Good News Thursday

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Worldwide selection of good news nuggets to perk up the day.

Wooden statue of Magawa, an African giant pouched rat — Credit: Senior Minister Ly Thuch | Facebook

Heroic Rat

A famous mine-clearing rat, who was awarded a gold medal for his heroism, has been commemorated with the world's first statue dedicated to a landmine-detecting rat. Magawa, who lived to eight years old, sniffed out over 100 landmines and other explosives in Cambodia during his five-year career that started in 2016. Magawa, an African giant pouched rat, used his acute sense of smell and training to detect a chemical compound within explosives. He would then alert human handlers of mines that could be later safely removed - thereby saving countless lives. During his time, Magawa cleared more than 141,000 square metres (1,517,711 sq ft) of land - the equivalent of 20 football pitches.

Earth peeping out from behind the moon — Credit: NASA

Carroll's Crater

The Artemis II astronauts broke the record for the farthest distance from Earth ever traveled by humans on Monday, becoming the first to lay eyes on some parts of the far side of the moon. The four-person crew, captained by Reid Wiseman, spotted several craters that didn't yet have names. They decided to propose some, in hopes of making a personal - and heartfelt - mark on the moon. Mission specialist Jeremy Hansen, on the line with mission control, suggested that the first crater be named after their spacecraft, "Integrity." For the second, they suggested Carroll, in honor of Wiseman's wife, who died of cancer in 2020 at age 46.

Helmet Recovered

Last year, thieves broke into a Dutch museum and stole Romania’s treasured helmet of Cotofenesti, a 2,500-year-old gold artifact created by the ancient Dacian people of Eastern Europe. Because of the helmet’s recognizability, experts feared the thieves would melt it down and sell its gold undetected. But, happily, Dutch officials have just announced that they had recovered the helmet with minimal damage, as well as two of the three armbands taken in the same heist. “We are incredibly pleased,” Dutch prosecutor Corien Fahner told reporters at a press conference. “It has been a roller coaster. Especially for Romania, but also for employees of the Drents Museum.”

Right whale with her calf swimming along side — Credit: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission | NOAA permit 26919

Doing Right

Sometimes we all need a little help from strangers - and “we” includes North Atlantic right whales. With fewer than 400 of the critically endangered whales in the wild, each individual is a glimmer of hope for the species. But because these whales cannot be digitally tracked or chipped due to injury and infection risk, they often remain unseen to the ships and nets that threaten them. That’s why Zoë Rauscher, a volunteer and drone pilot for the Marineland Right Whale Project, launched a GoFundMe campaign. The goal is to raise money for specialized equipment, like drones, high-resolution cameras, and marine binoculars, that helps researchers conduct surveys to locate the whales, alert ships of their presence, and, ultimately, protect them.

Back to Back?

“For the past 17 years I just could not wait for the tournament to start,” Rory McIlroy says. “And this year I wouldn’t care if it never did.” Which, he adds quickly, doesn’t mean that he feels “any less motivated to go out there and play well and try to win the tournament”, only that “he’s a lot more relaxed about it. It is so nice to walk around the property or be out on the golf course and, yeah, just not have that hanging over me, like it feels that it’s a big weight off my shoulders.” Since he won the Masters last year, no one’s asking him when he’s going to get it done any more. Instead, everyone’s telling him he can win it back-to-back. “It’s nice, there’s a real positive connotation to it.” Nobody knows how it will play out. Only three men, Woods, Nicklaus, and Nick Faldo, have ever won the tournament twice in succession.

Why Golf is Good For Your Mental Health: Golfers probably already know this, but here are five good reasons to tell your non-golfing other half why you need to hit the fairways.

A formal garden at The Village at Lyons — Credit: Sotheby's International Realty

Irish Village For Sale

Say hello to an entire village in County Kildare. The Village at Lyons, just a half-hour drive from Dublin, is a historic private estate spanning a whopping 20 acres. The compound sits beside Lyons Hill, an early medieval royal site where the kings of Leinster resided starting around 760 A.D. In the 1820s, the land was turned into a village, where a relative of the Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton ran a flour mill. Fast-forward to the 1990s, and Ryanair founder Tony Ryan restored the village, preserving its historical charm while making it something of a modern-day town. The singular spread is now on the market for $23 million, with Sotheby’s International Realty holding the listing.

"April prepares her green traffic light and the world thinks, 'Go!' Christopher Morley

On This Day

Winston Churchill at his desk in Downing Street

9 April 1963: President John F. Kennedy signed a proclamation making Sir Winston Churchill the first honorary citizen of the United States. Due to his advanced age and poor health, Churchill watched the White House Rose Garden ceremony, where his son and grandson accepted the honour on his behalf. The event was the first ever live television broadcast from the White House to Europe via the Telstar satellite.