Ukraine Says Fire Extinguished Near Contaminated Site Of Chernobyl Nuclear Disaster

April 05, 2020 By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service

Firefighters reportedly said they hadn't seen any flames since the morning of April 4.

Emergency authorities in Ukraine say there are no signs of any fire still burning in the uninhabited exclusion zone around the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear plant after firefighters mobilized to put out a blaze.

The country's State Emergency Service said early on April 5 that background radiation levels were "within normal limits."

More than 130 firefighters, three aircraft, and 21 vehicles were deployed on April 4 to battle the fire, which was said to have burned around 20 hectares (50 acres) in the long-vacated area near where an explosion at a Soviet nuclear plant in 1986 sent a plume of radioactive fallout high into the air and across swaths of Europe.

Fire and safety crews were said to be inspecting the area overnight on April 4-5 to eliminate any threat from sites where there was still smoldering

The blaze required seven airdrops of water, officials said.

The Ukrainian State Emergency Service said that "as of April 5, 7:00 a.m., there was no open fire, only some isolated cells smoldering."

It said firefighters hadn't seen any flames since around 8:00 p.m. on April 4.

Officials had earlier shared images taken from an aircraft of white smoke blanketing the area, where it said firefighting was complicated by "an increased radiation background in individual areas of combustion."

There was no threat to settlements, the State Emergency Service said.

A number of regions of Ukraine this week have reported brushfires amid unseasonably dry conditions.

VIDEO
The Chernobyl Disaster: How It Happened

Fires are a routine threat in the forested region around the exclusion zone where an explosion 33 years ago ripped a roof off the fourth reactor at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant near the now-abandoned town of Pripyat.

The 1986 explosion sent a cloud of radioactive material high into the air above then-Soviet Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia, as well as across Europe as Soviet officials denied there had been any accidents.

Dozens of people in Ukraine died in the immediate aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster, and thousands more have since died from its effects, mainly exposure to radiation.

A second massive protective shelter over the contaminated reactor was completed in 2016 in hopes of preventing further radiation leaks and setting the stage for the eventual dismantling of the structure.

With additional reporting by Interfax

Living Scared: In Kabul’s Shi’ite Enclave, Hazara Fear A Taliban Return

April 05, 2020 By Frud Bezhan

Amir Hamza was sitting in the same row as the suicide bomber

 who attacked his mosque in October 2017.

KABUL -- Ahmad Zia was sitting behind his wooden registration table when a suicide bombing ripped through Kabul’s Maiwand Wrestling Club, where scores of athletes were in the middle of a training session.

The blast flung Zia, the club administrator, off his chair and into a wall.

Covered in dust, the 28-year-old stumbled through the debris to help pull the bodies of the dead and wounded out of the burning sports club. The floor was covered with blood and the wrestling hall was strewn with dismembered bodies.

Less than an hour after the blast at Maiwand, a car laden with explosives detonated outside the same club in the western part of the Afghan capital, targeting journalists and emergency responders.

The twin bombings killed 30 people and wounded more than 90.

“There was fire, dust, and body parts everywhere,” said Zia, who added that there were around 150 people inside the club when an Islamic State (IS) suicide bomber struck that September day in 2018. Many were wrestlers aspiring to make Afghanistan’s Olympic team. “I’m haunted by what happened.”

The attacks occurred in Dasht-e Barchi -- a predominately Shi’ite enclave in Kabul that is home to the Hazara minority.

IS and Taliban militants -- Sunni extremist groups that consider Shi’a apostates -- have been blamed for devastating attacks that have killed hundreds of Hazara in the area in recent years.

Fears of more mass killings of Hazara have amplified after the United States and the Taliban signed an agreement aimed at ending America’s 18-year war in Afghanistan.

Signed on February 29, the deal envisages a power-sharing arrangement that is likely to bring the militants back into government.

But many Hazara fear that a deal with the Taliban will bring persecution rather than peace.

“Peace with the Taliban will not be a peace at all,” said Zia, wearing a black jacket over a sky blue pirhan tumban, the traditional baggy shirt and pants common in Afghanistan. “How could I ever accept them? When they have killed our children and torn apart our families, how can we?”

Zia lost two cousins in the bombings -- one a guard and the other a young wrestler.

Dasht-e Barchi has been the scene of a string of gruesome attacks by IS militants, including bombings targeting Shi’ite mosques and holy sites, public gatherings, schools, and sports clubs.

Outside of the capital, Taliban militants have kidnapped and executed Hazara civilians and stormed Hazara areas that have forced thousands to flee their homes.

Inside the Maiwand Wrestling Club in Kabul.

Many here do not distinguish between the Taliban and IS, which experts said is comprised of disgruntled former members of the Afghan Taliban, the Pakistani Taliban, and other Islamic militant groups in the region.

“The Taliban and Daesh are both terrorist groups that kill poor and innocent people,” said Zia, as he walked on the mats of the empty wrestling hall, referring to the Arabic acronym for the IS group. “They are both the enemies of the people, not just the enemies of one ethnicity or religion.”

History Of Violence

Militant violence has transformed Dasht-e Barchi, a thriving urban enclave, into a war zone.

The Maiwand Wrestling Club is barricaded behind high concrete blast walls and razor wire. The wrestling hall, even after extensive renovations, is still pockmarked with shrapnel from the 2018 bomb blast. Yet the club has more wrestlers than ever, with around 400 people training each day in four sessions.

The Taliban strictly prohibited most forms of sport during their 1996-2001 reign, deeming them un-Islamic, and used sports venues for public executions

Soldiers, police officers, and even armed plainclothes civilians -- paid and trained by the government -- guard the entrances and the rooftops of mosques, schools, and sports clubs. There have been growing calls for the community, where suspicion of the government is rife and anger is widespread, to take its security into its own hands.

The civilian forces are controversial in Afghanistan, where ethnic militias fought over control of Kabul during the country's devastating civil war from 1992-96 that killed some 100,000 people and left most of the capital in ruins.

The beleaguered Hazara minority has long been persecuted.

