People gathered in Madrid’s city square but did not wear masks and practice social distancing. Photo: Getty Image From 0:00 on May 9, most of 17 regions in Spain have officially lifted the state of emergency imposed from October 2020 to prevent the COVID-19 epidemic. According to AFP news agency, to celebrate the lifting of the curfew, people poured into the streets to participate in parties. However, very few people follow the epidemic prevention regulations. In the capital Madrid, people form crowds dancing and singing in the streets without wearing masks. The scene is likened to a celebration on New Year’s Eve. Local police were forced to disperse crowds moving from downtown Puerta del Sol square. People gather to drink beer and sing without observing any regulations on epidemic prevention. Photo: Zuma Barcelona beach is packed with people at midnight. Photo: AFP In Barcelona, ​​people also flocked to the beach at midnight to celebrate the end of the six-month blockade. One photo shows a man and woman kissing in the street as police watch from afar. A couple unafraid to share a passionate kiss in the middle of the street to celebrate the end of the curfew. Photo: Getty Image Police were mobilized to ensure order and security while the people celebrated. Photo: Getty Image The decision to relax the blockade to prevent COVID-19 means that people in this country have been allowed to freely travel between regions after months of being banned. However, regional governments can still limit the opening hours and number of guests of bars and restaurants. Regions can also ask the court to approve more stringent disease prevention measures such as re-imposing curfews, limiting the number of people gathering indoors or extending the travel ban in the region. Previously, the Spanish Government applied emergency measures to prevent the epidemic such as a night curfew, a ban on non-essential travel between regions. Authorities temporarily lifted restrictions for a few days over Christmas. However, due to a sharp increase in the number of cases after this holiday, Spain has decided not to relax its domestic travel restrictions during the Easter week – usually the peak tourist season here. According to Worldometer website statistics, as of 6am on May 10, Spain recorded over 3.5 million cases of COVID-19, including at least 78,000 deaths.

Here are some strange traditions that are unusual in many parts of the world: Easter Campfire, Germany The night before Easter, people in some areas of Germany make a huge bonfire and burn it brightly. This custom has been around for a long time, marking the time when people welcome spring and drive away the evil spirits of winter. In some regions like Nordrhein-Westfalen, a state in western Germany, people burn a large wooden wheel and then roll downhill to pray for a good harvest. Eat noodle soup in Japan While in most countries it is generally considered disrespectful to make noise while eating, in Japan there is an exception. That’s when people eat noodles. If you don’t slurp noodles while you eat or make slurping noises, you may be seen as impolite. Put money on food in Bolivia In Bolivia, locals have a tradition of marking the end of the year and welcoming the new year by making coin pies. It is said that whoever wins the coin will have good luck in the coming year. Throwing teeth in Greece In Greece, children don’t have ‘tooth fairies’, but instead, when a baby tooth falls out, people throw it on the roof. The act of throwing teeth on the roof gives hope that adult teeth will always be strong and healthy. Toss tomatoes in Spain Throwing tomatoes at the opposite person, sounds like an impolite act, but in Spain, locals hold a special festival called La Tomatina. This is a place where people can freely throw tomatoes at each other without being scolded. The fun festival started in 1945. Up to now, people hold the festival every year on the last Wednesday of August. Eating ice cream in winter in Mongolia While most people tend to eat ice cream on hot summer days, in Mongolia, people like it on the coldest days of winter. On the streets of Mongolia, there are still people selling ice cream in paper boxes without a separate refrigerator because the outdoor temperature sometimes falls to about minus 5 degrees Celsius. Choosing a future career in Korea In Korea, on the first birthday of a baby, the family prepares tools typical of many different professions such as books, money, paint brushes… Depending on what the baby chooses, The family can know what the child will do in the future, what characteristics will be. For example, if a child chooses money, he will likely be rich in the future, if he chooses books, he will be a very intelligent person. Jumping from a chair to the ground in Denmark Most countries have a specific traditional custom that people perform on New Year’s Eve, before entering the new year. In Denmark, too, but this custom is somewhat more interesting and exotic. Just before the clock strikes the transition between the old year and the new year, everyone will sit on a chair and perform the act of jumping to the floor at the exact moment of greeting the new year. Those who do not dance or forget this act will not be lucky in the new year.

