ICYMI: Feel-good stories from around the world
June 18, 2021
Thumbs up from Christian Eriksen after Euro 2020 collapse
Danish footballer Christian Eriksen shared a hopeful message on his Instagram page after collapsing in the middle of a Euro 2020 match over the weekend.
The midfielder left a continent of football fans on tenterhooks when he collapse on pitch while playing for Denmark in the tournament, with doctors later confirming he'd suffered a cardiac arrest.
Eriksen wrote that "I'm fine - under the circumstances. I still have to go through some examinations at the hospital, but I feel okay."
He also thanked fans for their encouraging greetings and messages "from all around the world. It means a lot to me and my family."
Eriksen also left hospital on Friday. He had a heart defibrillator implanted to regulate his heart rhythm.
MacKenzie Scott donates billions
One of the richest women in the world, MacKenzie Scott, and her new husband Dan Jewett, donated $2.74 billion (roughly €2.3 billion) to organizations that focus on the arts and combating racial discrimination.
In May 2019, shortly before her divorce to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos was final, Scott joined The Giving Pledge, a campaign created by Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, and Melinda Gates. The campaign encourages extremely wealthy people to contribute much of their wealth to philanthropic causes.
Just last year, Scott had given away $1.7 billion of her fortune to 116 organizations to "areas of need"including racial equity, LGBTQ+ equity, functional democracy and climate change.
Again in December, Scott announced that she donated another $4.2 billion to 384 organizations. This most recent donation brings her givings to more than $8.5 billion worth of donations in less than a year.
Already a billionaire in her own right, Scott's 2019 divorce settlement with Bezos made her the world's wealthiest woman.
New York museum to return looted art
The New York Metropolitan Museum of Arts is set to return three art pieces, stolen by the British military in the late 19th century, to Nigeria.
Two of the pieces, a pair of 16th-century Benin Court brass plaques called "Warrior Chief" and "Junior Court Official," were given to the museum in 1991 from an art dealer named Klaus Perls and his wife Dolly.
Another piece, a 14th-century sculpture believed to depict a king, called the Bronze Head from Ife (an ancient Yoruba tribal city in Nigeria), was offered to the museum by another collector.
The move by the museum follows after European museums recently returned art to Nigeria. The Met conducted research alongside the British Museum, which included input from the Nigerian National Commission for Museum and Monuments, and decided it would be best to return the pieces.
Hamburg to prioritize bicycle parking
The German city plans on covering transport stations and even ferry docks with more parking stations for bicycles.
Hamburg already has 24,000 parking spaces for bikes, but by 2030, the city wants more than 40,000. The majority will be usable for free while fixed lockable spaces can also be rented - for €24 ($28.50) per quarter or €90 per annum.
A regional minister for transport, Anjes Tjarks, said the existing bike and ride concept was popular in the city, with over 80% of the available capacity frequently in use. He said that expanding the facilities therefore made sense.
Bicycle parking lots are planned for 2022 at an array of train and tram stations around the city.
World's third largest diamond discovered in Botswana
Miners in Botswana have uncovered what could be the third largest diamond of its kind in the world.
The 1,098-carat diamond was unearthed earlier this month by Debswana, a joint venture between Botswana's government and precious stone multinational De Beers. Botswana is the leading diamond producer in Africa.
As it is the biggest gem the company has found, Botswana's President Mokqweetsi Masisi was shown the giant diamond in the capital Gabronne.
Debswana Managing Director Lynette Armstrong told the AFP news agency that "this rare and extraordinary stone means so much in the context of diamonds and Botswana.''