During the 19th century, Afghan monarchs attempted to forcibly convert the Hazara, seize their lands, and bring Hazara regions in the country’s highlands under the control of the central government. They were campaigns that killed thousands and forced even more to flee their homes, including many to British India. Hazaras who resettled to Kabul and other cities suffered discrimination and were often employed only in low-paying jobs.
During their oppressive rule, the Taliban terrorized the Hazara, wrestling control of Hazara regions in Afghanistan through a campaign of targeted killings and what rights groups have suggested amounted to ethnic cleansing.

Historically the poorest and most marginalized ethnic group in Afghanistan, the community has made major inroads since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001 toppled the Taliban regime, becoming powerful figures in politics and the media.

Although there is no census, Shi'a are believed to make up around 15 percent of Afghanistan's 30 million people, which is largely Sunni. Hazara account for the overwhelming majority of Shi'a in the country.

Aside from past Taliban atrocities against the Hazara, the extremist group’s strict interpretation of Shari’a law and its policies on women and education could threaten advancements made by the Hazara in recent years. Socially and culturally more progressive than other ethnic groups, the Hazara fear their rights to education and to practice their religion will be threatened under a peace deal.


'Ball Of Fire'
Amir Hamza was among the more than 400 people packed inside the Imam Zaman mosque in Dasht-e Barchi in October 2017.

As the worshippers knelt in rows to pray, a suicide bomber at the front detonated his explosives.

Blood spattered the walls inside the mosque as bits of flesh sprayed the ceiling. Broken glass and concrete littered the praying mats.

That bombing -- claimed by IS militants -- killed 58 worshippers and wounded more than 100.

“I was sitting in the same row as the suicide bomber,” said the 72-year-old Hamza, a caretaker at the mosque, whose hearing was impaired after the attack.

“There was a ball of fire that burnt my beard, the left side of my face, my left leg, and even the money I had in my top shirt pocket.”

Hamza, a father of eight, was rushed to the hospital where he spent several days in intensive care.

“This was the work of the Taliban or Daesh,” said Hamza, who trudged inside the renovated prayer hall with a limp. “They are the same. They claim they defend Islam but they bombed God’s house and destroyed the holy books inside.”

“Peace with the Taliban will not be a peace at all,” says Ahmad Zia at the wrestling club.

Guards brandishing AK-47 Kalashnikov rifles guarded the entrance to the mosque, which can fit around 2,000 worshippers. Worshippers are searched and vehicles are prohibited from parking near the mosque for fear of car bombings.

But the security measures did not prevent the horrific attack from taking place.

Hamza’s family was among the first to move to Dasht-e Barchi in the late 1990s.

Once a largely barren area with just several settlements, the crowded enclave is now home to hundreds of thousands of people, mostly Hazara who have fled war and poverty in neighboring provinces. Many residents here are poor, although some affluent neighborhoods have also sprung up.

Hamza came to Dasht-e Barchi during Taliban rule from the southeastern province of Ghazni, where he said the Hazara population was persecuted, arbitrarily jailed, and their land confiscated.

“If the Taliban came back to power as part of a political deal, then we won’t be able to live as we do now,” said Hamza. “Would this mosque be open? Would all the schools be open?”

'We Cannot Accept The Taliban'

In August 2018, dozens of high school graduates were hunched over their wooden desks inside a crowded classroom at the Mawoud Academy in Dasht-e Barchi.

In the middle of a lesson, a suicide bomber stormed into the classroom and detonated his explosives.

Forty students were killed and nearly 70 wounded inside the destroyed classroom, which was full of broken bodies strewn over smashed desks and chairs.

All the dead were students under the age of 20. They were attending extra lessons to prepare for university entrance exams that were just weeks away.

Sabara Ahmadi, an 18-year-old student, had been taking lessons at the academy. Although she was not there that day, she lost two close friends in the attack.

“I’m very scared,” said Ahmadi, sitting on a bench in her school garden, chatting with classmates between lessons. “But the attack also made me even more determined. I want to carry on for my classmates who were killed.”

Ahmadi’s parents moved to Kabul from the neighboring province of Maidan Wardak after 2001.

Life for the family was difficult in Kabul, an overcrowded city of 5 million people at risk of near-constant militant attacks and plagued by mass unemployment. The family rented a room in a neighborhood where running water and electricity worked only sporadically.

But for Ahmadi’s uneducated parents, the sacrifice would almost certainly be worth it -- their eight children would have a better life.

Ahmadi’s three older brothers, who grew up during Taliban rule, were denied an education. But she has been able to attend school and hopes to study for a computer science degree.


It's Like 'Living In A Cage,' Say Pakistan's Besieged Hazara

The Taliban was notorious for its poor treatment of women, banning them from working or going to school.

Since 2001, millions of Afghan girls have gone back to school, women have joined the workforce, and dozens of them are members of parliament.

The militant group has suggested it is committed to guaranteeing women their rights, although only in accordance with their strict interpretation of Islam.

Ahmadi, donning jeans and a pink head scarf, fears the return of the Taliban as part of a peace deal could jeopardize the future of young Afghans, especially girls.

“We cannot accept the Taliban,” she said. “Everything will get worse. Even though I’m scared, I can still go to study. But the Taliban will probably take that away from me, too.”

---30---

Has coronavirus been in humans for years? Experts claim the disease was circulating 'for some time' before lethally mutating 

Experts have cast doubt on the theory the virus was first transmitted from a bat to a human at a live animal market in Wuhan a few months ago 

Several scientists have said the killer disease could have been in humans for years before adapting and becoming more lethal 

'I think it probably circulated in humans for some time,' Ian Lipkin, professor of epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, told CNN 

Professor Robert Gary of the Tulane University School of Medicine said several other strains of coronavirus were undetected for decades before discovery 

Lipkin also warned that the outbreak will reoccur and won't be a one-off By RACHEL SHARP FOR DAILYMAIL.COM PUBLISHED: 5 April 2020

Coronavirus could have been in humans for years before becoming increasingly lethal and sparking a global pandemic, according to experts.

As the world continues to grapple to bring the outbreak under control, the global death toll skyrocketed to more than 64,000 and infections topped 1.2million Friday.

