Suck on that, Spain
South Africa and Spain have long been citrus competitors. The rivalry has occasionally stooped to ugly levels, with the Spanish describing South African fruit as diseased (the dreaded black spot). The debate over who sells the most oranges is never settled. Now the Citrus Growers’ Association of Southern Africa says South Africa is ahead, with supplies to Europe, the Middle East and Asia during the northern hemisphere’s off-season pipping the Spaniards.
Words of war
Warships have been good for metaphors. Gunboat diplomacy was popular when the Royal Navy was Britain’s grand strategy made manifest, and now US aircraft carriers take on that role. Billionaire Johann Rupert says he told US President Donald Trump that if you want to negotiate, you need three carriers standing out there. He slightly mangled Henry Kissinger, who had said an aircraft carrier is 100,000t of diplomacy.
Loaded for bear
Alaska has been given judicial permission to continue shooting black and brown bears. A superior court judge agreed with authorities that the culling would help protect a small herd of caribou from bear predation. Bears are culled in the spring, during the caribou calving season, in a “predator control” programme to boost a declining local caribou herd. Two conservation groups had sought, but failed to obtain, a pause to the programme.
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