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fortune gems gcash S outh Africa finished their 2024 campaign as they started it: with victory over Wales. This was the most expected of successes against Wales, whose staggering sequence of losses continued in Cardiff. The home side have developed into a team of inveterate losers; it’s easy to look at the Springboks in a diametrically opposed light. Easy, but inaccurate. For all the success of the Springboks under Rassie Erasmus, including two World Cups (one as director of rugby but never anything but the main man) and the 2024 Rugby Championship, they don’t have the winning runs that the All Blacks and England under Eddie Jones clocked up this century. Victory at the Principality was about the result, not the performance, although they were brutally brilliant in the first 20 minutes when the game was in effect taken away from Wales. Here we saw a glimpse of where this team are going. The speed of ruck enabled both second-rows, Franco Mostert and Eben Etzebeth, to blast through retreating Welsh defence for glorious tries.Former President Jimmy Carter has died at the age of 100. The 39th president of the United States was a Georgia peanut farmer who sought to restore trust in government when he assumed the presidency in 1977 and then built a reputation for tireless work as a humanitarian. He earned a Nobel Peace Prize in 2002. He died Sunday, more than a year after entering hospice care, at his home in Plains, Georgia. At age 52, Carter was sworn in as president on Jan. 20, 1977, after defeating President Gerald R. Ford in the 1976 general election. Carter left office on Jan. 20, 1981, following his 1980 general election loss to Ronald Reagan. Here's the latest: A somber announcement The longest-lived American president died Sunday, more than a year after entering hospice care , at his home in the small town of Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died at 96 in November 2023 , spent most of their lives. “Our founder, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, passed away this afternoon in Plains, Georgia,” The Carter Center said in posting about his death on the social media platform X. It added in a statement that he died peacefully, surrounded by his family. A Southerner and a man of faith In his 1975 book “Why Not The Best,” Carter said of himself: “I am a Southerner and an American, I am a farmer, an engineer, a father and husband, a Christian, a politician and former governor, a planner, a businessman, a nuclear physicist, a naval officer, a canoeist, and among other things a lover of Bob Dylan’s songs and Dylan Thomas’s poetry.” A moderate Democrat, Carter entered the 1976 presidential race as a little-known Georgia governor with a broad smile, outspoken Baptist mores and technocratic plans reflecting his education as an engineer. After he left office and returned home to his tiny hometown of Plains in southwest Georgia, Carter regularly taught Sunday School lessons at Maranatha Baptist Church until his mobility declined. Those sessions drew visitors from around the world. Former Vice President Gore remembers Carter for life "of purpose” Former Vice President Al Gore praised Jimmy Carter for living “a life full of purpose, commitment and kindness” and for being a “lifelong role model for the entire environmental movement.” Carter, who left the White House in 1981 after a landslide defeat to Ronald Reagan. concentrated on conflict resolution, defending democracy and fighting disease in the developing world. Gore, who lost the 2000 presidential election to George W. Bush, remains a leading advocate for action to fight climate change. Both won Nobel Peace Prizes. Gore said that “it is a testament to his unyielding determination to help build a more just and peaceful world” that Carter is often “remembered equally for the work he did as President as he is for his leadership over the 42 years after he left office.” During Gore’s time in the White House, President Bill Clinton had an uneasy relationship with Carter. But Gore said he is “grateful” for “many years of friendship and collaboration” with Carter. The Associated PressHail Flutie: BC celebrates 40th anniversary of Miracle in Miami

NoneA young Edmonton woman is accomplishing dreams that are out of this world. At 21 years old, she has already worked for NASA for half a decade — and that’s just scratching the surface. For Madison Feehan the sky isn’t the limit — it’s the destination. Her passion for things beyond Earth’s orbit sparked when she was a kid. “Going into space exploration and space science was not something I would have predicted for my career,” she said. “Ever since about the 9th grade, I’ve shown a very strong interest in it and have been trying to commercialize ideas with NASA ever since.” Since then, she has gone nowhere but up. For the past five years Feehan has worked for NASA, most recently as part of the NSPIRES, NASA Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System. She is an executive panellist and peer reviewer. “It was a bit of a culture shock for sure,” Feehan said. “Not something that I was trained for or something that I expected. “When one of these technology ideas comes in, it is my job to review the technology, see if it has the merit to go to space and the relevance to any upcoming NASA missions.” But something Feehan might be even more passionate about is her company Space Copy , of which she is the CEO and founder. The company builds 3D printers that can create scalable infrastructure in extreme environments, like on Earth and in space. Feehan said the