The widespread theory is that the deadly virus was first transmitted from a bat to a human at a live animal market in Wuhan at the end of 2019.

Leading scientists are now casting doubt on that theory, warning that the virus could have made the leap to humans many months and even years before it adapted and became more deadly.


Leading scientists are now casting doubt on the theory that the deadly virus was first transmitted from a bat to a human at a live animal market in Wuhan at the end of 2019

Pictured: what appears to be skinned chicks on the floor inside the South China Seafood Market in Wuhan Huanan

'I think it probably circulated in humans for some time,' Ian Lipkin, professor of epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, told CNN.

'How long? We may never fully reconstruct that... It could have circulated for months even years.'

A recent study in Nature Medicine Magazine voiced a similar theory that humans could have been infected with the virus for years without knowing.

Ian Lipkin, professor of epidemiology at Columbia Mailman School of Public Health, said Coronavirus could have been in humans for years before becoming increasingly lethal and sparking a global pandemic

The theory is that the virus has adapted and become more infectious and deadly to humans over time.

'The spark that ignited this surely only took place a few months ago, there could have been other sparks that set it off and made smaller fires that we just didn't detect it,' Professor Robert Gary, author of the study and professor of the Tulane University School of Medicine.

'It's a wide range of time that we can select.'

Gary said several other strains of coronavirus have been undetected for decades before medical experts have discovered them.

Professor Robert Gary of the Tulane University School of Medicine said the virus could have made the leap to humans many months and even years before it adapted

'There's some coronaviruses that we know about - some of the milder ones - that circulated for decades before we actually first discovered the first one,' he said.

It's 'what viruses do', Andrew Cunningham, veterinary epidemiologist at ZSL, told CNN.

'It probably had some adaptations to humans before it jumped into humans but it probably adapted further and proved its ability to infect and transmit between people once it got into people.'

Fears are also mounting that the pandemic the world is facing now won't be a one-off.

'Ultimately we have to have a vaccine because this virus is going to be endemic in the human population, it's going to reoccur,' warned Lipkin.

Lipkin tested positive for the virus mid-March, after returning from China in early February.

'The first couple of days you feel like an elephant is sitting on your chest,' he said.

'I was in China the second half of January returning early February, no illness whatsoever although I was placed in isolation and then I became ill on the streets of New York,' he recalled.

The growing school of thought from the experts continues to raise questions over the origin of the outbreak which has now infected more than 311,000 Americans and killed 8,503.

CORONAVIRUS: THEORIES OF ORIGIN


A WILDLIFE MARKET IN WUHAN

The most common theory is that the virus leaped to humans from animals - specifically bats - in a live animal market in Wuhan. 

A menagerie of live animals including koalas, rats and wolf pups were available at the Huanan Seafood Market in central Wuhan - the outbreak's epicentre.

The Huanan market was a hotspot with locals, who could choose to buy their meat 'warm' meaning it had been slaughtered just moment prior.



The market was shut on January 1 after dozens of workers there had contracted the disease

Most research has pointed to the virus coming from bats at the market, with scientists saying the COVID-19 genome is 96 per cent similar to one commonly found in bats.

Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the People's Liberation Army and Institut Pasteur of Shanghai came to the conclusion that the coronavirus may have come from bats.

In a statement, the team said: 'The Wuhan coronavirus' natural host could be bats… but between bats and humans there may be an unknown intermediate.

Research published in the Lancet also determined bats as the most probable original host of the virus after samples were taken from the lungs of nine patients in Wuhan.

The team suggested that bats passed the disease on to an 'intermediate' host which was at the Huanan seafood market in Wuhan before being passed on to the 'terminal host' — humans.

A LAB IN WUHAN

UK ministers fear the coronavirus pandemic might have been caused by a leak from a Chinese laboratory, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

The UK's emergency Cobra committee led by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said it will not rule out that the virus first spread to humans after leaking from a Wuhan laboratory.

The member of Cobra, which receives detailed classified briefings from the security services, said: 'There is a credible alternative view [to the zoonotic theory] based on the nature of the virus. Perhaps it is no coincidence that there is that laboratory in Wuhan. It is not discounted.'

Wuhan is home to the Institute of Virology, the most advanced laboratory of its type on the Chinese mainland.


Lab fears: A laboratory leak in Wuhan is believed to have caused the coronavirus pandemic

The £30million institute, based ten miles from the infamous wildlife market, is supposed to be one of the most secure virology units in the world.

Scientists at the institute were the first to suggest that the virus's genome was 96 per cent similar to one commonly found in bats.

There have been unverified local reports that workers at the institute became infected after being sprayed by blood, and then carried the infection into the local population.

When the wildlife market was closed in January, a report appeared in the Beijing News identifying Huang Yanling, a researcher at the Institute of Virology, as 'patient zero' – the first person to be infected.

The claim was described as 'fake information' by the institute, which said Huang left in 2015, was in good health and had not been diagnosed with Covid-19.

A second institute in the city, the Wuhan Centre for Disease Control – which is barely three miles from the market – is also believed to have carried out experiments on animals such as bats to examine the transmission of corona viruses.

IN US TROOPS

Despite early admissions that the virus began in the city of Wuhan, China later back-tracked - even going so far as to suggest American troops had brought the infection over after visiting the province.

Lijian Zhao, a prominent official within the Chinese Foreign Ministry, tweeted out the claim on March 12 while providing no evidence to substantiate it.

'When did patient zero begin in US? How many people are infected? What are the names of the hospitals,' he wrote.


Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian accused American military members of bringing the coronavirus to Wuhan

Referencing a military athletics tournament in Wuhan in October, which US troops attended, he wrote: 'It might be US army who brought the epidemic to Wuhan.

'Be transparent! Make public your data! US owe us an explanation!'

In fact, America's 'patient zero' was a man who travelled from China to Washington State on January 15. The case was confirmed by the CDC six days later.

Chinese has also tried to push the theory that the virus originated in Italy, the country with the most deaths, by distorting a quote from an Italian doctor who suggested the country's first cases could have occurred much earlier than thought.

