عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Varieties

School Kids in London Take an Avid Interest in African Cup

Gabon players celebrate after Jim Allevinah's late equalizer against Ghana. (AFP)
Gabon players celebrate after Jim Allevinah's late equalizer against Ghana. (AFP)
TT
TT

School Kids in London Take an Avid Interest in African Cup

Gabon players celebrate after Jim Allevinah's late equalizer against Ghana. (AFP)
Gabon players celebrate after Jim Allevinah's late equalizer against Ghana. (AFP)

Just about every schoolyard in England echoes with a semi-heated debate about which Premier League team is better.

This month, with the African Cup of Nations underway in Cameroon, many students in London have plenty more to argue about.

Nathan Williams, though, didn’t have to search long among the 24 teams at the tournament to pick his favorite. He’s originally from Ghana, and that’s who he is hoping will win the title in Yaounde on Feb. 6.

“It’s just the same when everyone here was supporting England last summer,” said Williams, a 17-year-old student from west London, referring to last year's European Championship. “Ghana’s my country and I’m going to follow them, support them and watch their games.”

The African Cup, which is always a cause of concern for European clubs because they lose some of their best players in the middle of the season, was delayed a year because of the coronavirus. It's now dealing with the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. Only fully vaccinated fans with proof of negative virus tests will be allowed to watch games at the six host venues in five cities.

In Britain and other countries, the games are being shown live on television, making it easy for the students in London — a city renowned for its diversity and multiculturalism — to follow along with the tournament.

“The last tournaments were so hard to watch so I’d usually just check score updates,” said 18-year-old student Philmon Teklemichael, who lives in south London and is supporting Ethiopia at the tournament. “This year, I just have to flick on my TV and it’s right there. It’s great.”

The expanded tournament, now with 24 teams instead of 16, has led to even more people taking interest. But you don’t have to have ties to Africa to watch.

“I never really followed it before, but now I’ve found myself watching it,” said Kliz Christy Reginold, who is originally from Sri Lanka but now lives in west London. “Several of my friends were watching it and I got interested.”

As for choosing a team, well, everyone has their own reasons.

“I’m supporting Nigeria, mostly to annoy my friend, who’s Ghanaian,” Reginold said. “You’ve got to have a team to support.”

Along with her students, religious education teacher Niamh Mcilduff is also keeping an eye on the African tournament. She has chosen to support Nigeria because, like her home country of Ireland, they have St. Patrick as a patron saint.

“I want to be involved,” Mcilduff said, “so if I’m going to chose anyone, I have to be able to relate to them.”

Most Viewed

 
 
Varieties

Orca that Carried her Dead Calf for Weeks in 2018 is Doing so Once Again

In this photo provided by NOAA Fisheries, the orca known as J35 (Tahlequah) carries the carcass of her dead calf in the waters of Puget Sound off West Seattle, Wash., on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (Candice Emmons/NOAA Fisheries via AP)
In this photo provided by NOAA Fisheries, the orca known as J35 (Tahlequah) carries the carcass of her dead calf in the waters of Puget Sound off West Seattle, Wash., on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (Candice Emmons/NOAA Fisheries via AP)
TT
TT

Orca that Carried her Dead Calf for Weeks in 2018 is Doing so Once Again

In this photo provided by NOAA Fisheries, the orca known as J35 (Tahlequah) carries the carcass of her dead calf in the waters of Puget Sound off West Seattle, Wash., on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (Candice Emmons/NOAA Fisheries via AP)
In this photo provided by NOAA Fisheries, the orca known as J35 (Tahlequah) carries the carcass of her dead calf in the waters of Puget Sound off West Seattle, Wash., on Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2025. (Candice Emmons/NOAA Fisheries via AP)

An endangered Pacific Northwest orca that made global headlines in 2018 for carrying her dead calf for over two weeks is doing so once again following the death of her new calf, in another sign of grief over lost offspring, researchers said.
The mother orca, known as Tahlequah or J35, has been seen carrying the body of the deceased female calf since Wednesday, the Washington state-based Center for Whale Research said in a Facebook post.
“The entire team at the Center for Whale Research is deeply saddened by this news and we will continue to provide updates when we can,” The Associated Press quoted the post as saying.
In 2018, researchers observed J35 pushing her dead calf along for 17 days, propping it up for more than 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers). The calf had died shortly after it was born, and the mother and her closely knit pod of whales were seen taking turns carrying the dead body.
The research center said roughly two weeks ago that it had been made aware of the new calf. But on Christmas Eve, it said it was concerned about the calf's health based on its behavior and that of its mother.
By New Year’s Day, officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were able to confirm that J35 was carrying her calf’s dead body, said Brad Hanson, a research scientist with the federal agency.
Hanson, who was able to observe her behavior from a boat on Wednesday, said J35 was draping the dead calf across her snout or on top of her head, and that she appeared to dive for it when it sank from the surface. He said the calf was only alive for a "handful of days.”
“I think it’s fair to say that she is grieving or mourning,” Joe Gaydos, science director of SeaDoc at the University of California, Davis, said of J35. Similar behavior can also be seen in other socially cohesive animals with relatively long life spans, such as primates and dolphins, he added.
Calf mortality is high: Only about 1 in 5 orca pregnancies result in a calf that lives to its first birthday, according to the Center for Whale Research. The center's research director, Michael Weiss, estimated that only 50% of orca calves survive their first year.
The center described the death of J35's calf as particularly devastating — not only because she could have eventually grown to give birth and bolster the struggling population, but because J35 has now lost two out of four documented calves.
The population of southern resident killer whales — three pods of fish-eating orcas that frequent the waters between Washington state and British Columbia — has struggled for decades, with only 73 remaining. They must contend with a dearth of their preferred prey, Chinook salmon, as well as pollution and vessel noise, which hinders their hunting. Researchers have warned they are on the brink of extinction.
Other southern resident orcas have been observed carrying dead calves, Weiss said, “but certainly not for as long as J35 carried her calf in 2018.”
There was some good news for the J pod, however: another new calf, J62, was observed alive by officials and scientists.
Southern resident orcas are endangered, and distinct from other killer whales because they eat salmon rather than marine mammals. Individual whales are identified by unique markings or variations in their fin shapes, and each whale is given a number and name.
Traveling together in matrilineal groups, the orcas at times can be seen breaching around Puget Sound, even against the backdrop of the downtown Seattle skyline.