'Priceless' crown returned to Ethiopia

The Dutch Government last week returned a stolen ceremonial crown to the Ethiopian Government. The 18th-century crown, which has great religious significance, went missing from a church in Ethiopia 21 years ago. Sirak Asfaw, a Dutch national of Ethiopian origin who emigrated to the Netherlands in the late 1970s, said he found the treasure in a suitcase left behind by a guest at his apartment in 1998 and he kept it hidden for 21 years. CNN reports that he said he was reluctant to return 'looted heritage to the same regime as the one during which it was stolen'. However, he approached the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs last year 'to discuss how to return this important cultural artefact'. Ethiopian President Abiy Ahmed who received the artefact thanked the Dutch Government. More western governments have pledged to return stolen African artefacts that were looted from the continent centuries ago.