Giuseppe Remuzzi said he is investigating strange cases of pneumonia as far back as December and November, months before the virus was known to have spread.

Chinese state media widely reported his comments while also suggesting that the virus could have originated in Italy.

In fact, Remuzzi says, there can be no doubt it started in Wuhan - but may have spread out of the province and across the world earlier than thought.

CORONAVIRUS has mutated into at least eight different strains according to researchers.

This strain is three strains away from the original

On average, the virus is mutating every 15 days. However, researchers have concluded the strains are not getting more deadly.
NextStrain, an open database in which virus sequences were uploaded, co-founder Trevor Bedford told National Geographic: “These mutations are completely benign and useful as a puzzle piece to uncover how the virus is spreading.

Identifying different strains could help ascertain whether measures against it have been effective.

Mr Bedford explained: “We’ll be able to tell how much less transmission we’re seeing and answer the question, ‘Can we take our foot off the gas?”

Charles Chiu of the University of California told USA Today scientists have the facilities to do genetic sequencing and work out transmission almost in real time.

Cases on the west coast of the US have been linked to a strain first identified in Washington state

On the east coast, the virus has gone from China to Europe then to New York.

Kristian Andersen, a Scripps Research professor said the data was not the full picture.

Speaking to USA Today she said: “Remember, we’re seeing a very small glimpse into the much larger pandemic.

“We have half a million described cases right now but maybe 1,000 genomes sequenced.

“So there are a lot of lineages we’re missing.”

Scientists from other specialisations have also made contributions to understanding and fighting the virus.

Physicists furloughed at CERN, the Swiss lab have released a design for a ventilator to help ease coronavirus shortages.

Coronavirus mutation rate is good for vaccine development

At least 8 strains of the coronavirus have been identified ...
https://thehill.com › changing-america › well-being › medical-advances
2 days ago - Researchers say the small mutations are useful in showing how the virus is ... Researchers have identified at least eight strains of the novel coronavirus that has ... the virus is mutating on average every 15 days, according to National ... Bedford said the different strains make it possible for researchers to see ...

Coronavirus: How scientists are tracking 8 strains of SARS ...
https://www.usatoday.com › story › news › nation › 2020/03/27 › scientist...
Mar 27, 2020 - Scientists sequenced the genomes of eight coronavirus strains ... SAN FRANCISCO – At least eight strains of the coronavirusare ... While much is unknown, hidden in the virus's unique microscopic ... Huddled in once bustling and now almost empty labs, researchers who ... Different symptoms, same strains.

At least 8 strains of the coronavirus are spreading across the ...
https://nypost.com › 2020/03/29 › at-least-8-strains-of-the-coronavirus-are...
Mar 29, 2020 - Scientists have identified at least eight strains of coronavirus as the bug wreaks ... NextStrain, which shows it mutating on maps in real-time, according to the site. ... He said the various strains allow researchers to see whether ...

Coronavirus mutation rate is good for vaccine development ...
https://www.washingtonpost.com › health › 2020/03/24
Mar 24, 2020 - The coronavirus is not mutating significantly as it circulates through the human population, according to scientists who are closely studying the novel pathogen's ... and represents encouraging news for researchers hoping to create a ... genetic differences between the strains that have infected people in the ...

Researchers Look At How The Coronavirus Is Mutating — And ...

https://www.npr.org › sections › goatsandsoda › 2020/03/25 › the-coronavir...
Mar 25, 2020 - As the virus makes copies of itself, errors may creep in, changing its genetic makeup. ... of disease or the transmissibility or other things that we as humans care about." ... Like flu and measles, the coronavirus is an RNA virus. ... and vaccines that are effective against a narrow group of coronavirus strains.

Our ancestors swapped pieces of ostrich eggshell jewelry 30,000 years ago in the same way that we trade Facebook and Twitter likes, or friendship bracelets, experts claim

Modern hunter-gatherers in the Kalahari Desert trade ostrich eggshell beads

But archaeologists found similar items in Lesotho, a region with no ostriches

Chemical analysis of the beads showed they come from up to 621 miles away

Experts believe the beads acted as visible signs of ancient social networks

By IAN RANDALL FOR MAILONLINE PUBLISHED: 9 March 2020

Our ancestors swapped pieces of ostrich eggshell jewellery 30,000 years ago in the same way we trade social media likes, or friendship bracelets, archaeologists claim.

The items — shell fragments with holes bored in — would have acted as signs of the interpersonal connections that made up ancient social networks.

Experts studying beads found in the African country of Lesotho have shown that the tradition seen in modern hunter-gatherers had a longer history than thought.

Analysis of elements within the beads has revealed that they were passed from person to person, travelling as far as 621 miles from where they were made.


Our ancestors swapped pieces of ostrich eggshell jewellery (pictured) 30,000 years ago in the same way we trade social media likes, or friendship bracelets, archaeologists claim

'Ostrich eggshell beads and the jewellery made from them basically acted like Stone Age versions of Facebook or Twitter "likes",' said archaeologist Brian Stewart of the University of Michigan.

These tokens, he added, would have 'simultaneously affirmed connections to exchange partners while alerting others to the status of those relationships.'

'Humans are just outlandishly social animals, and that goes back to these deep forces that selected for maximising information, information that would have been useful for living in a hunter-gatherer society 30,000 years ago and earlier.'

Anthropologists have long-known that modern hunter-gatherers trade ostrich eggshell beads to cement their interpersonal relationships — with such being practised among living Bushman groups in the Kalahari Desert.

Ostriches don't typically live in the mountainous, high-elevation environment of Lesotho, however — and archaeologists found no evidence, like bead fragments or samples of unworked eggshell, to suggest the beads were being made there either.

This led Professor Stewart and colleagues to wonder exactly where the beads found in the archaeological record there had come from.

To trace the origin of the beads, the team looked at a radioactive isotope called strontium, which is formed for the breakdown of another element, rubidium-87.

Older rocks — such as granites and gneisses — contain more strontium than younger rocks like basalts.

Strontium atoms are taken up from the ground by plants like grass, which are in turn eaten by animals like ostriches — and in this way can end up within materials like eggshells, creating a signal of the geology where they were formed.

