We have been covering a lot of serious, bad things recently; so here is a light break which I hope you enjoy.

London – Sadly the Coronavirus has put a current halt to the massive fundraising ‘Gorilla Run’ which takes place in London each year to raise big funds for the protection of our close and very endangered cousins – the Gorillas.

Fingers crossed that this fantastic fundraising event will soon be back on the streets of ol’ London town.

Here is a video of one of the recent fundraisers – Take a Break and Enjoy !

Regards Mark

Coronavirus: WHO urges China to close ‘dangerous’ wet market as stalls in Wuhan begin to reopen

’75 per cent of emerging infections come from the animal kingdom… It’s partly the markets, but it’s also other places where humans and animals are in close contact,’ says Dr David Nabarro

The World Health Organisation is urging countries across the world to close “dangerous” wet markets amid warnings about the risks posed by environments where humans are in close contact with animals.

Wet markets in Wuhan, the city where the coronavirus outbreak first emerged, have begun to reopen following the lifting of lockdown restrictions. This move comes despite the virus being linked to the city’s Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market.

But WHO, as well as other public health organisations and campaigners, have said the markets pose a “real danger” as pathogens can spread easily and quickly from animals to humans.

Dr David Nabarro, a WHO special envoy on Covid-19 and special representative of the United Nations secretary general for food security and nutrition, said the world health body “pleads with governments and just about everybody” to be respectful of how viruses from the animal kingdom are rife.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Dr Nabarro said while WHO is not able to tell governments what to do, their advice is to close wet markets.

He replied: “You know how WHO and other parts of the international system work – we don’t have the capacity to police the world. Instead, what we have to do is offer advice and guidance, and there’s very clear advice from the Food and Agriculture Organisation and WHO that said there are real dangers in these kinds of environments.

“75 per cent of emerging infections come from the animal kingdom. It’s partly the markets, but it’s also other places where humans and animals are in close contact. Just make absolutely certain that you’re not creating opportunities for viral spread,” added Dr Nabarro.

Traders sell fresh produce, fruit and vegetables in wet markets alongside wild and domestic animals mainly for consumption in wet markets, which are common in China, South Korea and southeast Asia. Not all wet markets sell exotic meats, but poor legal controls allow for the controversial product to enter the supply chain.

Last week, over 200 conservation groups across the world signed an open letter calling on WHO to force the closure of markets where wild meat is sold for consumption.

The joint letter calls on WHO to recommend to governments that they bring permanent bans to live wildlife markets and to exclude the use of wildlife from the organisation’s definition and endorsement of traditional medicine.

Dr Nabarro added: “We have similar concerns about bushmeat – be very very careful when you’re basically eating wild animal meat or killing wild animals. All these things are higher risk and we have to be on high alert these days for these problems.”

The Independent is calling for global action to impose tighter restrictions surrounding the trade of wild animals, in order to help reduce the risk of diseases like coronavirus from spreading.

There is some indication that Chinese authorities are heeding calls for more restrictions. Last month, Beijing banned the trade and consumption of non-aquatic wild animals, and shut down 20,000 farms raising animals such as peacocks, porcupines and ostriches.

Shenzhen became the first Chinese city to ban the sale and consumption of dog and cat meat, with central authorities declaring that dogs are companions and not for consumption.

Jinfeng Zhou, secretary general of the China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation, told The Guardian that a universal closure of wildlife markets was justified.

However, the use of wild animal meat or byproducts are still being approved for use in medication and signs that regional Chinese authorities are not enforcing the recent ban on the sale of wild animals have emerged.

Source – Independent (London) – https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/coronavirus-china-cases-deaths-who-wet-market-wuhan-a9462286.html

Empty beaches – a blessing for baby turtles!

So far 97 baby turtles have made their way to the sea on Paulista Beach.

Because of Covid-19, the beaches in Brazil are almost deserted.
Good for these endangered turtles. Hundreds of babies hatch undisturbed.

The corona pandemic is currently turning our everyday lives upside down. While we stay at home most of the day, are no longer allowed to travel or meet friends, and the economy has been shut down to a minimum, animals and nature breathe freely worldwide. In Italy you can see dolphins, in Europe the smog disappears and in Japan deer dare to enter the city (https://worldanimalsvoice.com/2020/03/20/we-are-the-real-virus/).

The spectacular sandy beaches of Brazil are therefore unusually empty despite tropical temperatures.

The measures also have unusual side effects: on the coast of the city of Paulista, almost 100 sea turtle babies of the species Hawksbill turtle hatched and were able to make their way into the sea almost undisturbed.

“A total of 400 sea turtles were born on the Paulista coast in 2020, including 87 green turtles and 313 hawksbill turtles. Due to the measures to prevent the spread of the new corona virus, almost no people were present … “, says the ministry website. There are said to be four more nests that are supposed to hatch between April and May.

https://tierisch.heute.at/a/46079534/leere-str%C3%A4nde–ein-segen-f%C3%BCr-schildkr%C3%B6tenbabys

And I mean…That and many similar free walks of animals show how much the animals had to suffer among us humans.

Everyone stays at home! then everyone benefits from it!!

