Some tasty bite-sized chunks of positive news stories from around the world.
Hunter's Moon
Stargazers are in for an astronomical treat as the year's biggest supermoon, the Hunter's Moon, will dominate the sky tonight. This is the third in a series of four back-to-back months with supermoons, but this one will surely be the crème de la crème, as it is the closest full moon of 2024, making it the largest. The final supermoon of the series will be on 15 November, though, so you don't have long to wait if you miss this one.
Pipe Dream
President Biden has announced $2.6 billion in funding to replace all lead pipes in the United States as part of a new EPA rule that will require lead pipes to be identified and replaced within 10 years using the new funding from the Infrastructure Act. The EPA estimates that nine million homes in the U.S. still have lead pipes.
Pandamonium
For the first time in more than two decades, giant pandas are making a long journey from China to Washington, D.C. Two of the black-and-white creatures - a male named Bao Li and a female called Qing Bao - are officially on their way to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute. The bears have been in quarantine since 13 September, ready for their flight aboard the “Panda Express,” a FedEx Boeing 777 cargo jet. For security reasons, authorities haven’t revealed much about the bears’ arrival in the U.S. But the “Panda Express” will likely land at Dulles International Airport, where a police escort will be waiting to take the bears to the National Zoo.
'Sensational Testimony'
Archaeologists have unearthed the remains of an Armenian church dating back almost 2,000 years, making it the oldest structure of its kind in the country and one of the oldest in the world, and described as "a sensational testimony to early Christianity in Armenia." Experts believe the church in Artaxata (once the capital of the ancient Armenian kingdom) was originally built in the 4th century A.D. That timing coincides with the construction of Etchmiadzin Cathedral, also in Armenia, which is considered the ancient kingdom's first cathedral and is often regarded as the oldest cathedral in the world.
Smartphone Ban
Calls are growing to ban smartphones in schools in England by law, as education experts and unions back an MP’s attempt to push a new law through Parliament. Children “doomscrolling for hours a day” is causing widespread harm, according to Josh MacAlister, the Labour MP and former teacher behind the private member's bill introduced in the House of Commons yesterday. Most schools in England already have a ban or restrictions on phone use, after government guidance was introduced earlier this year.
SMRs
Google has signed a “world first” deal to buy energy from a fleet of mini nuclear reactors to generate the power needed for the rise in use of artificial intelligence. It has ordered six or seven small nuclear reactors (SMRs) from California’s Kairos Power, with the first due to be completed by 2030 and the remainder by 2035. Google hopes the deal will provide a low-carbon solution to power datacentres, which require huge volumes of electricity.
“The secret joys of living are not found by rushing from point A to point B, but by slowing down and inventing some imaginary letters along the way.” Douglas Pagels
On This Day
17 October 1979: Mother Teresa, founder of a Roman Catholic order of women dedicated to the poor and particularly to the destitute of India, was named the recipient of that year's Nobel Prize for Peace.
Today's Articles
New Campaign Film: Chanel has announced that Australians Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi are the new faces of Chanel No.5
Blended-Wing: Unique aircraft could be part of the solution for decarbonising aviation industry with long-range clean flights.
Mood Boosting Video
Snow Ploughing: Enjoy the rather mesmerising sight of locomotives plowing through snow-covered tracks.
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