Billions of T. rex have been wandering North America, a group of experts say. Although not a simple task, paleontologists from the University of California (USA) gave the T. rex dinosaur numbers in the Cretaceous period 65 – 98 million years ago. Challenging work Fossils have long been used to improve our understanding of extinct creatures like dinosaurs, but experts suggest that these skeletons are used to calculate densities and levels. Their abundance is a challenge. Director Charles Marshall of the University of California’s Museum of Paleontology is part of the research team. “There is no information available to make an estimate,” he said. If you find an Easter egg in your garden, how do you estimate how many Easter eggs ever existed? It simply cannot be done. You need information from somewhere else, for example, the density of the Easter eggs, how many years they can be found and how many Easter eggs have been placed in the garden. Paleontologist Nizar Ibrahim at the University of Portsmouth (UK) is not involved in the study. “Previously researchers tried to estimate things like the size of the Tyrannosaurus’ habitable area and their basic energy needs, so this is an extension of the work,” he said. before that, including many updates about Tyrannosaurus ”. There are 20,000 T.rex dinosaurs in North America T.rex is predicted to have a lifespan of 28 years. Using fossil records, densities and data from climate models, the University of California team calculated that about 20,000 adult T. rex, living across North America, could exist at the same time. . In a study published in the Journal of Science, researchers say this means that about 2.5 billion T. rex have lived and died over a period of nearly 2.5 million years – a process The dinosaurs live. For the first time, the team also calculated the lifespan of dinosaurs. Using scientific literature and expert opinion, they estimated T.rex’s adult age to be 15.5 years and its lifespan could reach around 28 years. The average adult body weight of this dinosaur is about 5,200 kg and a growth after maturity can make them weigh up to 7,000 kg. From the above estimates, the team concluded that each generation of T.rex lasted for about 19 years and there was a dinosaur for every 100 square kilometers. They determined that, with 20,000 permanent dinosaurs and about 127,000 generations of this species, there would be about 2.5 billion T.rex overall. “The researchers’ approach seems informative, while also pointing to current limits on what can be done,” said Jason C.Poole of the Bighorn Institute of Paleontology (USA). learned from the known “. “I’m sure it opens the door to better focus on questions about population density and what it means over time. So this can really help us understand how animals change over time as it is related to evolution and changing ecosystems, ”said Mr. Poole. The researchers estimated that the population density of T. rex was equivalent to 3,800 carnivorous dinosaurs in an area the size of California, but only 2 in an area the size of Washington DC. . Open up the possibility to find out more information A T.rex dinosaur could have an average weight of 5.2 tons. Meanwhile, the results also allow the authors to determine that only about 1 in 80 million T. rex is preserved as fossil remains. “The big impact of this study may be how rare the fossils are, they represent only a fraction of the individual organisms that ever existed, not to mention the depth of time and the rate. it happened in a few thousand to a million years, ”Mr. Poole said. Study co-author Professor Marshall of the University of California said, “In a way, this is a paleontological exercise of what we can know and how we can know what. there… It’s amazing what we know about this dinosaur so we can calculate more information.Our understanding of T. rex has expanded greatly over the decades. Through more fossils, more analytical methods and better ways of integrating information through known fossils ”. Mr Ibrahim sees other possibilities stemming from this study. There is a lot we don’t know about T.rex’s physiology, behavior, and food environment, he said, but this study offers an interesting approach to estimating abundance and prevalence. conservation of dinosaurs. “I would love to see it apply to the other dinosaurs we know from fossils. Looking at a wide range of dinosaurs, predators and prey, we can better compare dinosaur animal communities to modern ones, ”he said. What we see is superficial, according to Ibrahim, and even with this fascinating research, there is still a long way to go for us to confidently apply these approaches widely in research. save dinosaurs.

