Recreating Notre Dame's soundscape

Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus in China, raised its reported death toll count by 50%. [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [View in your browser]( [Top of The World]( When you support The World today, your donation will be matched! Many of you have stepped forward and shown your support for The World with thoughtful messages like this one: "Thank you so much for the wonderful reporting. I especially appreciate that you bring forward the voices and concerns of women around the world! (And Marco Werman is fantastic as well!) Keep it up & thank you!" Our coverage never has been, and never will be, behind a paywall. Donate today to support our freely available journalism. [donate]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Chinese officials have revised their novel coronavirus fatality count, but insist there has been no coverup. And in the US, President Donald Trump tells governors they are responsible for opening up states' economies. Political shakeups in Brazil and Turkey point to questionable responses to the pandemic. In Bangladesh, coronavirus could put Rohingya refugee women in leadership roles. And rebuilding the Notre Dame de Paris is about more than the structure. Learn how acoustic research could help reconstruct the cathedral's unique soundscape. --------------------------------------------------------------- In the news today Wuhan's official coronavirus death toll rises [A man wearing a face mask is seen under a bridge of Yangtze river in Wuhan after the lockdown was lifted in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province and China's epicenter of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, April 15, 2020.]( Credit: Aly Song/Reuters Wuhan, the epicenter of the novel coronavirus in China, raised its [reported death toll count by 50%]( to 3,869. China, which has been accused of downplaying the severity of COVID-19, insisted there was no cover-up with the increased count and attributed new numbers to updated reporting and fatalities outside of health care centers. After claiming he had "absolute authority" to reopen the US economy, Trump told governors they would be "[calling the shots](." The White House released loose guidelines on steps to reopen. And, stay-at-home measures in some states have faced protests, including by [far-right groups](. From The World: [Trump's WHO funding cut harms 'fragile' health systems, organization's Africa head says]( Also: ['No fast track' to normal when it comes to reopening economies]( Political shakeups in Brazil and Turkey Brazilian President Jair [Bolsonaro fired the health minister](, Luiz Henrique Mandetta, after clashes over the coronavirus response. Mandetta had gained popularity for his efforts, including promoting isolation measures. Bolsonaro has been flippant about the severity of the pandemic, pointing to the need to maintain the economy. In Turkey, the resignation of powerful Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu was rejected. Soylu had [offered his resignation]( for his role in ordering a weekend curfew that set off a wave of panic buying and upped the risk of contagion. But his presumptive resignation triggered an outpouring of support, and Soylu remains in his post. Some theories suggest [political machinations behind the move](, and point to "widening cracks in the government of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan." And: [Brazil's former president brands Bolsonaro a ‘troglodyte’ who should be removed from office]( Also: [Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega reappears after absence]( [Will coronavirus put Rohingya women in leadership roles?]( Rohingya women are traditionally kept out of leadership roles. But if there is a COVID-19 outbreak in overcrowded Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, the success of the response may depend in part on the [status of women in the camps](. One mother, Chekufa Ra, is leading a grassroots response to the crisis. She says her group of women will be prepared to respond, no matter what the men say. And: ['We are not ready': Fears grip Indigenous groups in Guatemala as coronavirus sets in]( Also: [Africa coronavirus cases could hit 10 million in six months: WHO]( [This researcher finds hope in ‘bright spots’ among coral reefs]( Australian social scientist and reef researcher Joshua Cinner looks for “bright spots,” or reefs that are doing better than expected, to glean lessons for building resilience in the world's reefs, which are suffering from bleaching events. "We need to be thinking about [how we can build resilience in coral reefs]( themselves, but also in the coastal communities whose livelihoods depend on the beauty and bounty of coral reefs." And: [How coronavirus could help us save our planet]( The Number in the News: 300,000 Businesses, including some manufacturing and construction firms, are reopening in Spain as new cases of COVID-19 begin to decline. In total, around 300,000 nonessential workers are returning to work this week. But most Spaniards are still stuck in their homes, and some say lifting restrictions now is needlessly endangering lives. Madrid resident and landscape architect Beatriz Garcia Rios tells us what life is like in Madrid. [The Number in the News]( is The World’s daily smart speaker show. You’ll learn one number you won’t forget and why it’s in the news today. [Click here]( to add The Number in the News to your Amazon or Google flash briefing and hear a new episode seven days a week. Documenting the toll of coronavirus on New York City's Chinatown It's been a month since restaurants in New York City closed because of the coronavirus outbreak. But in the weeks leading up to the mandated shutdown, mom-and-pop businesses in Manhattan's Chinatown had been [struggling with a substantial decline]( in patronage that started around the Chinese New Year on Jan. 25 — just as news emerged of the coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China. And: The Paycheck Protection Program — a loan initiative to help small businesses amid the pandemic — [has already run out of money](. [How researchers hope to restore the unique sound of Notre Dame]( [People listen to Notre Dame Cathedral's great bell ringing — a mark of the building's resilience one year after a devastating fire — during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in France, April 15, 2020.]( Credit: Gonzalo Fuentes/Reuters The French government has pledged to rebuild Notre Dame after a fire destroyed the iconic structure one year ago. But the cathedral was not just a landmark: It was also a concert hall with a unique sound. [Now, an acoustic map of Notre Dame made before the fire could inform its reconstruction.]( Acoustics researcher Brian Katz and his team have used the recordings to create a virtual reality simulation that lets the user hear how the music of a concert is transformed while flying around Notre Dame on a magic carpet. With the measurements and modeling used to design concert halls, Katz hopes he can guide the necessary choices in the restoration of Notre Dame to help recreate something that sounds like its original state. --------------------------------------------------------------- Morning meme Capt. Tom Moore, a 99-year-old World War II veteran from England, set out to walk the length of his back garden [100 times before his 100th birthday]( on April 30 to raise money for Britain's National Health Service. Thursday morning — using his walker and with an honor guard standing watch — he did it, raising more than $20 million for the NHS by Friday. [Retired British Army Capt. Tom Moore, 99, walks to raise money for health workers, by attempting to walk the length of his garden 100 times before his 100th birthday this month as the spread of coronavirus disease continues, in Marston Moretaine, Britain, on April 15, 2020.]( Credit: Peter Cziborra/Reuters --------------------------------------------------------------- In case you missed it on The World - [A song celebrating the little victories in life]( - [‘Chinatown’s on life support’]( - [Finnish social media celebrities combat coronavirus]( - [China’s government wants more say in COVID-19 research]( - [Tapping our antibodies]( - [99-year-old British veteran raises millions for the NHS doing laps in his garden]( - [Hope in the dark for the world’s coral reefs]( - [Schools reopen in Denmark]( - [The myth of ‘disinfecting tunnels’]( - [When to open?]( - [Rohingya refugees brace for COVID-19 outbreak]( Don't forget to subscribe to The World's Latest Edition podcast using your favorite podcast player: [RadioPublic](, [Apple Podcasts](, [Stitcher](, [Soundcloud](, [RSS]( [The World logo]( [The World on Facebook]( [The World's Twitter account]( [Donate]( | [Forward to a friend]( | [Subscribe]( | [Edit your subscription]( | [Unsubscribe]( | [View in your browser]( Top of the World is written weekday mornings by the team at [The World](. [The World]( is produced by [PRX](, [WGBH](, and the [BBC](.