Latest news with #MarkAustin
The Independent
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
An Alaska Mother's Day tradition: Mingling with ice age survivors on a farm
It is one of Alaska's favorite Mother's Day traditions, getting up close and personal with animals that have survived the ice age. All moms get a daisy and free admission Sunday at the Musk Ox Farm in Palmer, about an hour's drive north of Anchorage. Once inside they will have the chance to view 75 members of the musk ox herd, including three young calves just getting their feet under them. Also a draw is an old bull named Trebek, named after the late 'Jeopardy!' host Alex Trebek, a benefactor of the facility. 'Who doesn't want to celebrate Mother's Day with a musk ox mom and the most adorable calf you're ever going to find in your life?' said Mark Austin, the farm's executive director. Mother's Day is the traditional start of the summer season for the farm, which traces its roots back to 1964 and at several locations before moving in 1986 to Palmer. That move put it on Alaska's limited road system, provided easier access to grazing land than in tundra communities and it to incorporate educational opportunities at the farm facility, which is dwarfed by the the Talkeetna and Chugach mountain ranges. 'When we opened the doors here, we started doing Mother's Day as a grand opening every year,' Austin said. He called it a natural decision, celebrating mothers with cute, newborn baby musk oxen on the grounds. So far this year, three baby musk oxen have been born and are on display, and more could be on the way. Mother's Day is the busiest day of the year, attracting more than 1,500 visitors. It is a tradition that now stretches over three generations. 'It's a huge, just kind of rite of passage for a lot of people,' Austin said. 'If we ever talked about not doing it, there'd be a riot.' Musk oxen are ice age survivors. 'They were running around with saber-toothed tigers and mastodons, and they're the ones that lived,' Austin said. The herd members all have diverse personalities, he added, and they are crafty, smart and inquisitive. Their closest relatives to animals of today would be Arctic goats. Mature musk ox bulls can stand 5 feet (about 1.5 meters) tall and weigh as much as 800 pounds (about 360 kilograms), while female cows are smaller at about 4 feet (about 1.2 meters) and up to 500 pounds (about 230 kilograms), according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game's website. They are stocky, long-haired animals with a slight hump in their shoulder, a short tail and horns, the website says. The Inupiat call musk ox 'itomingmak,' which means 'the animal with skin like a beard,' for its long hair hanging nearly to the ground. The mammals once roamed across northern Europe, Asia, Greenland and North America before they began to die off. By the 1920s the last remaining ones were in Greenland and Canada. Efforts to reintroduce the musk ox to Alaska started in 1934, when 34 were delivered to Fairbanks from Greenland. Since then, the wild population has grown to about 5,000, located throughout the nation's largest state, Austin said. The nonprofit farm welcomes donations from visitors on Sunday. Some people will make a beeline for the baby musk oxen, while others will throw a $100 bill on the counter first. 'We do like to see the donation, but we truly offer this as an event to the community, as a thank you,' Austin said. 'It really gives us a chance to give something back.'
