uk uk new zealand sub-ferry in near miss patients ‘more likely … · 2020-07-16 · bicycle...

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JULY 16 (GMT) – JULY 17 (AEST), 2020

AUSTRALIAWORLDUSA

NYPD, protesters in clash

Several New York City police officers were attacked and injured as pro-police and anti-police protesters clashed on the Brooklyn Bridge, police said. The confrontation happened hours before Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law a series of police accountability measures inspired by the killings of George Floyd, Eric Garner and others.

Sub-ferry in near miss

A nuclear-powered submarine and a ferry were at “serious risk of collision” after safety decisions taken on the Royal Navy vessel were based on inaccurate information, an investigation has found.

Cases hit record daily high

Victoria has reported two more deaths and 317 coronavirus cases, making it Australia’s largest daily increase during the pandemic. Two men in their 80s have died, bringing the total deaths in the state to 29 and upping the national toll to 113.

Bolsonaro positive again

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro says he has tested positive for the new coronavirus for a second time, following his July 7 announcement that he had COVID-19.

Patients ‘more likely to survive’

The sickest COVID-19 patients are now more likely to survive a stint in intensive care, a new study suggests. Experts, led by researchers from Bath, said that a fall in the death rate may suggest that “we are coping better with COVID-19”.

Gloomy outlook for economy

Business leaders in Christchurch warn the worst of the economic fallout from Covid-19 is yet to come, but believe the city is better placed to weather the storm compared with other parts of the country.

NEW ZEALANDUKUK

YOUR DAILY TOP 12 STORIES FROM FRANK NEWS

FULL STORIES START ON PAGE 3

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AUSTRALIAEUROPEWORLD

‘Catastrophe looming’ for tanker

The UN environment chief says that “time is running out” to avert an environmental, economic and humanitarian catastrophe from a deteriorating oil tanker loaded with 1.1 million barrels of crude oil that is moored off the coast of Yemen.

Trump shakes up team

President Donald Trump has shaken up his campaign staff amid sinking poll numbers less than four months before the election, replacing campaign manager Brad Parscale with veteran GOP operative Bill Stepien.

Virus may restrict use of aircraft

The coronavirus pandemic makes it challenging to bring in international firefighting aircraft and crews to help Australia in the coming bushfire season, a royal commission has been told.

Job vacancies rise in Ireland

Ireland’s employment market saw an increase in vacancies for May and June, according to the latest jobs index. Data from IrishJobs.ie reveals that job postings increased by 14 per cent from May to June, with June 30 marking the busiest day for postings.

Pro-Western party wins

A suspected hacking attack caused the site of North Macedonia’s electoral commission to crash for hours after polls closed in national elections, delaying preliminary results that showed the pro-Western Social Democrats narrowly leading the centre-right opposition.

Child in isolation is latest case

There is one new case of Covid-19 in New Zealand’s managed isolation facilities today, the Ministry of Health has confirmed. Health Minister Chris Hipkins and Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield have provided a Covid-19 update.

NEW ZEALANDEUROPEUSA

YOUR DAILY TOP 12 STORIES FROM FRANK NEWS

FULL STORIES START ON PAGE 6

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UK

A file photo of a British submarine. - PA

Misjudgment blamed for sub-ferry near missA nuclear-powered submarine and a ferry were at “serious risk of collision” after safety decisions taken on the Royal Navy vessel were based on inaccurate information, an investigation has found.

The two vessels came within 50-100 metres of each other in the incident on November 6, 2018, a Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) report found.

Crew on the Stena Superfast VII ferry, which was travelling from Belfast to Cairnryan, “took immediate action to avoid collision” after spotting the submarine’s periscope nearby.

Ferry passengers and the crew on both vessels were placed “in immediate danger” the report found.

The nuclear-powered submarine, based at Faslane, was patrolling an area south of the ferry route when it came close to the Stena vessel, which had 215 passengers and 67 crew on board.

The report said: “This incident happened because the submarine’s control room team overestimated the ferry’s range and underestimated its speed.

“This combination meant that the submarine’s commanding officer and its officer of the watch made safety-critical decisions that might have appeared rational to them at the time but were actually based on inaccurate information.”

The report found that when the submarine’s control room team initially detected Stena Superfast VII visually, they estimated it to be at a range of 9000-10,000 yards.

