Sunny Saturday News

Editor OGN Daily
23 minutes ago
3 min read

What better way to celebrate the start of the weekend than with a global selection of upbeat news stories?

New bronze statue of Solomon Northup in Louisiana — Courtesy of Louisiana State Representative Daryl Deshotel

Hope Out of Darkness

A statue has been unveiled in Avoyelles Parish - a Louisiana town - to commemorate the 165th anniversary of the liberation of a wrongfully enslaved man. Solomon Northup was born a free black man in upstate New York in 1807; Melissa Howell, a direct descendant, says in 1841, two men approached him in Washington D.C. with what seemed to be a lucrative offer, but they were con men and he was egregiously tricked into slavery and sent to Louisiana. Northup’s story is immortalized in his 1853 autobiography, 12 Years a Slave, which was adapted in 2013 into an Academy Award-winning film, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Under The Radar

But potentially good news all the same. American lawmakers have agreed to a $50 billion compromise foreign assistance budget for 2026, restoring funding for Gavi and the International Development Association while preserving over $9.4 billion for global health, $5.4 billion for humanitarian aid and $691.5 million for global education. As one education advocate put it, the funding is “relatively good, considering everything.” It's not a done deal just yet, but could get signed off soon.

Canadian Record

No-till farming helps Canada post record grain exports, reports Reuters. Canadian farmers are harvesting record spring wheat and canola crops, driven largely by widespread no-till and zero-till farming that locks in soil moisture and cuts erosion. Longer term, yields are up 77 percent for wheat and nearly double for canola since the mid-1990s. As the world’s largest canola exporter and a top five wheat producer, Canada’s gains are easing global food supply pressures even as climate volatility intensifies.

Found After 200 Years

A lost portrait of Robert Burns by renowned artist Sir Henry Raeburn has been found after more than 200 years. The painting will go on public display for the first time to celebrate Burns Night on 25 January at National Galleries Scotland. The painting, commissioned in 1803, was found during a house clearance in Surrey and consigned to auction in London in March 2025. With a starting price of between £300 to £500, the winning bid was £68,000. Long-term Burns scholar and enthusiast Dr William Zachs, Director of Blackie House Library and Museum in Edinburgh, understood the potential significance of the painting and purchased the portrait believing it could be the elusive missing artwork. The painting has since been cleaned, and examined by experts, who confirm that it is, indeed, the lost Raeburn portrait.

By The Numbers

63 Percent: Share of Gen Z that intentionally unplugs from smartphones, the highest of any generation.

1973: The last year - until 2025 - that both India and China registered a simultaneous drop in coal power generation.

145: Nations that have signed the High Seas Treaty, which went into effect on 17 January.

Zootopia 2

Disney’s hit sequel has earned $1.7 billion globally, overtaking another hit Disney sequel, 2024’s Inside Out 2 ($1.69 billion), to stand as Hollywood’s highest-grossing animated film in history. With these box office heights, Zootopia 2 is now the ninth-biggest global release of all time, ranking behind two superhero juggernauts, Spider-Man: No Way Home ($1.9 billion) and Avengers: Infinity War ($2 billion). Among its other milestones, Zootopia 2 became the fastest animated Hollywood film and quickest PG-rated release to reach $1 billion globally.

“It is not the answer that enlightens, but the question.” Eugene Decouvertes

On This Day

24 January 1935: First canned beer, "Krueger's Cream Ale," is sold by American company Krueger Brewing Co. This innovation allowed for lighter, cheaper, and more convenient packaging than bottles, quickly gaining massive popularity and changing the industry.