Associated Press
11-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Associated Press
An Alaska Mother's Day tradition: Mingling with ice age survivors on a farm
PALMER, Alaska (AP) — It is one of Alaska's favorite Mother's Day traditions, getting up close and personal with animals that have survived the ice age. All moms get a daisy and free admission Sunday at the Musk Ox Farm in Palmer, about an hour's drive north of Anchorage. Once inside they will have the chance to view 75 members of the musk ox herd, including three young calves just getting their feet under them. Also a draw is an old bull named Trebek, named after the late 'Jeopardy!' host Alex Trebek, a benefactor of the facility. 'Who doesn't want to celebrate Mother's Day with a musk ox mom and the most adorable calf you're ever going to find in your life?' said Mark Austin, the farm's executive director. Mother's Day is the traditional start of the summer season for the farm, which traces its roots back to 1964 and at several locations before moving in 1986 to Palmer. That move put it on Alaska's limited road system, provided easier access to grazing land than in tundra communities and it to incorporate educational opportunities at the farm facility, which is dwarfed by the the Talkeetna and Chugach mountain ranges. 'When we opened the doors here, we started doing Mother's Day as a grand opening every year,' Austin said. He called it a natural decision, celebrating mothers with cute, newborn baby musk oxen on the grounds. So far this year, three baby musk oxen have been born and are on display, and more could be on the way. Mother's Day is the busiest day of the year, attracting more than 1,500 visitors. It is a tradition that now stretches over three generations. 'It's a huge, just kind of rite of passage for a lot of people,' Austin said. 'If we ever talked about not doing it, there'd be a riot.' Musk oxen are ice age survivors. 'They were running around with saber-toothed tigers and mastodons, and they're the ones that lived,' Austin said. The herd members all have diverse personalities, he added, and they are crafty, smart and inquisitive. Their closest relatives to animals of today would be Arctic goats. Mature musk ox bulls can stand 5 feet (about 1.5 meters) tall and weigh as much as 800 pounds (about 360 kilograms), while female cows are smaller at about 4 feet (about 1.2 meters) and up to 500 pounds (about 230 kilograms), according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game's website. They are stocky, long-haired animals with a slight hump in their shoulder, a short tail and horns, the website says. The Inupiat call musk ox 'itomingmak,' which means 'the animal with skin like a beard,' for its long hair hanging nearly to the ground. The mammals once roamed across northern Europe, Asia, Greenland and North America before they began to die off. By the 1920s the last remaining ones were in Greenland and Canada. Efforts to reintroduce the musk ox to Alaska started in 1934, when 34 were delivered to Fairbanks from Greenland. Since then, the wild population has grown to about 5,000, located throughout the nation's largest state, Austin said. The nonprofit farm welcomes donations from visitors on Sunday. Some people will make a beeline for the baby musk oxen, while others will throw a $100 bill on the counter first. 'We do like to see the donation, but we truly offer this as an event to the community, as a thank you,' Austin said. 'It really gives us a chance to give something back.'
Sky News
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Conclave live: Cardinals gather before start of vote for next pope - after hot mic moment
Procession begins after final prayer After a final prayer which has just been read out in the Pauline Chapel, the procession to the Sistine Chapel is now under way. Conclave: Watch and follow full coverage across Sky News As well as bringing you updates on this page, our team of presenters and correspondents is at the Vatican to bring you live television coverage of the conclave. For as long as it takes, our chief presenter Mark Austin will guide you through all the key moments with commentator Alastair Bruce. Siobhan Robbins, our Europe correspondent, is on the ground in Vatican City and speaking to those who are gathering as the conclave begins. The scene inside Pauline Chapel We can now bring you some more pictures of the scene inside the Pauline Chapel where 133 cardinals are seated. They will soon be starting a procession over to the Sistine Chapel, where the conclave will be taking place. Cardinals gather for prayer before start of conclave We're starting to see the first of the 133 cardinals responsible for choosing the next pope gather ahead of the procession. They're gathering at the Pauline Chapel to pray and will then form a procession over to the Sistine Chapel singing Veni Creator Spiritus (Come, Holy Spirit). You can watch along in the stream at the top of this live page, and we'll be bringing you the latest updates here. Watch: What happens during a conclave? With cardinals set to gather in the next few moments, the start of the conclave is edging ever closer. The meeting to elect the new pope is held in secrecy in the Sistine Chapel with phones handed over, windows covered and the building even swept for bugs. We take you through exactly what happens in this video: Coming up: Procession, oath of secrecy - then doors close Our Europe correspondent Siobhan Robbins is in Vatican City, and says we'll see the line of cardinal electors walking from the Pauline Chapel into the Sistine Chapel in the next hour. "They're going to take an oath of secrecy. They'll take it as a collective, and then individually," she says. "When all that process is done, the doors are shut. We'll hear the words read out in Latin and that's when that top secret negotiation, the election begins. "One by one they'll be called, we've seen the numbers that have been written on white balls." Robbins says that the cardinals will be called to cast their votes in the election, and then "at some point this evening, we will hope to see the smoke". Of course, black smoke means that no decision has been made, and white smoke means a new pope has been elected. What are the chances of a British pope? It's been 866 years since the papacy of Britain's only ever pontiff (Pope Adrian IV) ended in 1159, and the history of the Catholic Church in the UK since then has been turbulent. It is not thought that any of the UK or Irish cardinals are among the favourites to succeed Pope Francis. Cardinal Sean Brady, Ireland's only Catholic cardinal, will turn 86 this summer and so is also unable to vote because of his age, as is Cardinal Michael Fitzgerald, from Birmingham, who will turn 88 in August. Archbishop of Westminster Cardinal Vincent Nichols, from Liverpool, and the leader of Catholics in England and Wales, is taking part in conclave, as is Cardinal Timothy Radcliffe, who is from London. Aged 75, Cardinal Arthur Roche, from West Yorkshire and based in Rome, is the youngest of the UK and Ireland's cardinals. Both Cardinal Radcliffe and Cardinal Nichols appeared to rule themselves out of the running soon after Francis's death was announced. Scotland has no Catholic cardinals. There is also Cardinal Kevin Farrell, who is Irish-born but is seen as an American cardinal having ministered mainly in the US. He has been based in Rome for some years. Cardinal Farrell was the one to announce the death of Pope Francis and, as camerlengo, has been the senior official ensuring the smooth running of the church until a new pontiff is chosen, including organising the meetings of cardinals preceding the conclave. For profiles on each British cardinal, read on here... Where do cardinals sleep during the conclave? As cardinals prepare to gather ahead of their procession over to the Sistine Chapel, they're about to enter a period of secrecy. The conclave will only end once two-thirds of the 133 cardinals have come to an agreement on the new pope. For that reason, they will be staying at Casa Santa Marta - a guesthouse inside the Vatican's grounds. That's because the process can go on for some time. The longest conclave lasted almost three years between 1268 and 1271. Although, it's worth noting that several have lasted only one day. The most recent conclaves - for Pope Francis in 2013, Pope Benedict XVI in 2005 and Pope John Paul II in 1978 - all lasted less than three days. Media attention building as conclave nears It's approaching 3pm, which is when we expect to start seeing cardinals before they make their way over to the Sistine Chapel. The media attention has been building throughout the day, with camera crews setting up near St Peter's Basilica. 'Double best wishes': Dean of cardinals overheard giving message to papal frontrunner We have a hot mic moment to bring you now, which could be significant in this week's conclave... Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re went to greet Cardinal Pietro Parolin at the end of morning mass earlier. It looks as though Re - the dean of the cardinals who led the mass - might not have been aware of the live feed showing pictures from Vatican City at the time. Battista Re, 91, was overheard on the feed telling Parolin: "Best wishes. Double best wishes." In the original Italian, this was "auguri... auguri doppi". Watch the moment below... Parolin, 70, is the current frontrunner in the contest to become the next pope. However, let's not get ahead of ourselves. The dean of cardinals usually presides over the vote. But in this conclave, the current dean - Re - is over the eligible voting age, and so the election will be led by Parolin, the Vatican's secretary of state. So, it's quite possible Re was simply wishing Parolin good luck for running the process. But then Re did say "double best wishes"... Read all about the man known as "deputy pope" since 2013 in our explainer below:
IOL News
21-04-2025
- Business
- IOL News
Long-abandoned Welsh mine revived as gold prices soar
