Seal the deal: amorous mammals forced to contend with cruise ships
Cruise ships are drowning out the roars of seals that are important for bagging a mate, researchers have found in the latest study to reveal the consequences of human activity on wildlife.
Ships are known to produce low-frequency sounds which can overlap with calls made by marine creatures. But now researchers studying harbour seals say such noise could be taking its toll.
“As it gets noisier, it becomes harder for harbour seals to be heard,” said Dr Michelle Fournet, a co-author of the research at Cornell University, noting the animals’ roars serve a number of purposes – including advertising to females and establishing underwater territories.
New York state suffers largest single-day increase in coronavirus deaths
New York suffered the highest single-day increase in its death toll from coronavirus, governor Andrew Cuomo reported on Tuesday, even as those in the state were still under orders to stay at home.
The governor noted the three-day average of hospitalizations was down, indicating the state is “reaching a plateau in the total number of hospitalizations”.
But the New York death toll continues to steeply rise. The state has recorded 5,489 deaths, up from 4,758 a day earlier. Those 731 deaths on Monday represent the highest single-day increase in the death toll since the crisis started.
At least 3,544 people have died in New York City from Covid-19 as of Tuesday afternoon, the city reported, a figure that eclipsed those killed in the 9/11 terrorist attack, which claimed the lives of 2,753 people in the city.
New York has the highest number of cases of any US state, with 138,863 cases of coronavirus already confirmed. New York City has seen the largest number of cases and deaths within the state, with 74,601 cases.
Former Chinese property executive who criticised Xi is under investigation
Former Chinese property executive Ren Zhiqiang, who went missing last month after criticising President Xi Jinping over his handling of the coronovirus outbreak, is under investigation for “serious disciplinary violation”, the Beijing municipal anti-corruption watchdog said in a statement late on Tuesday.
Ren, a former top executive at state-controlled property developer Huayuan Real Estate Group and a member of the ruling Communist Party, had gone missing after calling Xi a “clown” in an essay following a speech by China’s leader, Reuters reported, citing his friends.
The phrase “serious disciplinary violations” is often used by Chinese authorities in reference to graft investigations.
An Australian cruise company is working to disembark a stricken Antarctic cruise ship on which around 60% of the passengers and crew have been infected with coronavirus.
The Greg Mortimer has been anchored 20km off the coast of Uruguay since 27 March, but authorities in the South American country had until now refused to allow passengers to disembark.
‘Stranded at sea’: cruise ships around the world are adrift as ports turn them awayRead more
On Tuesday, the ship’s operator, Aurora Expeditions said that of 132 passengers and 85 crew, 128 people had tested positive for Covid-19. Most on board are understood to be Australian, although there are also citizens of New Zealand, the US and the UK.
“We found a ship where almost everyone has been infected,” said Karina Rando, one of 21 Uruguayan doctors dispatched to the ship. “We’ve done our utmost to prevent our own infection. Most of the passengers are well.”
Many of those who tested positive are still asymptomatic, but could still be at risk, said Rando.
Italy declares own ports ‘unsafe’ to stop migrants disembarking
The Italian government has declared its seaports “unsafe” due to the coronavirus pandemic, and will not authorise the landing of migrant rescue boats until the end of the emergency.
In a decree issued late on Tuesday, the government writes that “for the entire duration of the health emergency, due to the outbreak of coronavirus, Italian ports cannot be classified as ‘safe places’ for the landing of people rescued from boats flying a foreign flag.’’
‘Migrants never disappeared’: the lone rescue ship braving a pandemicRead more
The measure – the first of its kind in Italian history – appeared designed to prevent rescue boats from disembarking migrants in the upcoming weeks, as departures from Libya have increased in the last days with the arrival of good weather.
Here is Trump earlier saying the US would put a hold on funding for the World Health Organization. Later in that White House press briefing he backtracked and say that the hold wasn’t certain, but that the government was looking into it.
Acyn Torabi
(@Acyn)The President announces he’s going to put a hold on all funds going to the World Health Organization pic.twitter.com/5widDLd3UA
London’s NHS Nightingale opens with 4,000 beds already taken up
Taking a short break from that White House briefing now to focus on London, where the first patients were admitted on Tuesday evening to the new NHS Nightingale hospital. The hospital was created in just nine days to help cope with the pandemic.
Some of the 4,000 beds in the health facility have already been taken up by Covid-19 patients.
A spokeswoman declined to say how many people were being treated at the custom-built field hospital at the ExCeL Centre in the capital’s Docklands.
Opened by Prince Charles on Fridayand named after nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale, it will need an army of up to 16,000 staff in clinical and ancillary roles to keep it running.
With more than 80 wards containing 42 beds each, the facility will be used to treat Covid-19 patients who have been transferred from other intensive care units across London.