Using plant and soil samples, as well as tooth enamel taken from modern rodent specimens from museum collections, the researchers created a map of the strontium signals from across Lesotho and the surrounding areas.

The basalt-rich volcanic mountains that make up the core of Lesotho contain less strontium, for example, than the surrounding and older sedimentary rocks.

The items — shell fragments with holes bored in — would have acted as signs of the interpersonal connections that made up ancient social networks

Analysis of elements within the beads has revealed that they were passed from person to person, travelling as far as 621 miles from where they were made. Pictured, one of the ancient rock shelter sites from which the ostrich eggshell beads were excavated

The team's analysis revealed that nearly 80 per cent of the beads found in Lesotho could not have originated from nearby highland areas.

'These ornaments were consistently coming from very long distances,' said Dr Stewart.

'The oldest bead in our sample had the third highest strontium isotope value, so it is also one of the most exotic.'

Some of the beads, the team found, must have come from eggshells from at least 202 miles (325 kilometres) from Lesotho — and perhaps even as far away as 621 miles (1,000 kilometres).

'Ostrich eggshell beads and the jewellery made from them basically acted like Stone Age versions of Facebook or Twitter "likes",' said archaeologist Brian Stewart of the University of Michigan. Pictured, one of the ancient rock shelter sites from which the beads were excavated

Anthropologists have long-known that modern hunter-gatherers trade ostrich eggshell beads to cement their interpersonal relationships — with such being practised among living Bushman groups in the Kalahari Desert. Pictured, one of the ancient rock shelter sites from which the ostrich eggshell beads were excavated

The team also found that the beads were being exchanged during a period of climactic upheaval which spanned from around 59–29 thousand years ago.

According to Dr Stewart, the use of the beads to build relationships between different hunter-gatherer groups may have ensured one group's access to others' resources when their region's weather took a turn for the worse.

'What happened 50,000 years ago was that the climate was going through enormous swings, so it might be no coincidence that that's exactly when you get this technology coming in,' he said.

'These exchange networks could be used for information on resources, the condition of landscapes, of animals, plant foods, other people and perhaps marriage partners.'

The full findings of the study were published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

'What happened 50,000 years ago was that the climate was going through enormous swings, so it might be no coincidence that that's exactly when you get this technology coming in,' said Dr Stewart. Pictured, one of the ancient rock shelter sites from which the ostrich eggshell beads were excavated

Experts studying beads found in the African country of Lesotho — specifically at two archaeological sites known as Melikane and Sehonghong — have shown that the tradition seen in modern hunter-gatherers had a longer history than thought Extinct human relative made jewelry over 40-thousand years ago


SEE 
https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2020/04/archaeologists-on-5000-year-old-egg.html

Archaeology shock: 2,000-year-old Mount Ebal discovery ‘proves Bible story’
ARCHAEOLOGISTS uncovered a site on Mount Ebal, dating back to the Biblical period, leading some to claim it proves a story in the Old Testament.

By CALLUM HOARE PUBLISHED: Fri, Mar 20, 2020

The Book of Joshua, found in the Bible, tells of how one of Moses’ assistants who built an altar of stones where the Israelites made peace offerings. Much later in the book, when Joshua was old and dying, he gathered the people together at Shechem, and gave a farewell speech. 

In the Eighties, archaeologists Adam Zertal conducted a land survey in Manasseh, including Mount Ebal, where the team identified an anomaly 150 metres below the peak.
Bible Discovery TV revealed why they thought this find was relevant to religious teaching.

The series said last month: “The book of Deuteronomy records a command to Joshua to hold a ceremony on Mount Ebal, build an altar there and set up standing stones that had the covenant written on them.

“Mount Ebal was probably chosen as a place of covenant renewal for a few reasons.

“First, it flanks the city of Shechem, which was a major centre of politics and religion in Canaan, control of this area demonstrated God’s power.

The finds match the Bible according to claims (Image: GETTY)

Mount Ebal features in the Bible (Image: GETTY)
The location, timing and archaeology all line-up
Bible Discovery TV

“Secondly, Mount Ebal is the tallest mountain in northern Samaria, demonstrating the importance and commanding a view of nearly all of what would become Israel.

“Also, most Israelite Iron Age archaeological findings come from this territory of Manasseh where Mount Ebal is.”

The series went on to reveal why biblical scholars think there is a link with Joshua’s story and the altar.

It adds: “This gives some evidence to believe that here is where most of Israel resided in the early settlement and into the time of the judges, so a religious centre on Mount Ebal would give access to most of these Israelites.

“After these mentions in Deuteronomy and Joshua, Mount Ebal is never mentioned in the Bible again.

Adam Zerta found Iron Age pottery (Image: GETTY)

“But, in modern times, Mount Ebal has been the centre of controversy with the findings of the late archaeologist Adam Zertal.

“A pile of stones on Mount Ebal received several seasons of excavations due to Iron Age pottery scattered on its surface.

“Zertal interpreted what he found beneath the pile as a massive altar of burnt offerings dating to the biblical period of the judges.”

But, there is more evidence than just the coinciding story, the series claimed.

It continued: “At first, his findings sparked a scholarly firestorm of disagreement, but today it’s generally recognised he did find a cultic site that corresponds to biblical sacrificial restrictions.

A smaller circle could be the original altar (Image: BIBLE DISCOVERY TV)

Some argue the rubble had other uses (Image: BIBLE DISCOVERY TV)
“The apparent altar is made of natural uncut stones and filled with alternating layers of Earth, ash, bone and stone.

“Not only is this a known construction style of ancient altars, but the bones are also ritually clean edible animals, pointing to the use as an Israelite cult centre.

“Unlike pagan altars with stairs, this one was ascended via a ramp, as commanded in Exodus 20.

“While the altar dates to a time after Joshua, Zertal found at the centre of it, an older circular altar dug into the bedrock.

“Could this be Joshua’s construction? The location, timing and archaeological all line up.”

Though some archaeologists agree with the consideration that the site was an altar compound, and some that it was a cultic location, others believe that it was simply a farmhouse, a guard tower.