At the bottom of a long-abandoned mine, 50 metres below the surface, one company searches for rare Welsh gold, attracted by soaring prices and its royal connection. The Clogau-St David's mine, located in a national park near the coast of Wales, was flooded until its latest licence-holder, Alba Mineral Resources, spent months pumping out water to begin operations. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. 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Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Next Stay Close ✕ Down rickety ladders along narrow, damp tunnels, Alba focuses on finding quartz -- a snow-like white rock that indicates the presence of gold. "The mine up to now has been in exploration phase. We're slowly transitioning" to proper operations, said Mark Austin, the project's chief geologist, who spent four decades working in mines in Africa. From the depths of the mine, they drill, blast, and haul the ore to the surface. The first pickaxes struck Clogau in 1854, initially aimed at finding lead, before quickly turning to gold. Local legend has it that a miner discovered the first flakes by accident after kicking a piece of rock. Soaring gold price After six decades of prosperity, the mine shut in 1911, and only occasionally reopened in the years that followed. At the time of its final shutdown in 1998, gold sold for $300 a troy ounce (31.1 grammes). This month, the price of gold has soared beyond $3,000 an ounce -- and hit a new record, attracting investors seeking a safe-haven asset as US President Donald Trump's stop-start tariffs roil global markets. "The economics of coming in and finding unworked seams of gold is obviously very attractive," said George Frangeskides, executive chairman of Alba. "We had an idea that with modern techniques... we could find unworked seams of gold here," he told AFP. Clogau gold is prized for its scarcity, Welsh heritage and ties to the British royal family, fetching up to 10 times the standard market rate. Royal family members, including Queen Elizabeth II, King Charles III, Princess Diana and Princess Catherine have all worn a Clogau wedding ring -- a tradition that dates back a century to the wedding of King George VI. The royal connection "adds, obviously, to the cachet, the allure of the project that we're involved with", Frangeskides told AFP. Even with limited production -- a few hundred ounces per year -- he believes the venture will be profitable. The company has invested £4 million ($5.3 million) into the site, where 10 people work. Early test auctions of one-ounce pieces have been successful, with the first selling for £20,000 ($26,500) -- more than eight times the traded price of gold. Once-thriving mine Remaining features, like rusty rails and wooden foundations, serve as reminders of the history of this once-thriving mine. Austin, donning a hard hat, pointed to the holes in the walls where explosives will be placed to extract tiny gold particles from crushed rocks. A promising extension to the original quartz vein, around 120-metres long, has been identified in the exploration area measuring 107 square kilometres. World Gold Council market strategist John Reade said it is not the quality of Clogau gold that attracts its premium price but the fact it is a small, "boutique mine". Over the course of the mine's history, only 80,000 ounces (2.5 tonnes) of gold have been extracted. That compares to global gold production of around 3,600 tonnes a year, he said. But thanks to its royal connection, the Welsh gold may attract "traditionalists, people who may be strong monarchists" willing to pay more, Reade added. In the nearby town of Dolgellau, some locals are more concerned with the potential environmental impact than the prospect of gold. Alba said it has reassured authorities and is committed to protecting bats that live in the area. At the bustling Cross Keys pub in the town centre, Will Williams, a 75-year-old retired doctor, chuckled: "I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of young people around here don't even know it exists." AFP
Sky News
09-04-2025
- Business
- Sky News
US-China trade war ramps up: Who will blink first?
👉 Listen to Sky News Daily on your podcast app 👈 Donald Trump has raised trade tariffs on China again - up to 125% and that's effective immediately. At the same time, he's ordered a 90-day pause on higher tariffs for dozens of countries. If it wasn't a trade war between the world's two biggest economies before - it is now. On this episode, Mark Austin examines if China will keep on retaliating against Donald Trump. Its tariffs on US imports had been increased to 84%. He's joined by Victor Gaom vice president of the Beijing thinktank the Centre for China and Globalisation. He explains why he's sure that China will not blink first in this "dangerous" stand-off. Plus, our business correspondent Gurpreet Narwan on why the president has singled out China. *This episode was recorded just before President Trump increased US tariffs on Chinese imports to 125%.
