List of All Articles with Tag 'l'

InfraBuild Australia Pty, part of Sanjeev Gupta’s metals empire, has secured an asset-backed term loan for $350 million

A British sailor’s boat was the latest victim in a spate of orca attacks on vessels near Gibraltar, as an expert suggested a “traumatised” killer whale may be inadvertently teaching others to target them. There have been 20 incidents this month alone between the highly social apex predators and small vessels sailing in the Strait of Gibraltar, according to the Atlantic Orca Working Group (GTOA), with dozens of orca attacks on ships recorded on Spanish and Portuguese coasts this year. In the early hours of Thursday, a group of orcas broke the rudder and pierced the hull of a boat after ramming into the Mustique on its way to Gibraltar, prompting its crew of four to contact Spanish authorities for help, a spokesperson for the maritime rescue service said. The service deployed a rapid-response vessel and a helicopter carrying a bilge pump to assist the 20-metre (66ft) vessel, which was sailing under a British flag, a spokesperson for the maritime rescue service said. The Mustique was towed to the port of Barbate, in the province of Cadiz, for repairs. Posting footage of the ordeal on Instagram, British sailor April Boyes, aged 31, said: “What started off as a seemingly unique encounter ended with orcas breaking off our rudder from the boat, then proceeding to tear bits off the boat for an hour. “A huge hole in the hull meant we had water ingress to other parts of the boat and the engine room, and I can honestly say it was a scary experience. We are all safe. I’m feeling grateful for the coastguard.” Earlier in May, the sailing yacht Alboran Champagne suffered a similar impact from three orcas half a nautical mile off Barbate. The boat could not be towed as it was completely flooded and was left adrift to sink. The boat’s captain, Werner Schaufelberger, told the German magazine Yacht that he saw the two smaller whales imitating the ramming tactic of the larger orca, believed to be a matriarch named “White Gladis”. “The little ones shook the rudder at the back while the big one repeatedly backed up and rammed the ship with full force from the side,” he said. “The two little orcas copied the bigger one’s technique and, with a slight run-up, came darting towards the boat. Mainly on the rudder, but also the keel.” Just two days previously, on 2 May, six orcas rammed the hull of a Bavaria 46 cruiser yacht in an encounter lasting an hour near Tangier, reportedly causing thousands of pounds of damage. Business consultant Janet Morris and photographer Stephen Bidwell, a couple from Cambridgeshire, both aged 58, were on board for a sailing course when they heard a shout of “orcas”. “We were sitting ducks,” Ms Morris told TheDaily Telegraph, while Mr Bidwell said: “I kept reminding myself we had a 22-tonne boat made of steel, but seeing three of them coming at once, quickly and at pace with their fins out of the water, was daunting.” “A clearly larger matriarch was definitely around and was almost supervising,” he added, speculating that it was White Gladis. The first orca encounter in the area occurred in May 2020, since when more than 500 have been recorded, according to the GTOA research group. Most interactions have been harmless, with orcas only touching an estimated one in every 100 boats passing through the area, according to biologist Alfredo Lopez Fernandez, of the GTOA and University of Aveiro, who said that three vessels have sunk so far. Experts believe White Gladis may have suffered a “critical moment of agony”, such as colliding with a boat or becoming entrapped during illegal fishing, which altered her behaviour in a “defensive” fashion. “That traumatised orca is the one that started this behaviour of physical contact with boats,” Dr Lopez Fernandez told Live Science. “We do not interpret that the orcas are teaching the young, although the behaviour has spread to the young vertically, simply by imitation, and later horizontally among them, because they consider it something important in their lives,” he said. The behaviour has baffled scientists, with some initially suggesting it could be related to the harmful scarcity of food facing the mammals, or the disruptive resumption of business-as-usual nautical activities in the wake of the pandemic, while others have suggested it could be playful behaviour. Although known as killer whales, endangered orcas are part of the dolphin family. They can measure up to eight metres and weigh up to six tonnes as adults. Additional reporting by Reuters Read More Watch killer whales wreck boat in latest violent attack off Spain Rare white orca spotted off Japanese coast for first time in two years Dolphins and orcas found to use ‘Kim Kardashian-like voice register’ to catch prey ‘Like a sledgehammer’: Killer whales perplex scientists by ramming sailing boats on Spanish coast

The Kansas City Chiefs had a leg-up on the race to acquire DeAndre Hopkins, but that all changes now.Much like with Odell Beckham Jr., the Kansas City Chiefs found themselves in the mix in regards to DeAndre Hopkins's availability when it looked as though the Arizona Cardinals would trade h...

State Farm is stopping new home insurance sales in California, citing wildfire risks and skyrocketing construction, the company announced Friday.

Buffalo Bills fans think DeAndre Hopkins' goodbye Arizona Cardinals tweet is somehow about them.With DeAndre Hopkins being released by the Arizona Cardinals, he could sign with any number of NFL teams, including the cash-strapped Buffalo Bills.Buffalo needs to clear space in a hurry, si...

Mauricio Pochettino has signed a three-year contract to become Chelsea's new head coach, sources have confirmed to 90min. The Argentine will be joined by his usual backroom staff and an announcement will be made by the club in due course.

Hello. After weeks of wrangling, the White House and Republican negotiators have finally reached a deal to avert

Several Jewish groups, politicians and an alliance of civil society groups are planning a memorial ceremony and a protest rally against a concert by Roger Waters in Frankfurt

Bond traders look set to pivot from worrying the US wouldn’t raise its debt limit to fretting about

Kristen Stewart's denim ensemble was in stark contrast to her glamorous 2023 Met Gala look earlier in May

Ron DeSantis has some catching up to do. The Florida governor entered the 2024 presidential race last week with polls showing him down about 30 points on average to Donald Trump in the GOP primary. DeSantis had trailed by closer to 10 points at the end of last year.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy acknowledged that the debt-ceiling deal negotiated with the White House is likely to face