Today's Good News | OGN Daily

Ensuring the week gets off to an upbeat start with today's collection of positive news stories.

Rhino being airlifted by helicopter — Credit: Namibian Ministry of Environment, Tourism and Forestry

Good Plot-Twist

Helicopters from the Vietnam war are airlifting rhinos to safety. In the best kind of plot-twist - using a war machine to save lives, Hueys are revolutionising rhino translocation across Africa; a conservation measure designed to create new populations and ensure genetic diversity, reports the BBC. The use of helicopters decreases the health risks associated with crate travel and long transportations due to lack of roads. Black rhinos are critically endangered, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). However, thanks to conservation efforts, their numbers are on the rise. Today, black rhinos have a population of roughly 6,500 - up from the 1990s' low point of less than 2,500, when poaching and habitat loss drove the species to the edge of extinction.

Progress in Indonesia

According to Our World In Data, the number of people living in extreme poverty fell from 75 percent of the population to less than 2 percent between 1984 and 2023.

Young girl looking at a smartphone — Phones now banned in most schools

Protecting Children

Most schools in England have outlawed mobile phones, according to the first national survey on the subject. The poll of more than 15,000 schools found that 99.8 percent of primary schools and 90 percent of secondary schools have implemented some sort of ban amid mounting evidence linking early years phone use with mental health problems. Unlike in The Netherlands and France, there is no statutory ban on phones in UK schools, but there are calls for one.

Understanding Dolphins

Google has developed DolphinGemma, an AI model specifically designed to analyze and understand complex dolphin vocalizations. The system runs on Pixel phones in the field and is set to be shared as an open model in summer 2025, with the aim of determining whether dolphin communication constitutes a true language.

Human Language: Language has long been considered a uniquely human trait, but this now appears not to be so - thanks to analysis of humpback whale songs.

No Longer a Laggard

Long accused of being a laggard on sustainable energy, in the past four years India has suddenly leapt ahead: solar capacity has doubled since 2021, with the country adding 24 GW in 2024, more than twice as much as in 2023. With these gains, India has overtaken Germany to become the world's third-largest generator of wind and solar electricity.

Remarkable Progress

Kenya's has raised electricity access from 37 percent to 79 percent between 2013 and 2023, reports Energy Monitor. Access has more than doubled in ten years, with urban areas reaching 100 percent coverage and nine million rural residents gaining connections. One in five Kenyan households now uses off-grid solar systems, and renewable sources including geothermal, hydro, wind, and solar generate 90 percent of Kenya's electricity, positioning the nation to achieve universal access by 2030 - and a leader in renewable energy.

"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." Benjamin Franklin

On This Day

19 April 1927: American actress Mae West was sentenced to 10 days in jail, convicted of obscenity and “corrupting the morals of youth” with her portrayal of a prostitute in the Broadway play Sex, which she also wrote; the publicity made her nationally known and launched her Hollywood career.