Sunny Saturday News

Editor OGN Daily
Oct 4
4 min read

Celebrating the start of the weekend with a global collection of upbeat news nuggets.

Studio portrait of Makereti Papakura — Credit: Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford

Posthumous Degree

More than 100 years ago, a Maori woman packed up her life as a tour guide and entertainer in New Zealand and set off for England, where she would soon make history by enrolling at Oxford university. Makereti Papakura - believed to be the first woman from an Indigenous community to study at the university - sadly died in 1930 just three weeks before completing her thesis, and in the decades since, her family has fought to have her degree recognised. Last week, that recognition was granted. In front of more than 100 family and iwi (tribal) members who travelled to Oxford to witness the honour, Papakura was posthumously awarded an MPhil in anthropology for her work documenting the life, language and customs of her Te Arawa people - work that is still used by Maori today.

The 'Chess Messi'

Faustino Oro, the 11-year-old “chess Messi” from Argentina, set new world records for his age when he won last week’s Legends and Prodigies tournament in Madrid with an unbeaten 7.5/9, achieving his first grandmaster norm (of three needed for the title). Oro became the first under-12 in chess history to be rated 2500-plus. His next target will be his second and third GM norms, and with them Abhimanyu Mishra’s world record as the youngest ever GM, within the next four months or so. He already has the World Cup in Goa, the European Club Cup in Greece, and a closed tournament in Argentina lined up.

Jeremy Allen White as Springsteen | Macall Polay / 20th Century Studios

Bossing It

Bruce Springsteen’s enthusiasm for the forthcoming biopic about the making of his 1982 album Nebraska is hard to miss. Unlike Bob Dylan, who gave last year’s acclaimed biopic A Complete Unknown his blessing, then a very wide berth indeed (he didn’t even attend the premiere), Springsteen has turned up at film festivals to promote Deliver Me from Nowhere, telling the audience at Colorado’s Telluride festival that he’d finally broken the habit of a lifetime and agreed to the making of a biopic because “I’m old and I don’t give a f**k what I do now”, jumping on stage in New York in order to praise the actors’ performances, launch another of his broadsides against Donald Trump and sing his 1999 track Land of Hope And Dreams. The movie is released in the UK, US and Australia on 24 October.

Trailer: Springsteen - Deliver Me From Nowhere

Sarah Mullally, the new Archbishop of Canterbury — Sarah Mullally

New Spiritual Leader

Sarah Mullally has been named as the first female leader of the Church of England as Downing Street announced the 106th archbishop of Canterbury. It's the first time an archbishop of Canterbury has been chosen since the Church of England allowed women to become bishops in 2014. The archbishop is regarded as the spiritual leader of the Anglican church all over the world and also has a seat in the House of Lords.

London's Air

Air pollution in London fell to within the legal limit for the first time in 2024, new government data suggests. That London breached limits on nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution for so long has been an ongoing controversy. However, finally meeting its legal obligations on NO2 levels is nonetheless remarkable: as recently as 2019, experts said that it would take 193 years to hit the target without decisive action. “London’s success demonstrates the power of bold, evidence-based interventions to deliver cleaner air,” said Prof Frank Kelly of Imperial College London.

14 lottery winners holding their check for $50 million — Credit: Cantechletter.com

Striking Gold

In the remote fishing town of St. Paul’s River, Quebec, a single lottery ticket has changed life forever. Fourteen longtime friends and neighbors struck gold in September when their Lotto Max pool hit the $50 million jackpot - suddenly making nearly 10 percent of the community multi-millionaires. The winners, many of whom have been playing together for 18 years, each walked away with about $3.5 million. But the impact of the win goes far beyond the lucky group. Carpenters and contractors in the village of around 200 people are already being swamped with requests for home renovations and upgrades that the winners had dreamed about for years.

"Sometimes opportunities float right past your nose. Work hard, apply yourself, and be ready. When an opportunity comes you can grab it." Julie Andrews

On This Day

Painting of Dutch mathematician Christiaan Huygens

4 October 1675: Dutch mathematician Christiaan Huygens patents the pocket watch. He also patented the first pendulum clock in 1656, which he had developed to meet his need for exact time measurement while observing the heavens.