They argue that the paved areas are simply rooms, the sloping wall simply an eroded partition wall, and the infilled enclosure a room that was later changed into a tower.

---30---

Locust plague set to descend on Middle East in ‘extremely alarming situation’

LOCUSTS have already caused havoc in the Horn of Africa, but now, a new swarm is set to descend upon the Middle East in an "extremely alarming situation," according to an expert.

By CALLUM HOARE PUBLISHED: Fri, Mar 20, 2020
Billions of locusts have blitzed through parts of East Africa and South Asia in the worst infestation for a quarter-of-a-century, ravaging crops and threatening food supplies. In January, the UN appealed for $76million (£59million) to tackle the crisis, but the figure has since risen to $138million (£115million). The insects, which eat their own body weight in food every day, are breeding so fast numbers could grow four hundredfold by June.

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Until now, the main threats have been in East Africa and Yemen, as well as the Gulf states, Iran, Pakistan and India, but the coronavirus pandemic means travel of international experts and in-country gatherings for training is affected.

Keith Cressman, a senior Locust Forecasting at the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation, says there are new “extremely alarming” swarms forming in the Horn of Africa.

His department, Locust Watch, works in collaboration with affected countries to assess field data, information and reports in real-time where they are heading.

Mr Cressman told the Times of Israel this week: “The information is combined with analysis of remote sensing (satellite) imagery, weather data and forecasts, and historical data in our geographic information system and database that go back to the Thirties.

A swarm of locust is heading to the Middle East (Image: GETTY)

Locusts have been causing havoc for months (Image: GETTY)
It's an extremely alarming situation Keith Cressman

“It is always very difficult to find and treat all infestations, and this is the nature and challenge of managing desert locust.

“It appears that the hardest-hit countries will include Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Iran, Pakistan, and Sudan, the last of which will likely be affected later this summer.”

According to the Locust Watch website, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Yemen could also be hit by the new swarm.

Aerial and ground spraying combined with constant tracking of the swarms are viewed as the most effective strategies

There are billions of locusts in Africa (Image: GETTY)

But, the aircrafts are in short supply.

Currently, Ethiopia was using five and Kenya six for spraying and four for surveying.

But the Kenyan government says it needs 20 planes for spraying and a continuous supply of the pesticide Fenitrothion.***

THE ECOLOGY OF CLIMATE CHANGE 
The present outbreaks coincided with cyclones in 2018, and warm weather at the end of 2019, combined with unusually heavy rains, creating the perfect breeding ground.

Workers are trying to battle the outbreak (Image: GETTY)

Countries say they need more aid (Image: GETTY)

Segenet Kelemu, director-general of the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology in Nairobi, says there are other factors that have contributed, like the ongoing war in Yemen.

He said earlier this week: “Swarms also develop when control efforts break down or political or natural disasters prevent access to breeding areas, and interventions do not start early enough.

“Countries like Yemen, where there are human catastrophic situations due to conflict, are in no position to take care of invasive pests.”

***SOMETIMES THE CURE IS WORSE THAN THE DISEASE 

fenitrothion - World Health Organization
https://www.who.int › Fenitrothion_specs_eval_WHO_Jan_2010_ok
Fenitrothion is an insecticide, acetylcholinesterase inhibitor. It is used in agriculture, horticulture, forestry and public health against chewing and sucking insects on rice, cereals, fruits, vegetables, stored grains, cotton, etc., for agriculture and flies, mosquitoes and cockroaches in public health use.

[PDF]
Fenitrothion in Drinking-water - World Health Organization
www.who.int › water_sanitation_health › dwq › chemicals › fenitrothion
Fenitrothion is mainly used in agriculture for controlling chewing and sucking insects on rice, cereals, fruits, vegetables, stored grains and cotton and in forest ...

Impact of Exposure to Fenitrothion on Vital Organs in Rats
https://www.hindawi.com › journals
by R Abdel-Ghany - ‎2016 - ‎Cited by 7 - ‎Related articles

This study was designed to investigate the impact of oral administration of fenitrothion (10 mg/kg) on liver, kidney, brain, and lung function in rats. The effect was ...

Fenitrothion - EPA Web Archive
https://archive.epa.gov › pesticides › reregistration › web › pdf
reregistration eligibility review and decisions on the pesticide chemical case fenitrothion. The enclosed Reregistration Eligibility Decision (RED) contains the ...

FENITROTHION - HerbiGuide
www.herbiguide.com.au › Descriptions › hg_FENITROTHION
ACTIVE INGREDIENTS: FENITROTHION 1000g/L ... for processing into food for human consumption or for stock food until the Fenitrothion level has dropped to ...
SUMITHION 1000EC INSECTICIDE‎: ‎SUMITO...

(PDF) The Toxicity of Fenitrothion and Permethrin
https://www.researchgate.net › publication › 221924675_The_Toxicity_of_...
PDF | On Feb 15, 2012, Dong Wang and others published The Toxicity of Fenitrothion and Permethrin | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ...

India bans agricultural uses of fenitrothion: :: Agrow
https://agrow.agribusinessintelligence.informa.com › India-bans-agricultur...
India has banned all agricultural uses of the organophosphate insecticide, fenitrothion, with the exception of locust control in scheduled desert areas and public 

[PDF] FENITROTHION - FAO
www.fao.org › documents › Pests_Pesticides › JMPR › Evaluation07 › Fen...
Fenitrothion was evaluated for residues by the 2003 JMPR in the Periodic Review Programme of the. CCPR. The 2003 Meeting recommended an MRL of 10 ...

Susceptibility survey of Ommatissus lybicus (de Bergevin ...
https://www.nature.com › scientific reports › articles
by RR Khan - ‎2019 - ‎Related articlesAug 12, 2019 - In case of fenitrothion, fourteen field strains exhibited minor to low level of resistance and only two showed susceptibility. Intermediate resistance ( ...

