Black American child wins US spelling bee

A 14-year-old girl called Zaila Avant-garde has become the first Black American to win the Scripps National Spelling Bee by spelling the word ꞌMurrayaꞌ correctly.

Avant-garde will take home $50,000 (€42,240) and is now only the second Black person after Jody-Anne Maxwell of Jamaica to take the coveted first prize.

"I'm hoping that within the next few years, I can see a little bit of an influx of African Americans, and (there were) not many Hispanic people, either, so I'm hoping to see them there, too,'' she said.

Bee feeders spring up across Germany

A German inventor called Sebastian Everding has come up with an innovative way to help out endangered bee species in his country.

He has managed to turn old gumball machines into dispensers of meadow flower seeds that can then be planted by people to help provide food for bees.

So far he has distributed 116 Bee Feeders, as he calls them, around Germany, full with seeds that are adapted to each area and season, giving bees a fighting chance to survive the sprawling urbanized spaces that threaten their existence.

Record-breaking sandcastle dedicated to the coronavirus

A Dutchman called Wilfred Stijger has created the worldꞌs largest sandcastle in the small seaside town of Blokhus in Denmark, making it into the Guinness Book of Records.

Along with 30 of the worldꞌs best sandcastle-makers. he built a towering 21 meter (69 feet) high monument to symbolize the power of the coronavirus to bring the world to its knees.

Using a total of 4,860 tonnes of sand, it even includes a model of the virus wearing a crown and uses clay and glue to stop it falling apart.

Pandemic heroes honored in New York

Essential workers who helped the city of New York get through tough times in the COVID-19 pandemic have been rewarded with a parade along Broadway.

Doctors, nurses, paramedics, teachers and bus drivers riding on floats were showered with confetti as the city paid tribute to those who sacrificed themselves to keep society going.

As well as a celebration, some of the marchers on Wednesday chose to remember those essential workers who died of the coronavirus while serving the population.

Physics prodigy gets degree at 11-years-old

An 11-year-old boy has been awarded a bachelorꞌs degree in physics from Antwerp University after completing a three-year course in just one year.

Laurent Simons from Oostende in Belgium, who was also taking Masters courses at the same time, got the highest distinction in his course.

Simons hopes to one day be able to replace body parts with mechanical ones using quantum physics.

jc/aw (AP, Reuters, AFP)