transportation and creation of resources needed for astronauts in space puts a massive strain on the budgets of companies like NASA. 3D printing locally, using on-site materials, could reduce up to 70 per cent of those costs. “We’ve come up with a formula for converting lunar soil into usable infrastructure,” Feehan said. “That ranges from anything to bricks for habitats, to launch pads and roadways to precision tools and repair parts to make living in space much easier.” Feehan showed Global News a little brick (above) as an example of the work the company is doing. It was created from a lunar soil stimulant sourced just outside the Kennedy Space Center. “It is 99.7 per cent accurate to what was recovered during the Apollo 16 mission,” Feehan said. In the past two years alone, Feehan has attended more than 60 conferences around the world showcasing the company. Earlier this year, Space Copy was selected as the winner of the (Buzz) Aldrin Family Foundation Global Innovation Award. By 2031, the company plans to send a 3D printer to the surface of the moon coinciding with the upcoming Artemis mission. For all these accomplishments at just 21 years of age, the Edmontonian sometimes has to remind herself to stay down to Earth. “Sometimes we just cannot believe — my team and I — that we’ve gone this far, this fast,” she said. “It’s an absolute privilege to be able to work in an ecosystem that many say is extremely challenging, or nearly impossible, especially for young women.”

Abortions up slightly in United StatesVertiv Holdings Co ( NYSE:VRT – Get Free Report ) shares were down 3.5% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $113.70 and last traded at $114.67. Approximately 1,433,155 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 8,007,207 shares. The stock had previously closed at $118.88. Wall Street Analyst Weigh In VRT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Vertiv from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Vertiv from $130.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Vertiv from $121.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Vertiv from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on Vertiv in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $155.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Vertiv presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.09. View Our Latest Stock Report on VRT Vertiv Stock Down 3.2 % Vertiv ( NYSE:VRT – Get Free Report ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.07. Vertiv had a net margin of 7.72% and a return on equity of 55.33%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.52 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Vertiv Holdings Co will post 2.69 earnings per share for the current year. Vertiv Increases Dividend The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 19th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.0375 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 3rd. This is a boost from Vertiv’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.03. This represents a $0.15 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.13%. Vertiv’s payout ratio is currently 6.67%. Insider Buying and Selling at Vertiv In related news, EVP Stephen Liang sold 86,619 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.07, for a total value of $11,353,152.33. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19,551 shares in the company, valued at $2,562,549.57. The trade was a 81.59 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink . Also, Director Jakki L. Haussler sold 15,347 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.38, for a total transaction of $2,108,370.86. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,526.50. This trade represents a 81.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 171,527 shares of company stock valued at $23,105,682. Insiders own 5.01% of the company’s stock. Institutional Investors Weigh In On Vertiv Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in shares of Vertiv by 10,825.0% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,600,415 shares of the company’s stock worth $457,695,000 after acquiring an additional 4,558,306 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new stake in Vertiv during the 2nd quarter worth about $331,091,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Vertiv by 271.0% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,915,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $389,548,000 after purchasing an additional 2,860,181 shares during the last quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP lifted its holdings in Vertiv by 215.6% in the 3rd quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 1,864,426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,492,000 after purchasing an additional 1,273,746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whale Rock Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Vertiv during the 3rd quarter worth about $110,517,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 89.92% of the company’s stock. About Vertiv ( Get Free Report ) Vertiv Holdings Co, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and services critical digital infrastructure technologies and life cycle services for data centers, communication networks, and commercial and industrial environments in the Americas, the Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Recommended Stories Receive News & Ratings for Vertiv Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Vertiv and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .

Is there a difference between the fascism experienced in the 21st century and the one witnessed by Germany and Italy in the previous century? This and many other aspects of fascism were explored in a seminar organised by the Arvind Memorial Trust here on Sunday. The inaugural event of the seventh ‘International Arvind Memorial Seminar' saw participation of hundreds of activists and academics from across the country. The five-day-long seminar, ‘Fascism in the Twenty-First Century: Elements of Continuity and Change and the Question of the Contemporary Proletarian Strategy' aims to understand the various aspects of fascism and what could be an effective strategy against it. The seminar was organised by Arvind Institute of Marxist Studies — an initiative of Arvind Memorial Trust in memory of Arvind Singh, a prominent Left-leaning intellectual and political activist. The trust organises a national seminar every year at different locations on some important aspects of social change, and the city hosted the event for the first time. The first day's event was presided by R. Raghu, Dr Nikhil Ekade, Prem Prakash, Shivani Kaul, and K.G. Ramachandra Rao. The inaugural event saw participants from different parts of the country including Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana and from the United States, Australia and Nepal. The attendees partook in a detailed discussion on the question of fascism. The key paper of the seminar, 'Fascism in the Twenty-first Century: Elements of Continuity and Change' was presented by Abhinav Sinha, who is a Marxist theorist and editor of a workers’ newspaper ‘Mazdoor Bigul’. The paper examined the essential characteristics of fascism throughout history and analysed the various aspects that distinguish fascism in the 21st century from that of the 20th century witnessed by Italy and Germany. Abhinav criticised the common tendency to term all reactionary forces as fascist and to expect all features of fascism to repeat themselves in an identical manner. He also mentioned that the Modi-Shah regime in India is undoubtedly an example of a fascist regime. The presentation was followed by an in-depth discussion which was enriched by several questions and additions from the participants. The session also witnessed intense debates among different aspects of fascism. Senior Supreme Court lawyer Colin Gonsalves will speak on the 'Rise of Fascism and the Question of Law and Judiciary' on Monday. Many prominent activists, intellectuals, writers and professors from various states are expected to attend the seminar. About a dozen other papers by prominent writers such as Shivani Kaul, P.J. James, Nicolai Messerschmidt, Jiselle Hannah from Australia Asia Worker Links (AAWL) and others, analysing the phenomenon of fascism and the strategy of resistance will be presented in the next four days.

CDC breaks silence as mystery flu-like infection kills dozens of children and sparks Covid-era travel restrictions READ MORE: Health officials issue dire warning as mysterious illness emerges By LUKE ANDREWS SENIOR HEALTH REPORTER FOR DAILYMAIL.COM Published: 21:32 GMT, 5 December 2024 | Updated: 22:20 GMT, 5 December 2024 e-mail 31 View comments The CDC is 'standing ready' amid an outbreak of a mystery disease in Africa. There are rising concerns about the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo where dozens of people have died from a flu-like respiratory illness. A source at the CDC told DailyMail.com they were 'aware' of the outbreak and were in contact with health officials there 'and stand ready to provide additional support if needed'. The World Health Organization (WHO) has deployed a team to the southwestern province Kwango where the outbreak is being reported to take samples and test for the virus. DRC health minister Roger Kamba said his country was currently on 'maximum alert' as they try to work out what's behind the 'epidemic' that has killed up to 143 people . Most patients were children in their late teens, officials said, who suffered from symptoms including a fever, headache, cough and shortness of breath. The symptoms suggest a respiratory virus — and, already, parallels are being drawn to the early days of the Covid pandemic. Hong Kong became the first country to bring in health checks for arrivals from the DRC and Africa today, in an echo of measures taken to limit the spread of Covid. Officials are 'aware' of a mysterious outbreak in the Congo. The above is a stock image and shows a healthcare worker caring for an individual in Tehran, Iran, in March 2020 — at the start of the Covid pandemic A source at CDC told DailyMail.com in a statement: 'The CDC is aware of reports of an illness in southwest DRC. 