At a speed of 21 knots, Stena Superfast VII would cover 6000 yards in eight minutes and 34 seconds, which was an estimate of the time available for the submarine’s officer of the watch (OOW) to take avoiding action.

However, the report found the OOW had estimated the ferry’s speed as 15 knots, so would have “incorrectly calculated” it would take the ferry 12 minutes to travel 6000 yards and “almost certainly assessed that there was significantly more time to take avoiding action than was actually the case”. ■

NYPD and protesters stand on the Brooklyn Bridge at a Black Lives Matter protest. - AP

USA

NYPD, protesters in bridge clashSeveral New York City police officers were attacked and injured as pro-police and anti-police protesters clashed on the Brooklyn Bridge, police said. The confrontation happened hours before Mayor Bill de Blasio signed into law a series of police accountability measures inspired by the killings of George Floyd, Eric Garner and others.

At least four officers were hurt, including Chief of Department Terence Monahan, and 37 people were arrested, police said. Information on charges was not immediately available.

It was not clear how many protesters were injured. An Associated Press photographer witnessed several people getting roughed up by police, including a woman who ended up on the pavement with an officer pulling on her hair.

Surveillance video posted on social media by the police department showed a man on the bridge’s pedestrian walkway rushing toward a group of officers and reaching over a fence to smack one of them in the head with a cane.

Police photos of the aftermath showed a lieutenant with a bloodied face, a detective holding a bandage to his head, and a bicycle officer helping a fellow officer dress a head wound.

Monahan, who last month knelt in a show of solidarity with protesters, sustained injuries to his hand.

He and the other injured officers were marching with a pro-police group led by local clergy when they were met on the bridge by activists, some of whom have been camping outside City Hall in recent weeks to demand severe cuts to police funding.

Some people in the pro-police group marched with a banner that said, “We Support the NYPD.” The leader of that group said they were calling for an end to a recent spate of violence. ■

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UK

A member of the Intensive Care team treats COVID-19 patients at Craigavon Area Hospital

in Co Armagh, Northern Ireland. - PA

Virus patients ‘more likely to survive care’The sickest COVID-19 patients are now more likely to survive a stint in intensive care, a new study suggests.

Experts, led by researchers from Bath, said that a fall in the death rate may suggest that “we are coping better with COVID-19”.

The new study, published in the journal Anaesthesia, examined a range of studies across three continents.

Across Europe, Asia and North America the death rate for ICU patients fell from almost 60 per cent at the end of March to 42 per cent at the end of May.

It is hoped that survival rates will improve further still thanks to the groundbreaking British study on Dexamethasone, with early findings published in June.

The cheap anti-inflammatory drug has been found to reduce the risk of death significantly in COVID-19 patients on ventilation by as much as 35 per cent and patients on oxygen by 20 per cent.

The current study, by professor Tim Cook, consultant in anaesthesia and intensive care medicine at Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS Foundation Trust and colleagues, examined data on 24 studies on ICU death rates concerning more than 10,000 patients.

Deaths rates did not differ significantly across the continents compared in the study.

The decrease in death rates may be attributable to a number of factors including rapid learning about the disease and ICU admission criteria changing over time, the researchers said.

The authors point put that their study is also more likely to reflect data on patients who spend long spells in intensive care – in the UK one in five ICU stays (20 per cent) were more than 28 days and nine per cent were more than 42 days.

They conclude: “This systematic review and meta-analysis of ICU outcome in patients with COVID-19 found an in-ICU mortality rate of 41.6 per cent across international studies. ■

Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro. - AP

WORLD

Bolsonaro tests positive againBrazilian President Jair Bolsonaro says he has tested positive for the new coronavirus for a second time, following his July 7 announcement that he had COVID-19.

“I did the test yesterday, and at night the result came back that I am still positive for coronavirus," Bolsonaro said. “I hope that in the coming days I will do another test and, God willing, everything will be all right to return soon to activity.”

The far-right leader said he hasn't experienced serious symptoms of the disease as he isolates at the presidential residence in capital of Brasilia.

According to the World Health Organisation, the median time from onset to clinical recovery for mild cases is approximately two weeks.

Before his diagnosis, Bolsonaro had spent many of his weekends since the beginning of the pandemic mingling in crowds, sometimes without wearing a mask. He is treating his COVID-19 with the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, although it has not been proven effective against the virus.

