Good News Thursday
- Editor OGN Daily
- 12 hours ago
- 4 min read
An eclectic collection of positive news stories from around the world.
Competition at Last
Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group is pushing ahead with plans to run trains through the Channel Tunnel between England and France after regulators approved its application to gain access to the line. Virgin is one of three groups vying to compete with Eurostar, alongside Evolyn and Gemini Trains. The Office for Rail and Road is expected to decide between the three applicants by the summer. It's just one of many exciting developments in Europe that will help to power at rail renaissance, such as plans to link Europe with a huge new high-speed train network that is expected to cut short-haul flights by up to whopping 80 percent.
Spring is Here
It’s officially grizzly bear season. The first bears of 2025 have been spotted in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. Adult males, called boars, are emerging from their dens, with females and juvenile bears expected to follow from now until early May. The bears’ emergence from their winter hibernation is a sure sign that spring is here and officials are also using the opportunity to raise awareness about the potential for human-bear conflicts -and how to prevent them. They’re reminding members of the public to properly store food and garbage, respect wildlife closures and carry bear spray while adventuring in the backcountry. And, if a grizzly or black bear does cross their path, to give the creature plenty of space - at least 100 yards.
Museum Prescription
If life is getting you down in the Swiss town of Neuchâtel, a "novel" medical option is being offered to local residents: "expose yourself to art and get a doctor's note to do it for free". In a two-year pilot project, local and regional authorities are bankrolling "museum prescriptions" from doctors who believe their patients could benefit from visits to the establishments, said the Associated Press. The project is a response to a World Health Organization report which found that arts can boost mental health, reduce the impact of trauma and lower the risk of cognitive decline, frailty and "premature mortality".
Historic Tiles
On cobblestone corners throughout New Orleans’ French Quarter, you’ll find unique ceramic tile markers that don’t look like your average street sign. That’s because the colourful, intricate signs were given to New Orleans by the Spanish government in 1959, to commemorate the city’s Spanish colonial era in the latter half of the 18th century. The 156 tile markers were originally handmade in Talavera de la Reina at the workshop of a family of famed Spanish ceramicists. But over six decades after they were first installed, some of them are showing their age, so Spain is now offering to restore these vibrant pieces of history at no charge, the New Orleans mayor’s office has announced.
Kitchen Scraps
Towns in Belgium and France have been successfully giving away free chickens for ten years to reduce food waste. To date, 5,282 hens have been distributed to residents, and not only have the residents received a plentiful supply of free eggs, but food waste has also been averted from landfill as chickens are fed kitchen scraps which would otherwise be thrown away.
France has passed a law protecting the "sensory heritage" of its rural areas, in the face of complaints about noises and smells typical of the countryside.
Wildlife Crossing
The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing - the largest wildlife crossing of its kind in the world - has reached a new milestone, as workers laid the first layers of soil on the historic California overpass this week. The crossing stretches over California’s 101 freeway and is designed to help bobcats, mountain lions, deer and other creatures safely traverse the busy, 10-lane road. “Wildlife crossings restore ecosystems that had been fractured and disrupted. They reconnect lands and species that are aching to be whole. I believe these crossings go beyond mere conservation, toward a kind of environmental rejuvenation that is long overdue,” Annenberg said on the wildlife crossing’s website.
"Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer's day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time." John Lubbock
On This Day
3 April 1973: The first handheld mobile telephone call was made on a corner of Sixth Avenue in New York by Martin Cooper, an employee of Motorola, who called AT&T's Bell Laboratories.
Today's Articles
Not Sweden? New evidence suggests that the famous Sutton Hoo helmet came from Denmark - changing our understanding of ancient power dynamics in Northern Europe.
Mood Boosting Video
Sebastian Alvarez smashes 3 world records in one wingsuit jump: highest, longest and fastest.