'US Government staff, including those from US CDC's country office in Kinshasa [the DRC's capital], are in contact with the DRC's ministry of health and stand ready to provide additional support if needed.' It was not clear how concerned the CDC was over the outbreak, or whether the agency plans to alert the nation's doctors. Read More Health officials issue dire warning as mysterious flu-like illness kills 143 Tests on patients are currently being carried out in the DRC, with officials saying they expect to have the results before the end of the week. There are no direct flights between the US and Kinshasa, according to flight monitoring websites, although passengers can still arrive via connecting flights. This may include catching connecting flights in Johannesburg, South Africa, or in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Officials say it is taking days to establish the illness behind the outbreak because the cases are in a remote part of the country, which took two days for the health team to reach. It is not clear what disease could be causing the outbreak at this point, but officials say it could be a respiratory disease. Experts speaking to DailyMail.com said the symptoms were 'non-specific' and they needed more information. Dr Peter Hotez, pictured above, was speaking on MSNBC warning of the dangers posed by Dr Annie Rimoin, an epidemiologist at the University of California , Los Angeles , who has worked in Congo since 2002, told NBC News that diagnosing the illnesses may be complicated by underlying health issues in the local population, including malaria and malnutrition. 'I think it's really important to be aware of what's happening, and I think it's also really important not to panic until we have more information,' she said. 'It could be anything,' she added. 'It could be influenza, it could be Ebola , it could be measles. At this point, we really just don’t know.' Dr Krutika Kuppalli, an infectious diseases expert and associate professor at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, said that at this stage it was difficult to tell what was causing the outbreak because only general symptoms had been reported. 'We need more information,' she told DailyMail.com, 'the information that has been provided at present speaks of a number of diseases'. Asked whether it could be monkeypox or Ebola, she said: 'In what they are reporting, we have not seen any reports of skin rash or skin abnormality — which would go with mpox. 'Typically, with viral hemorrhagic fever [like Ebola] you would hear reports of coughing or throwing up blood, and that has not been reported either.' She added: 'The reports are concerning, but we need more data and more information about the symptoms they are seeing on the ground.' The above map shows the DRC, and highlights the province of Kwango where the outbreak has been recorded The above image shows Roger Kamba, who heads up the DRC's department of health Officials initially suggested that 143 people had died from the mystery disease, although authorities appear to have reduced that number to 71 deaths. These include 27 people who died in the hospital and 44 people who died in the community. Of the people who died in hospital, 10 died due to a lack of blood transfusions and 17 died as a result of respiratory problems — the health minister said. Most of the cases were children in their late teens, aged between 15 and 18 years old according to the BBC . Your browser does not support iframes. Dr Hotez, a leading supporter of lockdowns and mask mandates during the Covid pandemic, warned there were at least nine infectious diseases currently spreading in the US that could cause another pandemic — in a plea to the Trump administration not to cut disease research funding. Scientists are currently warning over a surge in bird flu cases in animals that are spilling into humans , as well as a resurgence in measles and whooping cough linked to falling vaccination rates. In an interview with MSNBC news , Dr Hotez said: 'Here's the reason why we need to care about this stuff. We have some big-picture stuff coming down the pipe. 'All that's going to come crashing down on January 21 on the Trump administration. We need a really really good team to be able to handle this.' World Health Organization Hong Kong BBC Share or comment on this article: CDC breaks silence as mystery flu-like infection kills dozens of children and sparks Covid-era travel restrictions e-mail Add comment

NoneKROGER has been forced to apologize after an unhappy customer slammed their rude cashiers. Chuck Nice took to the social media platform X last Sunday to voice his anger at the store as he threatened to start shopping at a rival. Chuck's post read: "@krogeryour customer service has gone way downhill. "This is the 2nd issue I've had in less than 2 months. "The cashiers have become rude. "I live less than a mile from your store. But I'm going to start driving 5 miles to a @meijer store instead." read more in kroger Kroger responded to the gripe, saying: "Hi, Chuck! Thank you for bringing this to our attention. "We are sorry to hear of your experience with this please send us private message so we can share your feedback to our leadership team have a nice day!" It is unknown if Chuck's complaint was responded to privately. KROGER BOYCOTT This is not the only time Kroger customers have been unhappy with the store, with some even vowing a boycott. Most read in Money The US Sun recently reported on an irate customer who had to pack hundreds of dollars of shopping from the floor at self-checkout, due to lack of staff. The furious shopper took to social media to complain after an absence of manned checkouts meant he was forced to pay via the self-service option. “Seriously, @kroger? Almost $400 in food and NOT ONE SINGLE REGISTER OPEN! “And the self- checkout is so small, I literally had to bag my food onto the floor,” wrote Colby Eggleston on X. He added: “What about the old people and the infirm who can't do this?” “So totally unacceptable. Customer service fail !" In response a Kroger spokesperson asked the complainant to private message his complaint, however he responded: “I don't trust any dm or account to not be a scam so I'm not accepting or sending a message. "If you're the legit account, it was Waycross, GA at 0745.” And posted an image of the shopping receipt. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bob Casey asked the CEO of Kroger to answer eleven questions about AI, labels, and Microsoft's EDGE technology: How many Kroger grocery stores currently use EDGE or other ESL platforms? How many customers are served by these stores? Did any external entities advise Kroger to adopt EDGE and/or continue using EDGE? If yes, who are those external entities? Has Kroger prepared internal estimates regarding the potential to increase prices or profit margins by adopting dynamic pricing with EDGE? How does Kroger establish dynamic prices using the EDGE system? What factors does Kroger consider when changing prices? Please include a description of any time- or volume-based considerations. How does Kroger inform customers of recent or upcoming price changes? How far in advance does Kroger inform customers of price increases that will be implemented using the EDGE system? For all items that have been subject to dynamic pricing using EDGE, what is the average percentage change in price of those items over the first six months of using the system? For what percentage of items has the price increased over the first six months of using the system? Has Kroger ever used EDGE to change the price of an item more than one time within the same day? If not, does Kroger intend to do so in the future? If yes, please list: The locations at which Kroger has changed the price of an item more than once in a day. The complete list of products for which Kroger has changed the price more than once in a day. Will Kroger use customers’ data to institute personalized pricing on its ESL platforms? Will customers have the option to opt out of the collection of personal data through ESL platforms? What safeguards has Kroger put in place to protect against violations of consumer privacy related to ESL platforms? How will Kroger ensure that it will not use customer data related to ESL platforms to discriminate based on protected classes, such as race, gender, or age, when offering personalized prices? The senators requested that Kroger answer these questions by August 20. Source: Letter from Sens. Warren and Casey The X user wasn’t the only shopper to be less than impressed with the retailer, with Linda B posting in response: “Complete customer service fail this morning at my Kroger again.” She went on to explain: “Kroger is 4 blocks from my house but I've moved half my spending 1200+ a month to Sam's Club 20 mins away one way because they are actually interested in customer service. “I buy it then show up to pick up spot 7am and they bring it out. Zero aggravation.” Read More on The US Sun She continued: “Had to take another cart through the spinner this morning , got 12yr old grandson to bring another cart to scan into, and cameras stopped me 3 times and made me wait. “I leave Kroger aggravated and tired AGAIN.”

Ball Corp. stock falls Wednesday, underperforms marketEU recalls ambassador from Niger amid dispute over allocation of aid money

Ingo Rademacher is trying to take ABC back to court over his 2021 firing from General Hospital , and he’s bringing former co-star Steve Burton into it. Rademacher, who played Jasper “Jax” Jacks on the daytime drama for 25 years on and off, was fired in 2021 when he refused to follow the show’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. He sued the soap later that year claiming that he was fired because of his political views and not just the mandate. “I am entitled to a religious exemption against mandatory vaccination for COVID-19 on the basis of my deeply and sincerely held moral belief that my body is endowed by my creator with natural processes to protect me and that its natural integrity cannot ethically be violated by the administration of artificially created copies of genetic material, foreign to nature and experimental,” the actor wrote in an e-mail to Disney HR before his firing, according to Variety . Rademacher lost the initial suit in 2023 when a judge found that because General Hospital also fired Burton, who plays Jason Morgan in the series, this proved the decision was about the health mandate. Rademacher is resurrecting the suit now because Burton was rehired on the series in January 2024. Jason made his official reappearance in March of that year. In Radaemacher’s motion for a new trial, obtained by InTouch , his lawyer argues, “ABC’s re-hiring of Mr. Burton undermines its argument that Ingo’s political beliefs did not play any role in its decision to fire him—to ‘recast’ his role—in 2021...Judge Goorvitch credited ABC’s evidence that the political animus that the General Hospital producers showed toward Ingo was irrelevant because, like other people, including GH actor Steve Burton, it simply could not accommodate Ingo’s objection to COVID-19 vaccination and fired him only for that reason. “That argument was always specious. But it carries even less weight now, given the newly discovered evidence that ABC re-hired [Steve] for General Hospital but did not re-hire Ingo,” his lawyer continued. The documents also claim that GH will never rehire Rademacher because of his outspoken support for Donald Trump during