Brazil, the world’s sixth most-populous nation and home to 210 million people, is one of the outbreak’s epicentres. More than 75,000 Brazilians have died from COVID-19, and almost two million have been infected, according to government statistics. Both numbers are the world’s second-highest totals, behind those of the US.

Bolsonaro's administration this week completed two months without a health minister. The interim minister, Gen. Eduardo Pazuello, who had no experience in the field before April, is facing pressure to leave the job. He took over after his predecessor, a doctor and health care consultant, quit in protest over Bolsonaro’s support for the use of hydroxychloroquine and chloroquine, a related drug. ■

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NEW ZEALAND

Property investor Richard Peebles says job losses in Christchurch will start mounting once

the wage subsidy ends. – RNZ / Nate McKinnon

Gloomy outlook for Christchurch economyBusiness leaders in Christchurch warn the worst of the economic fallout from Covid-19 is yet to come, but believe the city is better placed to weather the storm compared with other parts of the country.

Early estimates suggest there could be between 9000 and 36,500 job losses in the city over the coming year, with pre-Covid-19 unemployment numbers at 8600.

Property investor Richard Peebles said the city was now in the eye of the storm and job losses would start mounting, mainly in the tourism, hospitality and retail sectors.

“We know a lot of people are hanging on to their workers but whether they can do so when the wage subsidy ends, I would doubt it. So I think you’ll find that once the subsidies end, there will be a big wave of unemployment, big spike,” he said.

However, Peebles said the city may get off comparatively lightly from the ongoing border closure.

“Our tourism numbers - it only just got back to where they were pre-earthquake just before the lockdown. So we didn’t have a mess of number of overseas tourists,” he said.

The statistics do not paint a rosy picture, however.Recent job cuts included 49 at council-owned events

company base.Unemployment crept up by 0.1 percent to 4.2 percent in

the first quarter compared with the same time in 2019. But unemployment numbers were expected to rise, according to economic development agency ChristchurchNZ.

Visitor spending was also down 7.4 percent and retail spending in the central city was down 3.6 percent compared with quarter one in 2019.

Canterbury Employers’ Chamber of Commerce chief executive Leeann Watson emphasised the blow on businesses relying on that visitor spend.

“We shouldn’t underestimate that many businesses are still not operating at full trading conditions. And that will take some time for that to return, particularly if they are reliant on the borders opening,” she said. ■

Victorians are being urged to wear masks where social distancing is impossible in locked-

down areas. – AAP

AUSTRALIA

Virus cases hit record daily highVictoria has reported two more deaths and 317 coronavirus cases, making it Australia's largest daily increase during the pandemic.

Two men in their 80s have died, bringing the total deaths in the state to 29 and upping the national toll to 113.

Among the new cases, 28 are linked to known outbreaks while 289 cases are under investigation, Premier Daniel Andrews said.

There are 2128 active cases in the state."Everyone would prefer this to be a very different set of

circumstances but it's not an ordinary winter," Andrews warned.

"This is not an ordinary week. If we pretend it is, if we pretend it is over because we want it to be over, all we'll be doing is spreading the virus, seeing more people in hospital and sadly more people will pass away as a result of this virus."

More time is needed for the numbers to stabilise and drop, given the fresh stay-at-home orders for metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire are just a week old, Andrews said.

The 317 new cases recorded in the state make it the 11th consecutive day of a triple-digit increase in Victoria.

Of those, 109 people are in hospital with 29 in intensive care.The previous national daily record was Victoria's 288 last

Friday.Victoria has had a total 4750 confirmed cases since the

pandemic began.About 28,000 people in Victoria were tested for the virus on

Wednesday."It's a massive and powerful contribution to our fight against

the virus," Andrews said."You can't contain this if you don't know where it is."The state government has also paused all category three

elective surgeries - including hip and knee operations - at Melbourne health services to make sure extra beds are available for the virus surge. ■

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USA

President Donald Trump. - AP

Trump shakes up campaign teamPresident Donald Trump has shaken up his campaign staff amid sinking poll numbers less than four months before the election, replacing campaign manager Brad Parscale with veteran GOP operative Bill Stepien.

“I am pleased to announce that Bill Stepien has been promoted to the role of Trump Campaign Manager,” Trump said. “Brad Parscale, who has been with me for a very long time and has led our tremendous digital and data strategies, will remain in that role, while being a Senior Advisor to the campaign.”