EU Pesticides database - European Commission
https://ec.europa.eu › plant › pesticides › eu-pesticides-database › public
Fenitrothion Not Approved. Status under Reg. (E
C) No 1107/2009 (repealing Directive 91/414/EEC ). Legislation, 2007/379. RMS, UK, Risk Assessment, EFSA.                                                      

Time spent in public spaces significantly raises risk of contracting respiratory illnesses

by Rowan Walker, University College London

Credit: Shopping/corona by Alexas Photos  Source: Pixabay CC 2.0

Spending time in supermarkets, eating out, socialising and using public transport, as well as being in contact with someone who has a cold, significantly increases the risk of contracting a respiratory illness, according to new UCL research.

The Wellcome-funded study, which is under review in Wellcome Open, is the first to investigate the impact of a range of public activities on the risk of acquiring respiratory tract infection in a population-based cohort using data from the Flu Watch study.

Professor Andrew Hayward (UCL Collaborative Centre for Inclusive Health and Director, UCL Epidemiology & Health Care), said: "Common seasonal respiratory viruses and COVID-19 appear to be transmitted in similar ways via droplets containing the virus and direct and indirect contact with infected secretions.

"This research clearly shows that respiratory infections can spread easily in a wide range of public spaces including public transport, shops, restaurants, and places of worship and at parties. Contact with symptomatic people outside the home is also a clear risk."

The Flu Watch cohort is a community study of respiratory infection occurrence and risk factors which followed households across England and Wales through the winter seasons of 2006/7-2010/11.

At recruitment, participants were asked what activities they had engaged in the week before, such as using public transport, shopping, eating out or going to the cinema or a party or being with someone with a cold outside their house). This data was then was used as a baseline assessment.

Each year participants then provided self-reported data on respiratory infections throughout autumn until spring. For this analysis, 626 participants who developed a respiratory infection were involved and in total 1005 respiratory illnesses were reported.

Illness diaries included the same series of questions about activities in the week before illness allowing the team to see which activities were more common in the week before illness compared to the baseline.

A greater number of people had spent time shopping, traveling on a bus, eating out, going to a party or place of worship or been in a room with someone with a cold before they got ill.

For example, 51% people had been in contact with someone who had a cold in the week before they got ill, compared to 40% people in the week before baseline. 90% had been to the supermarket the week before they got ill compared to 86% a week before baseline and 21% of people had been to a party the week before they got ill compared to 17% a week before baseline.

Professor Hayward added: "These findings support intensive physical distancing and isolation measures in all countries with community transmission of COVID-19 to slow the spread of the virus, save lives and reduce the intense pressure that health services will face."

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More information: Public activities preceding the onset of acute respiratory infection syndromes in adults in England - implications for the use of social distancing to control pandemic respiratory infections. osf.io/857u9/

Provided by University College London 

'Tunguska event' site scoured for traces of 'cosmic matter' as Russian scientists attempt to prove that a METEOR caused the massive explosion in 1908 

Lake Zapovednoye in the Tunguska area is the centre of the explosive event 

When the explosion happened reports said it was like the sky being torn in two 

Shockwaves from the event could be felt in the UK and light was seen in the USA
By WILL STEWART FOR MAIL ONLINE PUBLISHED: 28 February 2020

Russian scientists have been scouring a remote Siberian lake for traces of 'cosmic matter' to prove that a meteor caused the 'Tunguska event' explosion in 1908.

The event saw an explosion above the lake flatten 770 square miles of Siberia, and scientists believe it was caused by a meteor exploding miles above the surface.

The leading theory is that a space rock entered the atmosphere at 33,500 miles per hour and burst before hitting the ground due to increasing speed and pressure.

However, no evidence of space rock has been discovered in the area, which has led to speculation a meteor may not be the actual cause of the explosion.

Other theories include a volcanic eruption, a comet made mainly of ice, a black hole colliding with Earth and help from aliens shooting a meteor.

Local Evanki people believed it was a visitation by an angry god called Ogdy.

The expedition say finding 'cosmic matter' in sediment samples from Lake Zapovednoye will go a long way to proving the meteor theory is true.



The team of scientists worked to take sediment samples Zapovednoe Lake, the site of the Tunguska event in 1908 in the hope of finding evidence a meteor caused the explosion

The event saw an explosion above the lake flatten 770 square miles of Siberia but a mystery has long surrounded its cause due to a lack of physical evidence - they know it happened due to eyewitness reports and millions of trees being destroyed

An Italian team of researchers captured images of fallen trees caused by the massive explosion in 1908 when they surveyed the site in the 1990s


Eye witnesses described it looking like 'the sky was split in two' and some 80 million trees were wiped out, but no significant space rock hit the ground.

Despite no deposits being found, researchers have located sediments relating to the immediate aftermath of the explosion in Lake Zapovednoye, some 25 miles from the epicentre of the explosion at the point it hit the ground.

'The mystery of the Tunguska catastrophe worries both scientists and the public', said biologist Dr Arthur Meidus, deputy director of a nearby nature reserve.

'We discovered a distinguishing light-coloured layer in sediments of Lake Zapovednoye,' she told the Siberian Times.

The content of the sediment layer - potassium, titanium, rubidium, yttrium, and zirconium - allowed them to tie it to the consequences of the Tunguska explosion.

'This way we know which layer of sediments might contain particles of extraterrestrial origin,' Meidus said.

The next stage involves a 'search for micro-particles' from space in the lake's sediment layers dating from 1908 to 1910.

'The meteorite is not here as a physical body but the traces of the extremely powerful explosion are, which is what is currently studied by researchers.\\

'Many of us still hope to unravel the scenario of 1908 disaster.'

Scientists from Novosibirsk Institute of Nuclear Physics, Novosibirsk Institute of Geology and Mineralogy, Tunguska Nature Reserve and Krasnoyarsk Biophysics Institute are all involved in the research.

'There was a bang in the sky and a mighty crash. The crash was followed by a noise like stones falling from the sky, or of guns firing. The earth trembled,' said a native Siberian some 40 miles from the epicentre.

It appeared to be Armageddon. 'I became so hot I couldn't bear it, as if my shirt was on fire,' said another account.


This confocal X-ray microscope is being used by the research team to get a better understanding of what makes up the sediment - they say if they find certain types of chemicals it will hint at a cosmic origin



Early studies of the core the team have taken from the sediment do seem to show some evidence of cosmic matter - that is matter not common on Earth

'I wanted to tear off my shirt and throw it down, and then the sky slammed shut. A strong thump sounded and I was thrown a few yards.'