the 2020 election. He hopes to get a new trial and a jury to evaluate his wrongful termination claim. A judgment on the motion is expected in the new year. Steve Burton Addresses Kelly Monaco’s ‘General Hospital’ Exit Rademacher has opened up about how being let go from the show has affected him, sharing on Instagram in November 2023 that he’s been struggling with mental health issues since leaving the series. “To be completely honest, for the first time in my life, I’ve been faced with some mental health struggles. That’s not something I’ve ever had to face before. I’m a lot better now, but the first year was rough,” he said at the time . “On top of that, I really identified as my character on General Hospital for decades, and I could’ve been there and would’ve been there for many more decades to come,” he continued. “This isn’t a boo-hoo me post, it’s just honest. It’s where I’m at.” More Headlines: The 6 Saddest Scenes in ‘Squid Game’ Season 2 ‘Sister Wives’ Star Meri Brown Debuts ‘Mystery Man’ 2 Years After Kody Brown Split ‘General Hospital’ Alum Ingo Rademacher Reignites Legal Battle With ABC After Steve Burton’s Return When Does ‘Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage’ Return? Everything We Know About What’s Next ‘Price Is Right’: TikTok Star Reveals Shocks Fans With Major Win — See Her Fiancé’s Hilarious Reaction

Southern right whales in South Africa are bouncing back. But now they’re facing their biggest threat yet – the Anthropocene era — and letting us know why. I arrive in Hermanus, a picturesque South African coastal village an hour-and-a-half from Cape Town, at about 11am on a sunny October morning. Ignoring the restaurants and art galleries on the main drag and the throngs of tourists watching southern right whales from the cliff path, I drive straight to the harbour to meet Els Vermeulen, the Belgium-born scientist who heads up the whale unit for the University of Pretoria’s Mammal Research Institute . She is waiting for her colleagues to return from the last whale-tagging sortie of the 2024 season. “I would normally be out on the boat with the team,” says Vermeulen, who is dressed in a bold geometric print dress and a denim jacket. “But I had to drop my kids at school and couldn’t get down here early enough.” The water next to the concrete pier is so clear that I can see a giant orange starfish inching its way along the rocky seabed. While we wait for the tagging team to arrive, one boatload of whale-watching tourists departs the harbour and another returns. Hermanus, which is an important calving ground for southern right whales, and a good place to spot humpback and Bryde’s whales too, markets itself as the “land-based whale watching capital of the world”. It even has its own “whale crier” who uses a horn fashioned from kelp to announce sightings. It wasn’t always this way: In the 1910s and 1920s, three separate whaling stations in the area killed hundreds of whales every year. By 1937, more than 80,000 southern right whales had been killed globally and the species teetered on the brink of extinction. In the second half of the 20th century, the focus turned to conservation, and the whales gradually made a comeback. The southern right whale’s recovery – there are approximately 20,000 individuals today – is one of the world’s great conservation success stories. The two Northern Hemisphere right whale species have not been nearly as lucky, mainly because they live in a much busier ocean. Deaths from ship strikes and getting entangled in fishing gear have thwarted their recovery since the whaling ban, and both species remain Critically Endangered. And the southern right whale isn’t guaranteed a happy ending, stresses Vermeulen: “The whales are still only at 20 percent of their pre-whaling numbers,” she says. “And now we are seeing all sorts of evidence that they are facing new, indirect threats related to climate change.” Whales, which cover vast distances and can dive to great depths, are an indicator species for the entire marine ecosystem. And the indicators are not good: Vermeulen’s data shows that whales are much thinner than they used to be, they aren’t breeding as often, and they are changing their main prey. “That’s them,” says Vermeulen, pointing to a speck on the horizon. About five minutes later, the Balaena – the Whale Unit’s six-metre (19.7-foot) inflatable research vessel – pulls alongside the quay to allow the researchers to disembark. While skipper Chris Wilkinson loads the boat onto its trailer, I chat to Amy Kennedy, a professional whale tagger with 20 years of experience who has flown out from Seattle, Washington to deploy a total of nine tags for the unit. “It was very tricky today,” says Kennedy. Due to the big swells out at sea, she was only able to deploy one tag. The day before Al Jazeera visited, she managed a record of six tags. Kennedy and her modified line-throwing gun, which is normally used by big ships to throw ropes ashore, are in demand: Just this year she has tagged whales in South Georgia (in Antarctica), the Mediterranean, Tanzania and Mauritius. “The hardest part is knowing when not to take the shot,” she says, explaining that she has a target area “the size of a desk” to aim at – and that both she and the whale are in constant motion. “I don’t miss any more. But I consider a bad shot a miss. The better your shot, the better the data the whale will transmit.” And the