--- title: "While you were sleeping: 26 April 2017" description: "Trump walks back wall talk, China launches a new aircraft carrier, and baby whales whisper to their mums." type: "NewsArticle" publisher: "Daily Maverick" site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za" section: "Newsdeck" author: "John Stupart" author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/johnstupart/" canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2017-04-26-while-you-were-sleeping-26-april-2017/" published: "2017-04-26T05:56:19" lang: "en-ZA" word_count: 687 --- # While you were sleeping: 26 April 2017 > Trump walks back wall talk, China launches a new aircraft carrier, and baby whales whisper to their mums. By John Stupart · Published 26 April 2017, 07:56 SAST ## Content **Wednesday, 26 April 2017** *"Joyfully to the breeze royal Odysseus spread his sail, and with his rudder skillfully he steered."* **Homer** ![Image](https://i2.createsend1.com/ei/d/55/28B/51A/csimport/849x493q70Ranjeni-dummy-guide1.051149.jpg) STORY OF THE DAY [Who wants to be a president? A dummy’s guide to the 2017 ANC leadership race](http://subscriptions.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-klhiak-l-m/) By RANJENI MUNUSAMY President Jacob Zuma is perturbed that so many people are competing for his job as ANC leader. “Where have you ever seen a situation where all of us want to become president?”, Zuma asked at an ANC event at Empangeni, KwaZulu-Natal at the weekend. He claimed this was due to foreign forces trying to take control of the ANC. There is a rather crowded field at present, though this is probably due to the multiple factions at play. It could also be a sign of healthy competition in the ANC. So who are the players and how do they line up? [Trump walks back from the wall](http://subscriptions.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-klhiak-l-c/) President Donald Trump has toned down his demands for funding to pay for the wall which Mexico was meant to pay for. Hoping to avoid a spending shut-down by Friday, Trump has agreed to remove the request for funding to build the wall, instead focusing on anti-tunnelling and drone technology to aid in border security. [New protests planned for Venezuela](http://subscriptions.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-klhiak-l-q/) Venezuelan protesters will once again take to the streets on Wednesday. Despite over a score of protesters being killed in ongoing anti-Maduro demonstrations, opposition leaders have encouraged a move in Caracas, the bastion of the president's support. The public dissatisfaction with an idiotic leader, it seems, is heating up just as much in South America. [China launches first home-made carrier](http://subscriptions.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-klhiak-l-a/) China has launched its first domestically designed and built aircraft carrier today. The Type 001A carrier is a significant leap forward for a Chinese navy seeking to expand its influence at sea, but poses virtually no threat to its biggest rival America, which possesess far more advanced, and numerous, carriers of its own. [Baby whales whisper to their mothers](http://subscriptions.touchbasepro.com/t/d-l-klhiak-l-f/) Newborn humpback whales will whisper to their moms in order to avoid predators. Researchers publishing in Functional Ecology today revealed that the whispering was a clear difference in communication from the usual high-volume whale song we all know. Unwanted listeners in waters full of sharks and Orcas seem to be priority number one for baby humpbacks. — IN NUMBERS 30,000 The number of policemen fired by the Georgian government in 2004 due to corruption. 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