My best regards to all, Venus

Nasa maps showing NO2 values over Wuhan during January and February. Photograph: Nasa Handout/EPA

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/mar/01/dramatic-fall-in-china-pollution-levels-partly-related-to-coronavirus 

Mother Earth is having a bit of a Detox – and we think this is really fantastic. The Coronavirus / COVID has kept cars, planes and people, and their massive pollution off the streets and out of the towns and cities, and as a result, allowed the Earth to take some much needed ‘environmental medicine’ to help get itself and little better with regard the environment and cleaner air.

The pity is, that if and when it is all over; if it will ever be; huge numbers of humans will get back into their cars; board their planes, go back to their polluting jobs as if things never really changed much. If you can say one thing about the human race, it is that it never learns from its past mistakes.

Please click on the following link and read what some of the people have said.

https://www.boredpanda.com/himalayas-mountains-coronavirus-pollution-levels-drop/

People living in some parts of India are seeing the Himalaya mountains crystal clear for the first time in decades. This happened after the coronavirus quarantine reduced the amount of pollution in the country and helped the air clear up a bit.

Locals in the Jalandhar district in Punjab in Northern India, around 125 miles (just over 200 kilometers) from the mountains, are enjoying the majestic view. One of the people celebrating the unspoiled view is Indian cricket player Harbhajan Singh, with other Twitter users chiming in how pollution is a serious problem in India.

One person even said that this was the first time they could clearly see the Himalayas in nearly 30 years.

Researchers in New York told the BBC their early results showed carbon monoxide mainly from cars had been reduced by nearly 50% compared with last year.

Emissions of the planet-heating gas CO2 have also fallen sharply.

But there are warnings levels could rise rapidly after the pandemic.

With global economic activity ramping down as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, it is hardly surprising that emissions of a variety of gases related to energy and transport would be reduced.

Scientists say that by May, when CO2 emissions are at their peak thanks to the decomposition of leaves, the levels recorded might be the lowest since the financial crisis over a decade ago.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-51944780

WHO chief slams suggestion to use Africa as testing ground for Covid-19 vaccine!

The suggestion by two French medical experts to test coronavirus vaccines in Africa is racist, appalling and a relic of colonial mentality, head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said.

WHO-director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus -DENIS BALIBOUSE/ REUTERS

Jean Paul Mira and Camille Locht brought up the issue during an appearance on the French TV channel LCI last week, pointing to the lack of masks, treatments and ventilators on the continent.

Asked about it on Monday, Tedros said he was “appalled” by the “racist remarks.”

The hangover from the colonial mentality has to stop.

“Africa cannot and will not be a testing ground for any vaccine,” said the WHO chief, who hails from Ethiopia. “We will follow all the rules to test any vaccine or therapeutics all over the world using exactly the same rules, whether it is in Europe, Africa or wherever.”

Tedros’s comments echo the condemnations made by several European footballers of African heritage soon after the French experts’ discussion aired.

African football icons including Didier Drogba, Samuel Eto’o and Demba Ba have reacted with rage after the two doctors suggested the continent could be used as a testing ground during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Africa is not a playground for you,” tweeted Cameroonian-born former Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o. 

Didier Drogba — born in the Ivory Coast — called the suggestion “scandalous” and “absolutely disgusting,” adding that Africans should not be used as guinea pigs. 

Republic of Congo midfielder Youssouf Mulumbu, who left Scottish champions Celtic last year and was a Player of the Year for West Bromwich Albion during their spell in the Premier League, added: “Africa is not a trash can or a laboratory. No coronavirus vaccine test in Africa.”

Outraged Senegal star Demba Ba shared the video on social media and called for uproar. “Welcome to the west, where white people believe themselves to be so superior that racism and debility become a banality,” wrote the former Premier League and current Basaksehir forward, urging: “TIME TO RISE.”

Despite its relative lack of protective equipment and technology compared to elsewhere, Africa has been far less affected by the pandemic to date.

Out of the 1.3 million documented cases of Covid-19 across the world, only 9,500 have been registered in Africa, along with just under 450 confirmed deaths.

By comparison, the US has had almost 350,000 cases and over 10,000 deaths.

https://www.rt.com/news/485120-who-coronavirus-vaccine-trial-africa/

And I mean…Bill Gates and Michael Bloomberg, now supported by Warren Buffett, with their foundations are the main financiers of the World Health Organization WHO. The BGMF, at the top, finances the WHO’s five billion budget with around 700 million a year, together with the US and British governments, which otherwise keep the UN as short as possible or boycott it.

Among other things, the WHO defines which diseases are important for the world and when an epidemic has become a pandemic.

“The secret WHO boss is Bill Gates,” was the headline of the German weekly “Die ZEIT”, which admires the self-proclaimed human savior.

Conclusion: the head of the WHO reacted correctly and fairly, maybe his reaction cost him the job.
But because Bill Gates is the main shareholder of the WHO (the Bill Gates Foundation is one of the main donors of the WHO), I recommend testing the vaccine on him and his children first.
This means that Bill Gates’ children can be sure that the vaccine is safe.

My best regards to all, Venus