However, a few miles inland, the tourists on the cruise ship MSC Grandiosa are still comfortably swaying to latin music and sipping cocktails by the pool. Despite the blockade that caused many hotels and resorts to close, the luxury yacht MSC Grandiosa still organizes seven-night resort transfers across the Mediterranean Sea. Passengers at the station before boarding the tourist train MSC Grandiosa in Civitavecchia (Italy). Celebrating Easter offshore After cruise ships became the source of the Covid-19 outbreaks, Grandiosa attempted to devise a new route of movement, including a strict set of anti-epidemic rules approved by the Italian authorities. , aimed at creating a “health bubble” on the deck. Passengers and crew are tested before and during excursions. They are required to wear masks and bracelets to track, and check their temperature regularly. Ship disinfection and cleaning activities have also been carried out to prevent outbreaks. Foreign tourists must have a negative Covid-19 test paper within 48 hours of departure. In addition, only residents of the Schengen countries, along with Romania, Croatia and Bulgaria, can book under the Covid-19 insurance policy. On January 31, Grandiosa yacht left the port of Civitavecchia (Italy) for a week-long Easter vacation. Despite the capacity of 6,000 people, the train can accommodate only 2,000 passengers. The cruise is expected to call at Naples, Valletta and Malta before returning to ports in Genoa. Although the SARS-CoV-2 virus remains a threat, passengers are allowed to enjoy pre-pandemic normality, including the freedom to eat and drink in restaurants or rest by the pool without wearing a mask. The scene of tourists enjoying sunbathing and relaxing by the crowded pool. “After a serious year of implementing the restrictive rules, we think we have the right to rest, relax for a week,” Stefania Battistoni (39), a teacher in Italy, told AP. This single mother drove overnight to bring her two sons and mother from Bolzano to the port, on this trip. On the Grandiosa, passengers have the opportunity to enjoy activities that have been largely closed in Italy and Europe over the past year: theaters, restaurants, duty-free shopping and live music at the shops. bar. “The outing excursion is the best mental health option for our family after a year of limited, shutdown,” said Federico Marzocchi, who joins his wife and 10-year-old son Matteo, said. In the meantime, the rest of Italy is back in full shutdown this Easter in an attempt to reduce the outbreak of the disease. In addition, the government has imposed a 5-day quarantine order on people entering from other EU countries to prevent tourists who want to travel to Italy to relax. Trouble from the yachts The pandemic has severely reduced the number of passengers on board cruise ships, from a record 30 million people in 2019 to about 350,000 people since July 2020, according to Cruise Lines International (CLIA) – major marine tourism association best of the world. Currently, there are less than 20 yachts in operation globally. The MSC Grandiosa is currently the only ship in service in the world. According to independent consultancy Bermello Ajamii & Partners, only 23 cases of Covid-19 have appeared on board since the industry re-started in the summer of 2020, with an infection rate for passengers of 0.006. %. The European tourism industry is looking to reopen next spring, from April onwards. However, some critics point out that travel companies should take advantage of this long break to solve problems related to the working and working environment in the industry. “Travel agencies could have used this ‘Covid-19 vacation’ to address their negative impacts on public health and the environment,” says Jim Ace, from the group that works for Stand Earth environment, said. “Every big yacht uses the cheapest and dirtiest burning fuel available. They are large, polluting the air and water and contribute to climate change. They are toxic to the port environment and spread disease. They exploit the workers and put the passengers in danger, ”said Ace.

Pope Francis presides over the Easter vows at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, April 3, 2021. Photo: AFP / VNA This year, millions of Christians around the world celebrate the second consecutive Easter season in a bleak atmosphere as all the masses hosted by Pope Francis allow only about 200 people to attend, compared to with a capacity of nearly 10,000 people. This year’s Easter Vigil was held 2 hours earlier than usual so that the attendees could go home before 10 p.m. – the start of curfew in Rome (Italy). Pope Francis presides over the Easter vows at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, April 3, 2021. Photo: AFP / VNA In his homily, Pope Francis reiterated the meaning of Easter to offer hope for rebirth. He emphasized that during the dark months of the COVID-19 pandemic, people should not lose hope and pay attention to the vulnerable in society. It is expected that during Easter (April 4) – one of the most important holidays of the year for Christians, Pope Francis will celebrate the traditional blessing “Urbi et Orbi” for the city. Rome city and the world.

This has led to the situation that some tourists ignore the warnings, approaching dangerous areas, especially cliffs, according to the report. News.com.au. Present at Birling Gap near Eastbourne, east Sussex, many tourists were heartbroken when they saw two girls jumping up high, raising their hands to pose for a photo. The place where two girls check-in is just steps away from the edge of a limestone cliff. This area is warned to be “unstable”, very dangerous and is also advised by the National Trust (an organization that protects historic and scenic places in the UK). Two female adventure tourists check-in on the cliff. Only in 2020, about 50 cliffs on the east coast of Sussex will collapse. Visitors walking at the beach are often advised to keep their head above their head, away from the cliffs in case of falling rocks. The East Sussex Council has also issued warnings after noting a significant cliff drop at Birling Gap and a potentially slumping cliff at Seaford Head. In October 2020, Orlando Serrano-Arzola (25 years old) went to Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Arizona (USA) to visit. When climbing to the top of the cliff overlooking the Colorado River, near Canyon Dam Overlook for a photo shoot, Orlando fell from a height of about 30 meters, then slid for more than 46 meters. After the fall, the 25-year-old man did not survive. In the process of bringing Orlando’s body from the foot of the canyon, the authorities also discovered the remains of another victim.

