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Version 2 Version 3
Why Bill Gates Visited a Queensland Cattle Station. Also: Mick Fanning Is Plucked Away From a Shark. Mick Fanning Is Plucked Away From a Shark. Again. Also: Why Bill Gates Visited a Cattle Station.
(about 1 hour later)
The Breakdown puts a selection of Australia’s daily news into context. Today’s picks:The Breakdown puts a selection of Australia’s daily news into context. Today’s picks:
• What Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, learned from a trip to an outback cattle station.
• The champion surfer Mick Fanning narrowly avoids another shark encounter.• The champion surfer Mick Fanning narrowly avoids another shark encounter.
• More to come … • What Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, learned from a trip to an outback cattle station.
Mick Fanning, the world champion Australian surfer, narrowly missed another encounter with a shark overnight. Remarkably, the incident took place at the J-Bay Open in South Africa, the same event where he famously fought off a great white shark in 2015.
Mr. Fanning did not notice the shark during his quarterfinal against the Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina. Officials took the surfers out of the water at Jeffreys Bay when they spotted the shark approaching them, from around 700 meters, or nearly half a mile, away.
Back on shore, upon reviewing the footage, Mr. Fanning was astonished at the shark’s size.
“Look at that thing, that thing is a beast — at least they saw this one,” he said.
The incident is the second of its kind in two days, after another Australian-Brazilian pair, Julian Wilson and Filipe Toledo, were plucked from the waters when marshals saw a mako shark nearby.
In 2013, an experienced open-water swimmer was killed by a great white shark at Jeffreys Bay.
[10:15 a.m.]
It must be awfully hard to surprise Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder who has traveled the world on behalf of his philanthropic foundation.It must be awfully hard to surprise Bill Gates, the Microsoft co-founder who has traveled the world on behalf of his philanthropic foundation.
But Mr. Gates seemed somewhat taken aback after visiting a cattle station in central Queensland, where he had an up-close experience with cutting-edge genomics.But Mr. Gates seemed somewhat taken aback after visiting a cattle station in central Queensland, where he had an up-close experience with cutting-edge genomics.
“Nothing prepared me for where I recently found myself: in the wilds of the Australian outback watching a cattle rancher artificially inseminate a cow,” Mr. Gates wrote in a blog post published on Tuesday.“Nothing prepared me for where I recently found myself: in the wilds of the Australian outback watching a cattle rancher artificially inseminate a cow,” Mr. Gates wrote in a blog post published on Tuesday.
Mr. Gates spent time with the Australian Agricultural Company, which artificially influences genomes to breed Wagyu beef cows, which are among the most sought-after in the world.Mr. Gates spent time with the Australian Agricultural Company, which artificially influences genomes to breed Wagyu beef cows, which are among the most sought-after in the world.
He was there on behalf of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and unsurprisingly was most interested in how the company’s techniques could improve the quality of African cattle and help feed people on that continent more efficiently.He was there on behalf of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and unsurprisingly was most interested in how the company’s techniques could improve the quality of African cattle and help feed people on that continent more efficiently.
“Most of the world’s poorest countries are in hot regions, so to understand how to raise livestock in a tropical climate, Australia’s a great place to go learn from,” Mr. Gates said in an accompanying video.“Most of the world’s poorest countries are in hot regions, so to understand how to raise livestock in a tropical climate, Australia’s a great place to go learn from,” Mr. Gates said in an accompanying video.
While some readers may roll their eyes at Mr. Gates’s use of the word “cowboys” to refer to Australian farmers — harmlessly misplaced parlance — it would be difficult to describe him as anything less than intrepid.While some readers may roll their eyes at Mr. Gates’s use of the word “cowboys” to refer to Australian farmers — harmlessly misplaced parlance — it would be difficult to describe him as anything less than intrepid.
[5 a.m.][5 a.m.]
Mick Fanning, the world champion Australian surfer, narrowly missed another encounter with a shark overnight. Remarkably, the incident took place at the J-Bay Open in South Africa, the same event where he famously fought off a great white shark in 2015.
Mr. Fanning did not notice the shark during his quarterfinal against the Brazilian surfer Gabriel Medina. Officials took the surfers out of the water at Jeffreys Bay when they spotted the shark approaching them, from around 700 meters, or nearly half a mile, away.
Back on shore, upon reviewing the footage, Mr. Fanning was astonished at the shark’s size.
“Look at that thing, that thing is a beast — at least they saw this one,” he said.
The incident is the second of its kind in two days, after another Australian-Brazilian pair, Julian Wilson and Filipe Toledo, were plucked from the waters when marshals saw a mako shark nearby.
In 2013, an experienced open-water swimmer was killed by a great white shark at Jeffreys Bay.
[10:15 a.m.]