What better way to perk up the day than with a global round up of bite sized chunks of positive news?
Record Breaker
It's been a wonderful few days for for Taylor Swift. Last week, her new album - Midnights - became the first album to sell a million units in a week in five years (the previous one was one of hers too!) and now she has become the first artist to claim all of the top 10 slots on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart. On top of all that, Midnights became the most streamed album of the year in its opening week, with 72.5 million streams across the seven days. And Spotify says the album also broke the record for most-streamed album in a single day.
Drinking Water
Over the last two decades, the global population with access to safely managed drinking water services has increased from 3.8 billion to 5.8 billion people. That means 90 percent of human beings now have access to either basic or safely managed drinking water services - the highest proportion in our species' history, says the World Health Organisation.
Africa's Hidden Water: Researchers say it would help communities cope with climate impacts like drought and irregular rainfall. If extracted with simple tools like boreholes and pumps, the groundwater could be Africa's “insurance policy against climate change.” Read on...
Equal Pay
In India, male and female athletes will now receive equal pay for international cricket matches, "as we move into a new era of gender equality in cricket," announced the Board of Control for Cricket. The announcement follows a similar five-year deal for equal pay that New Zealand Cricket made in July. Cheteshwar Pujara, a batter in the men's Test side, responded to the news saying the decision is "a great step" and that it was "setting an example for the world to follow".
Autistic Scout
With each merit badge he earned, from moviemaking to golfing, Ben Hayes grew more and more confident, inspiring his fellow scouts and troop leaders. Hayes, 14, is an Eagle Scout from Whitehall, Michigan. He has now reached his goal of earning all 139 merit badges - something less than 1 percent of scouts achieve. Hayes has autism, and when he was being bullied in elementary school, he joined Boy Scouts to make friends, build his confidence and learn new skills. He excelled. "The lesson I learned, not everything is easy, but if you work hard you will get to your goal," Hayes said. "To be accepted by peers who don't judge you has a whole new meaning."
Go Oslo!
Oslo is on course to become the first capital city in the world with an all-electric public transport system, targeting that goal for the end of 2023 as part of its aim to become the world's first wholly emissions-free city by 2030.
New Vaccine
A new dengue vaccine that cuts the risk of fever by 61 percent and hospitalisation by 84 percent is on the cusp of being approved by the European Medicines Agency. Global dengue cases have almost doubled over the last three decades, and the only other vaccine we've tried wasn't safe. The good news is that this new one is.
Thunderous Buzz
While researchers were out studying the weather at a field station in England, they noticed something unexpected on one of their instruments. Though there was no storm approaching, the scientists’ electric field monitors recorded a curious uptick in atmospheric electric charge.
Nearby, western honeybees that lived in on-site research hives were swarming as they attempted to find a new home. When the team took a closer look at their data, they discovered that the swarming honeybees had created an atmospheric electric charge - and, remarkably, that their charge was similar to that of a thunderstorm cloud. The researchers shared more details about their findings this week in the journal iScience.
Flowers Can Hear Bees: A new study shows plants can ‘hear’ the humming of nearby pollinators and increase their sugar content in response. Read on...
Quote of the Day
“Love your family, work super hard, live your passion” Gary Vaynerchuk
On this Day
3 November 1992: Democratic politician Carol Moseley Braun became the first African American woman elected to the U.S. Senate.
Environmental advocates worldwide are celebrating the news of Brazil's new president as a major victory - especially for the Amazon rainforest. Read on...
New device is so cheap and efficient, making decarbonization across the industrial sector easy - saving 15% of the world's annual carbon emissions. Read on...
Happiness-boosting secrets from around the world. Mindsets and attitudes that run deep within national cultures. Read on...
Mood Booster
Is this the best ever Pink Panther scene? You decide...