LONDON’S NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM TO BE CLOSED GABON BANS TOURISTS FROM SEEING GORILLAS OVER CORONAVIRUS FEARS

Loses big time at the Razzie Awards

Los Angeles: Cats was the big loser at this year's Golden Raspberry Awards, which are given to the year’s worst movies. The widely derided musical was given six Razzies, including worst picture and worst director for Tom Hooper.

James Corden was named worst supporting actor, while Rebel Wilson was named worst supporting actress.

The gongs were due to be announced at a live LA ceremony but instead took place via video link after the event was cancelled due to coronavirus.

The movie adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's hit stage show boasted a star-studded cast, which also included Taylor Swift and Dame Judi Dench.

But its glitzy line-up couldn’t save it from its haul of Razzies, which also included worst screen combo and worst screenplay. It follows the panning it received from critics. And that came after Hooper redesigned the characters, following a backlash over its trailer.

London: The Natural History Museum is closing its door amid the coronavirus pandemic.

London’s Southbank Centre has also closed all its venues and the Baltic in Newcastle is to shut later on Tuesday.

The move comes a day after Prime Minister Boris Johnson advised people to avoid public venues.

In a statement, the Natural History Museum said it was “disappointed” but “the welfare of our visitors, members and staff” had to be a priority.

The museum said it hoped to open in “early summer”.

Tate Modern, Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives will close on Tuesday evening, and remain closed until 1 May.

All V&A sites will also be closed as of Wednesday, including its main gallery in South Kensignton, the Museum of Childhood, Blythe House and the V&A Dundee.

The Serpentine in London will also be closed until further notice; but the British Museum and the National Gallery in London will stay open. The British Museum said it was “awaiting further guidance” from the culture department on Tuesday.

Libreville: Gabon, a forest-covered haven for gorillas and chimpanzees, will stop allowing tourists to see its great apes fearing that humans could give the novel coronavirus to the animals, the country’s forest agency said Monday.

The Central African nation has one only confirmed Covid-19 case so far, but fears linger after an Ebola epidemic in 1995 wiped out more than 90 percent of the gorillas in the verdant north.

“We have decided to close tourist activities for viewing the great apes in our parks to avoid any risk of transmissions between humans and the animals,” said Christian Tchemambela of the country’s National Agency for National Parks (ANPN).

“The respiratory viruses that affect humans are easily transmitted to great apes because the two species are so closely related,” he said.