Trump and Parscale’s relationship had been increasingly strained, with the president annoyed by the publicity Parscale had garnered in the role. But the final straw appeared to be a Tulsa, Oklahoma, rally last month that drew an unexpectedly low crowd of about 6200 people after Parscale had bragged that more than a million people had requested tickets. The president was furious.

The shakeup injected familiar turmoil to Trump’s 2020 campaign, which had so far largely avoided the regular staff churn that dominated the president’s 2016 campaign and his White House. It comes as Trump has been struggling in his reelection campaign against presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden as the country faces health and economic crises during a pandemic that has killed more than 135,000 Americans.

The staff change was not expected to alter the day-to-day running of the campaign. News of the shuffle was delivered to Parscale by White House adviser and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Parscale, a political novice, ran Trump’s digital advertising in 2016 and was credited with helping bring about his surprise victory that year. Stepien has been in politics for years, working for former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and serving as Trump’s national field director in 2016. ■

A satellite image of the FSO Safer tanker moored off Ras Issa port, in Yemen. - AP

WORLD

‘Catastrophe looming’ from oil tankerThe UN environment chief says that “time is running out” to avert an environmental, economic and humanitarian catastrophe from a deteriorating oil tanker loaded with 1.1 million barrels of crude oil that is moored off the coast of Yemen.

Inger Andersen told the UN Security Council that an oil spill from the FSO Safer, which hasn’t been maintained for over five years, would wreck ecosystems and livelihoods for decades.

“Prevention of such a crisis from precipitating is really the only option,” she said. “Despite the difficult operational context, no effort should be spared to first conduct a technical assessment and initial light repairs.”

Houthi rebels, who control the area where the ship is moored, have denied UN inspectors access to the vessel so they could assess the damage and look for ways to secure the tanker by unloading the oil and pulling the ship to safety. But the rebels recently signalled they would approve a UN mission to the ship, according to the UN.

Internal documents obtained by The Associated Press last month show that seawater has entered the engine compartment of the tanker, causing damage to pipes and increasing the risk of sinking. Rust has covered parts of the tanker and the inert gas that prevents the tanks from gathering inflammable gases, has leaked out. Experts say maintenance is no longer possible because the damage to the ship is irreversible, according to an AP report June 26.

The UN humanitarian affairs chief, Mark Lowcock, said a leak in the tanker in May “brought us closer than ever to an environmental catastrophe.”

He expressed skepticism about last week’s Houthi offer to allow a UN mission to the ship. He recalled that the Houthis announced a similar initiative in August, only to cancel it on the night before the planned visit.

“We have, of course, been here before,” he said, urging the rebels to “take steps that will spare millions of their fellow citizens from yet another tragedy.” ■

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EUROPE

The leader of the ruling SDSM party Zoran Zaev speaks after his victory at the North

Macedonia general election, in Skopje. - AP

Pro-Western party wins in North MacedoniaA suspected hacking attack caused the site of North Macedonia’s electoral commission to crash for hours after polls closed in national elections, delaying preliminary results that showed the pro-Western Social Democrats narrowly leading the centre-right opposition.

The commission said that with nearly 94 per cent of the vote counted the Social Democrats have 36 per cent and VMRO-DPMNE follow at more than 34 per cent. The ethnic Albanian Democratic Union for Integration was third at 11 per cent, while a coalition of two smaller ethnic Albanian parties followed at nearly nine per cent. The Commission gave no projections on how many seats each party stood to win in the 120-member parliament.

Shortly afterwards, Social Democrats leader Zoran Zaev declared victory.

Addressing cheering supporters in the capital Skopje, he promised fast reforms to help the country’s European Union accession hopes end revive the battered economy.

Electoral commission head Oliver Derkoski said the suspected hack affected the official website designed to give fast online results. Vote counting was proceeding normally as the commission’s central server was not affected, he said. Derkovski added that police have been informed and will investigate the attack and who might be behind it.

Another official said that “an outside hacker attack spread a virus … so the public cannot see the results online.”

“Our technical team is working to solve the problem,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to discuss the matter with the media.

The election – delayed for months due to the pandemic – was held amid a resurgence of the coronavirus in the small Balkan country, with voters donning obligatory masks.

Polling stations closed later than usual to encourage turnout, and authorities also organised two days of advance voting to allow people in quarantine or at greater risk from the virus to cast their ballots from home. ■

- AP

EUROPE

Job vacancies rise in IrelandIreland’s employment market saw an increase in vacancies for May and June, according to the latest jobs index.

Data from IrishJobs.ie reveals that job postings increased by 14 per cent from May to June, with June 30 marking the busiest day for postings.

This spike in activity came as Ireland entered phase three of the Government’s road map for reopening society and businesses.

Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of sectors experienced a decline in job vacancies, with an average decrease of 51 per cent in job postings for the wider period of March to June.

Within this, Monday May 4 proved to be the low point for job vacancies.

Tourism, travel and airlines – 100 per cent; hotel and catering – 95 per cent; beauty, hair care, leisure and sport – 87 per cent; HR and recruitment – 77 per cent; and sales – 74 per cent were among the industries most affected.

Others including telecoms – oner per cent; pharmaceutical and food – seven per cent; and banking and finance services and insurance – 34 per cent remained more resilient.

However, of the 31 individual sectors analysed in the latest index, 26 experienced an increase in vacancies in the month of June.

The beauty, haircare, leisure & sport (+206 per cent) sector recorded the largest increase in job vacancies for June followed by marketing (+125 per cent) and hotel and catering (+91 per cent).

During this period, medical professionals and healthcare (+16 per cent), engineering and utilities (+11 per cent), and science, pharmaceutical and food (+10 per cent) were the most active industries, generating the largest portion of job vacancies overall. ■

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Child in isolation is latest virus caseThere is one new case of Covid-19 in New Zealand's managed isolation facilities today, the Ministry of Health has confirmed.

Health Minister Chris Hipkins and Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield have provided a Covid-19 update.

Today's case is a child of two people who have both previously been reported as cases, Bloomfield said.

He said they arrived in New Zealand from Italy on 4 July and are in the Commodore Hotel in Christchurch.

A further case has recovered, so the number of active cases remains at 27.

There is no one receiving hospital level care for Covid-19 in New Zealand.

Bloomfield said there was an increase in testing yesterday - 2899, of which 726 were in managed isolation facilities. There have now been 436,233 tests completed.

Bloomfield reiterated that there is no cost to get tested.Discussing the Covid tracing app, Hipkins said there had

been 11,000 new registrations overnight, and thanked everyone for spreading the word.

He reminded businesses they should have their QR code app.

"Great to see the increase in registrations yesterday, will be good to see that continue," Bloomfield added.

Bloomfield said the app is an adjunct to having a strong contact tracing system in place. He said the value of the app is to notify people rapidly.

On behalf of the minister in charge of quarantine and isolation facilities, Megan Woods, Hipkins said a fire alarm at a managed isolation facility yesterday was set off accidentally.

"Due to the large number of people evacuating from the three exits, there was a short time where social distancing couldn't be followed, but the risk is low."

He said people were wearing masks, as they were required to do so outside their rooms. ■

NEW ZEALAND

Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield. – AAP

Virus may restrict use of fire aircraftThe coronavirus pandemic makes it challenging to bring in international firefighting aircraft and crews to help Australia in the coming bushfire season, a royal commission has been told.

Victorian and NSW emergency services agencies say COVID-19 restrictions will likely affect the provision of international aerial firefighting services.

Emergency Management Victoria deputy commissioner Chris Stephenson says the agency is looking at how the pandemic may impact international assistance next fire season and in particular in terms of aircraft.

“I think one of the real issues or constraints for the country at the moment is international assistance and what that might look like if required this bushfire season,” Stephenson told the natural disasters royal commission.

“We’re having some discussion especially around aviation and how that might look this year in relation to international assistance, but also our local approach.”

Stephenson said a lot of the aircraft resources were already contracted through multi-year contracts.

“We do have some other resources that we’re going to the market for this year, and there’s a combination between national resources and state resources.”

Stephenson said the challenge was more around the logistics of bringing aviation personnel and aircraft into the state.

He said EMV would heed the advice of the chief health officer.

“At the end of the day it will be a balance of risk between the health risks and the risk of and the significance of the potential bushfire season that we may see.”

The NSW Rural Fire Service has also noted the pandemic would likely affect the provision of aerial firefighting services this coming fire season, as travel restrictions and quarantine requirements may affect the availability of international pilots and maintenance crews. ■

- AAP

AUSTRALIA

uk uk new zealand sub-ferry in near miss patients ‘more likely … · 2020-07-16 · bicycle...

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