It caused shockwaves as far away as Britain and dust from the explosion lit up the night sky in its wake in Europe and even America.

From the first Soviet expeditions to this remote region of Siberia, the puzzling aspect was a lack of debris or craters on the surface.

Italian scientist Luca Gasperini, from the University of Bologna, says the crater-shaped Lake Cheko, five miles from the epicentre, is the missing link.

Yet this theory was strongly disputed by leading Russian scientists.

Researchers predict that by studying the sediment they will be able to establish unequivocally that it was a meteor explosion in the atmosphere.

They say lessons can then be drawn for future incursions by space rocks.

Animation shows the two phases of a new asteroid collision model

TUNGUSKA THEORIES: WHAT COULD HAVE 'SPLIT THE SKY IN TWO' IN 1908

More than 110 years ago, a massive explosion ripped through the sky over the Tunguska region of Siberia, flattening trees nearly 31 miles around.

The blast is thought to have been produced by a comet or asteroid hurtling through Earth's atmosphere at over 33,500 miles per hour, resulting in an explosion equal to 185 Hiroshima bombs as pressure and heat rapidly increased.

But, with no definitive impact crater and little evidence of such an object ever found, scientists remain perplexed as to what truly caused the event in which 'the sky was split in two'.

Numerous studies have attempted to make sense of what happened on June 30, 1908 at Tunguska.



The biggest-ever documented explosion was the size of 185 Hiroshima nuclear bombs - yet there was no evidence of human fatalities. Pictures show trees flattened by the blast

From UFO theories to speculation about the supernatural, the mysterious event has spurred explanations of all kinds, many of them lacking scientific basis.

Some scientists even suggested a black hole had collided with Earth – but other experts quickly shot down the idea.

In a review published in 2016 in the Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Natalia Artemieva of the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona explains that the event followed a clear course.

Whatever caused the event likely entered the atmosphere at 9-19 miles per second, and would have been extremely fragile, destroying itself roughly six miles above Earth.

The possibility of an asteroid explosion was first proposed in 1927 by Leonid Kulik, 20 years after the event.

Others suggested the space-object may instead have been a comet, made up of ice rather than rock, meaning it would have evaporated as it entered Earth's atmosphere.

But, some scientists warn that these findings do not definitively explain the bizarre explosion – with meteor showers being a frequent occurrence, these samples could be the remnants of a much smaller, unnoticed event.

To some degree, the Tunguska event still remains a mystery, which scientists are continually working to solve – but, whether it be from a comet or asteroid, most agree that the explosion was caused by a large cosmic body slamming into Earth's atmosphere.

LE GRAND GUIGNOL 
 Largest wholesale food market in the world is transformed into a coronavirus morgue in Paris - while still selling meat, fish and vegetables
IT'S A TRADITION 

Rungis market is the largest wholesale food market anywhere in the world

It also now houses a makeshift morgue for Paris's coronavirus victims

Bodies will begin arriving on Friday while the market remains open to public

Ministers insist the morgue has been isolated from all the other pavilions

By PETER ALLEN IN PARIS FOR MAILONLINPUBLISHED 3 April 2020

Culture - Why the Grand Guignol was so shocking - BBCwww.bbc.com › culture › story › 20190304-why-the-grand-guignol-was-s...Mar 5, 2019 - Hidden in an old chapel in Paris, the Grand Guignol was the home to on-stage horror, with grisly, lo-fi special effects – plus sex – to tantalise

The largest wholesale food market in the world has opened as a morgue for people who have died from coronavirus – while still selling meat, fish and vegetables.

France's giant Rungis International, which is based in the southern suburbs of Paris, is providing a refrigerated hall for up to 1,000 coffins.

'This is necessary because undertakers cannot cope with the massive death toll – more space is urgently needed,' said a police source in the city.

The Rungis market, in Paris, now houses a makeshift morgue for some of the city's coronavirus victims after a sudden spike in deaths mean space ran out (file image)

The first bodies will arrive on Friday while the rest of the market remains open for business, as ministers insist the morgue has been completely isolated from the other pavilions (file)

'Coffins will start arriving at Rungis on Friday, and on Monday families and friends will be allowed to visit under strict conditions to pay their respects.'

Paris police chief Didier Lallement had authorised the move, saying 'Paris is the region of France most affected by coronavirus' and adding that the crisis is 'expected to continue for weeks'.

The makeshift mortuary is located on the edge of the market and 'isolated from the other pavilions,' the police chief told French news agency AFP.

The coffins will eventually be moved from the market hall to cemeteries or crematoria around France or abroad.

The market, which normally employs up to 15,000 people and is on a 575 acre site, will meanwhile continue to sell food.

The coronavirus death death toll surged to just under 5,400 people on Thursday after the government began including nursing home fatalities in its data.

France has confirmed 59,105 cases of coronavirus and 5,387 deaths from the disease as the curve of infection peaks, leaving medical services overwhelmed (pictured, a patient is evacuated from Paris to another hospital with fewer cases)


French firefighters have been drafted on to the frontlines in Paris where they are helping to evacuate coronavirus patients to other hospitals

The pandemic had claimed the lives of 4,503 patients in hospitals, said Jerome Salomon, head of France's health authority.

More grim figures showed Covid-19 had killed a further 884 people in nursing homes and other care facilities, he added.

This makes for a total of 5,387 lives lost to coronavirus in France - an increase of 1,355 over Wednesday's cumulative total.

Mr Salomon said: 'We are in France confronting an exceptional epidemic with an unprecedented impact on public health.'

The country's broad lockdown is likely to be extended beyond April 15, Prime Minister Edouard Philippe said, extending a confinement order to try and deal with the crisis that began on March 17.

The country is to introduce smart phone barcodes to help enforce its Coronavirus lockdown – making it easier to track people and fine them.

The move – which was announced by Interior Minister Christophe Castaner on Thursday night – comes as more than £50m has already been paid out by those caught without the right documentation.