves many targets at the same time.”
Lifestyle & Entertainment
Time For Repairs: In good news for rail travellers in Scotland, the West Highland Line - often hailed as one of the world's most scenic railways - is set for a significant upgrade and repair programme. This iconic Scottish route, famously featuring the Glenfinnan Viaduct, was regularly seen in the Harry Potter films. Clearly, the Hogwarts Express has taken its toll on the line.
'The Wizard of Oz': The Las Vegas Sphere’s 4D, AI-enhanced, 70-minute version of 1939’s The Wizard of Oz is shaping up to be the most successful repertory theatrical run in history. The movie is generating about $2 million a day from three screenings, and the film will likely bring in $1 billion in ticket sales before it finishes its preliminary run, says Bloomberg.
Rave Reviews: Leonardo DiCaprio’s new film - scheduled for release on 26 September - is being hailed as a masterpiece, with Steven Spielberg among the high-profile industry figure singing its praises.
Climate & Renewable Energy
Eco Wave Power: America's first onshore wave energy project starts operating in Los Angeles.
Global Solar Surge: In the first half of the year, the world added 380 GW of new solar capacity, a 64 percent jump from the first six months of 2024. It took until September last year to surpass 350 GW; in 2025 we crossed that threshold in June, says energy think-tank Ember.
Green Investment: Global investment in green energy projects hit a record $386bn in the first half of the year - a 10 percent increase compared to the same period last year - according to analysis by Bloomberg. China accounted for 44 percent of global renewables investment.
Counterintuitive Solution: Dirty nuclear waste could help power clean energy for future fusion reactors.
US Coal Declines: The US is on track to retire more coal capacity in 2025 than it did under the Biden administration last year, despite the efforts of the Trump White House. That’s according to analysis by Carbon Brief. In fact, US power growth is now almost entirely clean despite what you may read in the headlines. In July 2025, 99.7 percent of power capacity that came online was clean, reports Cleanview.
Smart: There's big news about a very small car after Mercedes-Benz announced that it is developing a new low-priced, all-electric, two-seater city car called the Smart #2, and it’s scheduled for launch in late 2026.
And Finally...
Good news for both established and budding authors:
Copyright: Anthropic has agreed to pay $1.5 billion and destroy all copies of the books the AI company pirated to train its artificial intelligence models. The settlement is "believed to be the largest publicly reported recovery in the history of US copyright litigation." Covering 500,000 works that Anthropic pirated for AI training, if a court approves the settlement, each author will receive $3,000 per work that Anthropic stole.
Go Finish Your Book: After years of giving millions of dollars to literacy programs, bookstore employees and librarians, James Patterson has now launched an initiative on behalf of emerging authors. The bestselling novelist and true crime writer has announced that the first 12 recipients of grants from his "Go Finish Your Book" campaign. Authors each will receive up to $50,000 to help them complete their manuscript. "There are so many incredible stories out there that never get written because life gets in the way. I wanted to give these writers a little time, a little space, and a push to say: your voice matters - now go finish your book."
That's it you are up to date. Feel free to send this page to friends and family and spread the good news.