best spot is right behind the fat roll on the back of the whale’s head where the tag can lodge. “The tag only transmits when it’s out of the water, so you want it to be very high on the whale’s body.” The fact that each tag costs $4,000 only adds to the pressure. “Getting a tag on is a great feeling,” she says, taking a sip on a can of soda. “No matter how many tags you deploy, it never gets old.” Since 1969: Old data meets new methods The Whale Unit is the brainchild of Peter Best, who started an annual aerial whale survey for South Africa’s fisheries department way back in 1969. In 1979 Best progressed from simply counting how many whales he saw, to photographing them and using their unique callosity (thickening of the skin) patterns to identify individual whales. When the government decided it no longer wanted to monitor whales, in 1985, Best persuaded the University of Pretoria to open the Whale Unit so he could continue his research. The photo ID survey, which has been completed every year since 1979, has generated one of the world’s most comprehensive datasets for marine mammals. Vermeulen proudly shows me the boxes upon boxes containing Best’s photographs and handwritten notes. He completed the survey every year for 33 years, before briefly passing the responsibility on to his successor, Ken Findlay, another leading whale expert. In 2017, Vermeulen arrived from Australia to take over: “It’s the highlight of my year,” she says. “I feel like GI Jane hanging out of a chopper with the most incredible views of these huge animals!” The data from the aerial survey remains invaluable, especially because it goes back such a long way. But the use of modern technology allows for even deeper insights into these giants of the deep. Satellite tracking data transmitted by tagged whales, using regular SPOT tags, has allowed Vermeulen and her colleagues to figure out that climate change is forcing the whales to change their feeding habits and breeding patterns. “They are adapting their behaviour and making a plan,” says Vermeulen. “But there’s been a 23 percent reduction in body weight since the 1980s. And they’re only having babies every 4-5 years, instead of every three years.” While their population is still increasing, the rate of increase is slowing – and this is a major cause for concern, says Vermeulen. “Right whales have a much slower metabolism than species like humpbacks and Bryde’s whales. Everything is slower, they live longer, and they are not good at adapting ... Because of all of this, they are much quicker to tell you something is wrong. That’s why we call them sentinels.” Whales as citizen scientists In addition to the 26 SPOT tags deployed by Kennedy since 2021, the Whale Unit has also deployed 13 CTD (Conductivity Temperature Depth) tags in 2023 and 2024 – putting it at the forefront of global whale research. While standard SPOT tags measure only location, CTD tags transform whales into citizen scientists by returning data about water salinity – the practical takeaway of conductivity readings – and temperature at different depths as they dive. While CTD tags have been used widely on smaller animals like seals and turtles, their use on whales – which travel much further and dive much deeper than other creatures – is already proving to be a game-changer. Until recently, for example, no one knew how deep the animals dove. But we now know that they can reach depths of at least 460 metres (1,509 feet). Whales are also travelling further than we realised: one individual travelled more than 15,000km (9,321 miles) in one year. Interesting facts for sure. However, their value extends far beyond trivia game fodder. PhD student Matthew Germishuizen – co-supervised by Vermeulen and University of Cape Town oceanographer Marcello Vichi – has just submitted a thesis that used the data gathered by these 23-tonne research assistants to try to determine why the whales are changing their feeding patterns, getting thinner and calving less often. “It all seems to be related to the significant shift in sea ice conditions in the last 15 years,” he says, explaining that the marginal ice zone (where open ocean meets pack ice) has become much less stable. “This region is a crucial feeding habitat for Antarctic krill, their main prey further south.” To understand how these changes are affecting whales, scientists are trying to find out more about where they feed, and what environmental conditions generate suitable feeding grounds. Historically, knowledge of whales’ offshore feeding habitats was obtained from whaling data, where whalers recorded the location of their catches. Since the 1980s and 1990s, scientists have used skin samples to get a vague understanding of what whales are feeding on. “As they forage, their skin develops a signature [the ratio of nitrogen to carbon varies according to their diet] which is used to give a rough estimate of where they’ve been feeding for the previous three months or so,” says Germishuizen. By comparing the isotope signatures from different years, scientists can gain an understanding of how their feeding behaviour is changing. Over the last 20 years, new technologies are allowing scientists to track whales in almost real-time as they migrate. The most recent development are CTD tags, which have proved especially handy in helping Germishuizen to understand what environmental conditions whales are foraging in. “Every time