By Klaus-Rainer Jackisch, MR Chocolate Easter bunnies landed in the Easter basket less often than usual this year. Business was rather sluggish due to the coronavirus pandemic. The industry had already reduced the number of units in advance so as not to sit on the shelves, as in the previous year, or to sell them off at dumping prices. But overall, “the Easter business was very mixed,” says Solveig Schneider, spokeswoman for the Federal Association of the German Confectionery Industry in Bonn, drawing a preliminary balance.

Easter is more important than Christmas

German manufacturers produced a good 215 million chocolate bunnies this season, wrapped in colorful tinfoil and always with a smile on their face, a good half of them for export. That was far more than the 150 million or so Santa Clauses that rolled off the tapes for the winter. Because for a number of years now, the Easter business has been more important to the industry than the Christmas season. Although people eat more in Corona times and Germans have an average of at least one kilogram more on their ribs, the complicated chocolate business is currently not going well in many areas.

Falling sales

While the grocery trade had few problems getting chocolate Easter items to the public and there were sometimes even bottlenecks – triggered by the hacking around the planned and then canceled Easter rest, which prompted some to buy hamsters – it saw sales on the important sales areas looks very different in department stores. “Our companies sit on the ordered goods and cannot get rid of them,” complained the confectionery association president Bastian Fassin even before the Easter business. The chocolate slack is also reflected in the books of the manufacturers. The traditional Swiss group Lindt & Sprüngli, which has been used to success and has been growing for years and has an important mainstay in Germany, was able to beat its way through the crisis last year. But the fact that many Lindt stores were forced to close due to the pandemic left clear marks on the balance sheet. Even at Ritter Sport, whose square chocolate can be found in almost every country in the world during normal times, sales fell for the second time in a row due to the pandemic. The specialist dealers were hit much worse – such as the Deutsche Confiserie Holding, behind which the 300 or so stores of Hussel, Arko and Eilles are hidden. Due to the downturn in consumers, the company with around 1,600 employees had to file for bankruptcy at the beginning of the year.

Consumers reluctant to experiment

The failure of the International Confectionery Fair in Cologne this year was also very bitter for the industry – so far unique in the 50-year history of the world’s largest trade fair of its kind. Because the chocolate industry thrives on innovation. German manufacturers in particular are extremely inventive and that is why they play such an important role on the world market. “But you also have to touch and try new products from time to time – that doesn’t work digitally,” says Schneider. Market researchers have found that in times of pandemics, customers concentrate on traditional products when they scurry through the discounter in the evening in the stress of corona to quickly buy the bare essentials. Standing in front of the shelf for a long time and trying something out is rather flat. Especially since retailers currently prefer toilet paper and pasta to new chocolate creations on display anyway. The industry is also severely affected by the closure of hotels and restaurants – the demand for cocoa and chocolate treats has plummeted. And then there are the chocolate bars and mini-snacks that you can take with you at the station kiosk or just before departure. Here, too, sales have declined significantly due to the downturn in travel. The Heinemann brothers, market leaders in Germany’s duty-free shops, and are represented at almost every airport in this country, feel this too. One has already experienced many crises, said CEO Max Heinemann in the “Handelsblatt”. But “the dimensions of this pandemic are so far incomparable.” The chocolate sales of the Hamburg trading house in Germany collapsed by almost 80 percent last year.

Chips and nuts are more in demand

The question is where the pounds come from that the German citizens carry around with them. Probably not about chocolate, says the Confectionery Association – but about chips, flips, pretzel sticks and other nibble pastries. This sells particularly well in times of crisis, as do nuts and trail mix, which are popular in the home office. All of these divisions recorded significant increases in sales. So the joys and sorrows in the confectionery industry are closely related. And what happens to the chocolate Easter bunnies that are left behind? Contrary to popular belief, they will not be melted down again to mutate into Santa Claus. The industry attaches great importance to this. Instead, they would be donated to aid organizations.