Herald: The North Pole has become an island for the first time in human history, with fears the melting ice cap has entered a “death spiral”. The historic development was revealed in satellite images that show melting ice has produced an opening in the famed Northwest and Northeast Passages, with water stretching all the way round the Arctic. Until recently, both passages had been blocked by ice since the start of the last Ice Age. It is feared by some scientists that the ice cap will …