a whale dives down it collects temperature and salinity data,” he explains. This helped him to describe their foraging grounds based on environmental characteristics. “Southern right whales have two main prey,” he explains: Antarctic krill, which live very far south in the seasonal sea ice zone, and copepods which live further north in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC). This current system is one of the fastest and largest in the world, driven by persistent strong winds known as the Roaring Forties. “Declines in sea ice in the areas that are important for Antarctic krill have meant that whales are spending more time feeding in the ACC on copepods,” says Germishuizen. When feeding on copepods in these mid-latitude zones, Germishuizen found that whales favour ocean fronts, where warmer, saltier waters meet colder fresher waters. “They were targeting a really narrow range of temperature [about 12 degrees Celsius; 54 degrees Fahrenheit] and salinity,” he says. When feeding on krill in Antarctic waters the whales can easily withstand sub-zero water temperatures. The fronts do not occur uniformly across the ACC and they have shifted southwards about 80km (50 miles) in the last 20 years. “Now we know that these fronts are important,” says Germishuizen. “This is very helpful when projecting conditions into the future using climate change models.” “The whales are telling us things we didn’t know about the environment,” he adds. “Now we know what the whales are looking for.” And it’s up to scientists, legislators and other role players to use this information to make decisions that increase their chance of surviving the Anthropocene – the epoch since the Industrial Revolution, during which humanity has begun to dramatically impact the natural environment. Brave new world None of the experts Al Jazeera spoke to doubted the magnitude of the task ahead. But they were all equally convinced that technology offers our best chance of making it happen. As is true for most scientists, funding and capacity are the two biggest challenges facing Vermeulen and her team. Advances in technology have the potential to make both a little easier to deal with. “The tags are getting better and cheaper every year,” says Vermeulen. “Imagine what we could do with CTD tags that lasted a year. Or if we could afford to deploy twice as many tags every season.” But tags are not the only way technology can help the whales, says Vermeulen. Scientists have started training AI machine learning tools to identify individual whales on satellite images – and they are already showing a remarkable success rate – even when the images are partially obscured by cloud cover. Vermeulen is also excited about harnessing the power of AI to create a digital catalogue of all the southern right whales in the world. The last time the Argentina and South Africa catalogues were matched was in the 1990s, says Vermeulen. “It would take a human six months of solid work to sort through everything, But AI could do it in seconds.” “Having one digital catalogue would be a game-changer,” she adds — anyone who takes a photo of a right whale could upload an image and receive an instant match. “Tourists from Hermanus to Antarctica see loads of whales,” she enthuses. “And they all have cameras and drones.” And this isn’t just a pipe dream. An app called Happy Whale has already revolutionised scientists’ understanding of humpback whales by using photos uploaded by members of the public to fill in the gaps about the whales’ behaviour. All that’s needed to make one for southern right whales is a new algorithm and about $60,000. “I’ve already raised $30,000,” says Vermeulen. “And I’m hoping to get the rest through a combination of crowdfunding and grants.” Getting these things right won’t just be a “game-changer” for southern right whales. It will also help scientists to understand the impact climate change is having on entire ecosystems. And it will provide answers about how climate change is playing out differently in different places. “The whales in New Zealand are doing better than other populations,” says Vermeulen. “Antarctica isn’t affected evenly by climate change. And right whales are helping us to understand why this is and what it looks like.”Fined after crane crashes into building

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The Latest: Former President Jimmy Carter Is Dead at Age 100Shares of Rover Group, Inc. ( OTCMKTS:NEBCU – Get Free Report ) rose 6.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $11.00 and last traded at $11.00. Approximately 2,900 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 98% from the average daily volume of 118,677 shares. The stock had previously closed at $10.37. Rover Group Price Performance The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $11.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $11.00. About Rover Group ( Get Free Report ) Nebula Caravel Acquisition Corp. does not have significant operations. It intends to effect a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, share purchase, reorganization, or related business combination with one or more businesses or entities. The company was incorporated in 2020 and is based in San Francisco, California. Read More Receive News & Ratings for Rover Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Rover Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter .