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중도 성향
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YouTuber Gives Home Tour, Shows Gold, Gets Robbed Of Items Worth Rs 10 Lakh
YouTuber Rachna Gurjar recently shared a video showing her house, jewellery, cash and lifestyle.
"ROBBED" · 총 20건
필터 보기현재 지수
50.3
0 = 부정 우세
50 = 중립
100 = 긍정 우세
최근 7일 기준 81,052건을 분석한 결과, 뉴스 심리지수는 50.2(균형)입니다. 긍정 4,320건(5.3%)·중립 74,623건(92.1%)·부정 2,109건(2.6%)이며, 중립 비중이 뚜렷하게 높습니다. 성향 지수는 종합 15.5(중도 균형)입니다.
YouTuber Rachna Gurjar recently shared a video showing her house, jewellery, cash and lifestyle.
After losing her job in Westlands, Rachel Dindi attended what she thought was a promising interview, only to discover it was a scam that left her robbed.
A DEMOCRACY needs an effective parliament. Has Pakistan’s parliament lived up to this responsibility? The evidence suggests it hasn’t. Parliament has underperformed. It has acted as little more than a rubber-stamp for the present government. This reflects a broader trend of democratic erosion in the country in recent years. Several reports offer telling insights into parliament’s functioning. The most recent was released last week by a civil society organisation. It records the low attendance of members of the National Assembly in its proceedings. According to Fafen (Free and Fair Election Network), only 20 per cent of MNAs attended all sittings of the Lower House in the 27th session in May. Thirty-three members did not show up for any sitting. The prime minister was absent from all nine sittings as were some ministers. The leader of the opposition, however, attended all of them. As many as 267 members out of 333 skipped at least one sitting of the session. An earlier report by Pildat (Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparency) evaluated the National Assembly’s performance in the parliamentary year March 2025 to February 2026. It also found low attendance by members. The report pointed out that the Assembly’s lack of quorum was raised 19 times, with eight sittings adjourned due to the absence of members. Despite this low and declining engagement by MNAs, the ruling party has made no effort to address the recurring problem of empty benches. Attendance is not the only indicator of parliamentary conduct. What matters most is how it performs its legislative and deliberative functions. This is arguably the most unedifying aspect of its performance. It is due principally to the attitude of the government, which enjoys a simple majority in the Assembly, but with its ally, the PPP, it has a two-thirds majority. The way constitutional amendments have been bulldozed through parliament in the past two years is a striking illustration of its attitude to parliamentary institutions. A parliament that doesn’t assert itself surrenders its authority to others. In 2024, when parliament adopted the 26th Constitutional Amendment, it was done in the darkness of night. Even the final text was not made available to lawmakers before it was tabled. The entire legislative process lacked transparency. It was over in hours, without any debate on an amendment of far-reaching implications for judicial independence. The controversial amendment made the judiciary subservient to the executive and seriously undermined the rule of law. Official coercion to secure the required two-thirds vote robbed the entire process of legitimacy. The adoption of the 27th Constitutional Amendment in November 2025 followed a similar path. It was passed in just a couple of days. There was hardly any debate other than some speeches from treasury benches during which the opposition walked out. The amendment struck at the heart of the Constitution. It involved structural changes in the country’s judicial system including the creation of a Federal Constitutional Court, restructuring of the military high command and grant of sweeping constitutional privileges and immunities to key officeholders. It sparked intense public controversy and evoked much criticism from the opposition, legal community, media and civil society. It was widely seen as another power grab by the executive. But again, the government rushed through the process. Treasury members and their allies made no effort to press for a full debate. Another controversial bill, rushed through the NA in January 2026, was the Elections (Amendment) Bill. This limited public access to MPs’ asset statements by granting discretionary power to the Assembly Speaker or Senate chairman to withhold disclosures on unspecified ‘security grounds’. Opposition objections were cast aside to a law that undermined the principle of accountability of parliamentary members. These examples show how parliament has acted as a handmaiden of the executive. It has rubber-stamped actions that aggrandised the establishment’s powers. As it is the majority party that sets the tone and substance for parliamentary activity, its stance is the principal reason for turning this Assembly into a passive and largely ineffective body. The PML-N leadership sees parliament as a means to maintain its party in power rather than as an instrument of governance or forum to articulate and debate policy. As in its previous stints in government, the party has not encouraged the Assembly to play an active role in both its legislative and deliberative functions. With its majority, the ruling party should not be reluctant to encourage open parliamentary debate and allow members to freely deliberate on national issues. But it doesn’t see the value of parliamentary debate. It also doesn’t recognise the utility of parliament as a forum to ventilate opinion, change opinion and share opinion. Whether this reflects lack of confidence in its own backbenchers or understanding of how parliament should function, the outcome is marginalisation of the legislature’s role in the political system. The PPP has also contributed to this outcome by not pushing for debate on key national and foreign policy issues or insisting that constitutional amendments should be deliberated upon and not rushed through the two chambers. As for the opposition, it has had to face incessant obstacles put in its path by an authoritarian set-up. Even so, it has tried to generate pressure for debate and subject government actions to critical scrutiny. But its frequent walkouts and boycotts, albeit in protest against efforts to muzzle its voice, have proven to be counterproductive. It has left the field open for treasury benches to do whatever they want. Parliament is as good as its members. Many are adept in constituency politics and are products of a culture of patronage. For them, a seat means a ticket to an elite club and access to state resources to shore up their local power base. Attendance is secondary and policy debates of little interest. The result is weak parliamentary oversight of executive actions. Elected representatives repeatedly declare their commitment to parliamentary supremacy. But they are unwilling to lend substance to these pronouncements by their actions. Supremacy becomes a talking point, not a rulebook. A parliament that doesn’t assert itself surrenders its authority to others. A hollowed House does no service to democracy. The writer is a former ambassador to the US, UK and UN. Published in Dawn, June 8th, 2026
A village YouTuber from Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh, was robbed of nearly Rs 8 lakh in cash and valuables, including jewellery and a crate of energy drinks, after burglars broke into her home. The intruders reportedly bolted her bedroom door from the outside while she and her husband slept.
A village YouTuber from Shivpuri, Madhya Pradesh, was robbed of nearly Rs 8 lakh in cash and valuables, including jewellery and a crate of energy drinks, after burglars broke into her home. The intruders reportedly bolted her bedroom door from the outside while she and her husband slept.
WASHINGTON: The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), the largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organisation in the United States, has filed a federal lawsuit against one of America’s largest public school systems, alleging that four Muslim students were unlawfully disciplined because of their religion and ethnic background. The lawsuit accuses Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS), a school district serving nearly 180,000 students in the suburbs of Washington, DC, of discriminating against students at the prestigious Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, one of the nation’s top-ranked public schools. Filed in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, the suit claims that school officials violated the students’ constitutional rights and federal civil rights laws by suspending them over a social media video while allowing similar conduct by other student groups to go unpunished. The case stems from a video posted in October 2025 by members of the school’s Muslim Student Association (MSA), a student organisation representing Muslim pupils. According to the complaint, the students were participating in a viral social media trend used by clubs and organisations nationwide to promote events and attract members. In the video, students ask classmates whether they intend to attend an MSA meeting. When the answer is “no”, other students jokingly appear and carry them away in what the lawsuit describes as a comedic skit. The plaintiffs argue the video contained no threats, weapons or references to any real-world conflict. CAIR contends that similar videos had been produced by other student groups, including some depicting mock violence and weapons, without disciplinary action. The organisation argues that school officials acted only after outside activists and social media commentators accused the Muslim students of glorifying Hamas and reenacting the Oct 7, 2023 attacks in Israel. According to the complaint, school officials adopted those characterisations, suspended the students, labelled their conduct antisemitic and placed disciplinary records in their files. One plaintiff was also prohibited from wearing a sweatshirt depicting the map of Palestine, the lawsuit alleges. The students are identified in court records by pseudonyms to protect their privacy. “The MSA behaved innocently and no differently than other student groups on campus,” CAIR attorney Catherine Keck said while announcing the lawsuit. “Yet Fairfax County singled them out, robbed them of academic and professional opportunities, and encouraged the community to target and harass them.” The complaint alleges that the suspensions had lasting consequences. The students claim they suffered reputational damage, lost educational opportunities, were subjected to online harassment and threats, and in some cases faced setbacks in college admissions and internship applications. CAIR’s legal team argues that the disciplinary action violated the students’ rights under the First Amendment, which protects free speech, the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination in federally funded educational institutions. School officials have previously defended their response, saying the videos depicted mock kidnappings and violence that were inappropriate in a school setting. At the time of the controversy, FCPS said such content was especially troubling because it could be perceived as traumatic by members of the Jewish community amid ongoing tensions related to Israel’s war on Gaza. Jewish community organisations also criticised the videos when they surfaced last year, arguing that imagery resembling hostage-taking was particularly insensitive given the continued impact of the October 7 attacks and the hostage crisis that followed. The lawsuit, however, argues that the school’s actions were driven not by concerns about student safety but by stereotypes associating Muslim and Arab students with violence. “The reason FCPS and TJHSST punished these students and not other students in similar videos is because they believe that Muslims and Arabs pose a threat where others do not,” CAIR attorney Ahmad Kaki said. The school district has not yet filed a detailed response to the complaint. The case is likely to turn on whether the plaintiffs can demonstrate that similarly situated non-Muslim student groups engaged in comparable conduct but were treated differently. If the court finds evidence of selective enforcement based on religion or ethnicity, the lawsuit could become one of the most closely watched school civil-rights cases arising from post-October 7 tensions in American public schools. The complaint seeks damages, expungement of the students’ disciplinary records, declaratory relief and court orders preventing similar actions in the future.
Three men have been arrested after they allegedly robbed a woman and locked her and her child on a balcony at Marina Bay Sands (MBS) in Singapore. The police said on Tuesday that they were alerted at about 7pm the day before to a case of robbery with hurt along Bayfront Avenue. According to preliminary investigations, a 45-year-old woman visited the area after agreeing to exchange S$50,000 (US$39,000) worth of cash for foreign currency with someone she spoke to on a messaging platform. The...
A woman was allegedly molested, stabbed, and robbed by two friends of her husband after they dropped him home intoxicated. The accused followed the wife inside her residence, assaulted her, and stole her mangalsutra before fleeing. Police have arrested both individuals and they have been sent to jail.
When an SNP wave crashed into Scotland's electoral map in 2015, all but wiping out Labour on a campaign accusing that party of having betrayed its voters, I was the gloomy pundit who predicted that the SNP was likely to fall into the same trap.
Two food delivery boys faced harrowing experiences overnight. In Jabalpur, a 20-year-old was stabbed and robbed of Rs 800 by three assailants. Meanwhile, in Bhopal, another delivery executive was assaulted and had his mobile phone stolen by three individuals, one of whom was a minor. Police in Bhopal apprehended the suspects with local help.
‘I left Venezuela after someone held a gun to my head. But I returned to show what beauty it has – like these two boys coming back from a fishing trip at an amazing beach’ My parents encouraged me to leave Venezuela. The situation in the country at that time, the mid-2010s, had started to get really hard, with food and medicine shortages – and violent robberies were becoming a regular thing. A lot of people had started to leave and my parents were worried that if I stayed something bad would happen. I had already seen my mum robbed and I’d had a gun held to my head, but that was normal. I was lucky enough to be able to go to England. But when I arrived, to study at Huddersfield University, I had the feeling many immigrants have – of not belonging, questioning who I was and where I was from. I understood what I was losing, too, and it hurt. I remain deeply connected to Venezuela and whenever I go back to visit my parents we always go to the beach. My whole family loves the ocean: it’s how I spent a lot of my childhood. I started shooting there, too, hanging out with kids, spending time with young people and seeing what they were going through, but I also felt I could give something back. The kids had so much fun during those shoots. Continue reading...
Countries: World, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Lebanon, Libya, occupied Palestinian territory, South Sudan, Sudan, Ukraine Source: Insecurity Insight Please refer to the attached file. Aid in Danger incidents affecting aid agencies and their staff and impact on programmes Incidents of threats and violence affecting aid workers, aid delivery and aid impact supporting aid agencies in risk mitigation and safety and security measures when implementing programmes. The incidents reported are not a complete nor a representative list of all events that affected the provision of aid delivery. Insecurity Insight continues to update data and figures may change. Updated data includes new and historic reports identified in open-sources and verified security incidents submitted by Aid in Danger partner agencies. Africa Democratic Republic of the Congo 01 May 2026: In Mwenga territory, South Kivu province, an INGO team travelling between Mwenga, Kamituga and Kitutu on a humanitarian and medical needs assessment mission was reportedly stopped at a checkpoint by Wazalendo, despite prior coordination with authorities and health actors. Wazalendo members disagreed about the team’s identity and whether to let them proceed, causing them to open fire on each other, with the INGO team caught in the crossfire. The team were unharmed and continued their mission to Mwenga. Source: Actualité 03 May 2026: In Kalimoto rural locality, Lwindi chiefdom, Mwenga territory, South Kivu province, an INGO convoy travelling to Mwenga, Kamituga and Kitutu to assess humanitarian needs was reportedly attacked and robbed by Wazalendo militiamen during a humanitarian mission. Source: Actualité Sudan 02 May 2026: In Nyala city, South Darfur state, buildings near the offices of humanitarian organisations were damaged, and at least five people were injured, after a drone attack from an unidentified perpetrator**. Source:** UN News 04 May 2026: In Khartoum city and state, at an airport vital to humanitarian access, a drone from an unidentified perpetrator was shot down, leading to flights being cancelled. Source: UN News South Sudan 29 April 2026: In Walgak town, Akobo county of Jonglei state, food distributions were disrupted by renewed clashes in the area by South Sudan People's Defence Forces (SSPDF), and opposition groups, including the Sudan People’s Liberation Army in Opposition (SPLA-IO). Source: OCHA, Humanitarian Access Snapshot As reported 12 May 2026: In an undisclosed location, the RSF-controlled Tasis Alliance coalition government stipulated that international humanitarian organisations must register with it and open their headquarters in Nyala within 30 days, to operate under its control or else lose the ability to carry out any further activities in the RSF-controlled areas. The SAF rejected the proposal. Source: Ayin Network 12 May 2026: In Dilling city, South Kordofan, an unspecified number of volunteers and humanitarian workers preparing food for displaced people were killed or injured when alleged RSF and SPLM–North artillery shelling hit the vicinity of a market and bus station. Source: Sudan Doctors Network Europe Ukraine 30 April 2026: In Dnipro city and raion, Dnipropetrovsk oblast, a vaccination bus of the Dnipropetrovsk Regional Center for Disease Control and Prevention, donated by the WHO, was destroyed while on its way to provide vaccination services by a Russian aerial strike. Sources: Public Health Centre of Ukraine and UN News 04 May 2026: In Dnipropetrovsk oblast, a humanitarian vehicle was damaged by a Russian forces strike. Sources: UN News 12 May 2026: In Dnipropetrovsk oblast, a WFP truck traveling in a convoy alongside two WFP armoured passenger vehicles, carrying a total of seven staff members, was struck by a Russian drone strike after successfully offloading food commodities in Zoriane and Slovianka villages. The truck driver was injured and taken to hospital. While immobilised, the truck was hit again multiple times by separate drones. All vehicles were clearly marked as UN WFP vehicles. Source: United Nations Middle East and North Africa Lebanon As reported on 12 May 2026: In Nabatieh city, district and governorate, two Lebanese Civil Defence paramedics were killed by a sequential Israeli drone strike whilst responding to a man who was killed after an Israeli drone hit his rickshaw near the Civil Defence centre. Sources: CBC, Middle East Eye and Quds News Network Libya On 11 May 2026: In international waters approximately 55 nautical miles north of Libya, the Sea-Watch 5 NGO vessel was fired at approximately 16 times by the Libyan coast guard after rescuing around 90 people. They gave no warnings prior to the shots and threatened to take the boat and the crew back to Libya. Source: EU Observer Occupied Palestinian Territory As reported 05 May 2026: In an undisclosed location, humanitarian facilities came under fire by unidentified perpetrators in two separate incidents. Source: UN News As reported 05 May 2026: In an undisclosed location, a UN warehouse was struck by an Israeli airstrike. Source: UN News As reported 05 May 2026: In an undisclosed location, relief vehicles were damaged when an unidentified perpetrator threw stones. Source: UN News Gaza Strip 29 April 2026: In international waters, about 1,111 km from Gaza, the Global Sumud Flotilla carrying food and supplies from Barcelona to Gaza was intercepted by Israeli naval forces at around 2100, using speedboats to encircle the humanitarian convoy and military lasers and weapons to subdue activists on board. Overnight and into the morning of 30 April, Israeli forces seized at least 15 of the 58 vessels and reportedly disabled the engines of several boats and abandoned them, leaving hundreds of people stranded. Source: Quds News Network 12 May 2026: In Beit Lahia city, North Gaza governorate, the area near an MSF team struck by two shells from an Israeli tank, injuring at least 12 people. The impact occurred around 400m from Al Tayeb Clinic. Source: MSF East Africa The Americas Haiti 10 May 2026: In Cité Soleil and Croix-des-Bouquets, West department, a security guard at an MSF hospital was injured by gunfire during armed clashes involving multiple unidentified armed groups. More than 40 people with gunshot wounds were treated there and over 800 displaced people sought refuge around the hospital. MSF suspended operations and evacuated its hospital following the violence. Source: MSF
AS Muslims across the world observe Eidul Azha, this year’s festival arrives while war engulfs large parts of the Muslim world. The US-Israeli military campaign against Iran, launched earlier this year and continuing despite ceasefire negotiations, has deepened fears of a wider regional conflagration. Even as Pakistan, Qatar and Oman work frantically to broker a settlement, tensions remain high. Meanwhile, the devastation in Gaza continues. Families that once gathered for Eid meals now search for food and shelter amid shattered neighbourhoods and mounting civilian deaths. In Sudan, millions displaced by civil war face another Eid in overcrowded camps dependent on dwindling humanitarian aid. Across parts of Lebanon and Yemen, conflict and economic collapse have robbed countless families of the peace and togetherness the festival aims to bring. For many Muslims this year, Eid will pass not in celebration, but in grief, fear and hardship. Yet perhaps this is precisely when Eid’s deeper meaning matters most. Eidul Azha commemorates sacrifice not merely as ritual, but as an expression of faith and compassion for others. It reminds Muslims that devotion cannot be separated from empathy for those enduring hardship. In times such as these, the obligation to help those less fortunate becomes even more urgent. Donations to relief efforts, support for struggling families and acts of kindness within communities reflect the essence of the occasion far more meaningfully than displays of extravagance. Pakistan celebrates Eid while grappling with economic strain that continues to weigh heavily on ordinary households. Still, Eid remains a time of shared humanity. Communities often come together during hardship with a generosity that transcends financial circumstances. This spirit deserves strengthening. At the same time, one unfortunate pattern continues to mar the festival every year: neglect of cleanliness after animal sacrifice. In many cities, animal waste and remains are left exposed on streets and in drains for hours — sometimes days — creating serious health and environmental hazards. The Pakistan Air Force has issued an especially important warning this year: “We fly to protect our motherland. Safeguard our aircraft and pilots from dangerous bird strikes by ensuring proper disposal of slaughtered animal waste this Eid.” Improper disposal attracts birds near flight paths, increasing the risk of potentially catastrophic accidents. Let us honour the spirit of Eid through humanity, restraint and respect for the public good. Published in Dawn, May 27th, 2026
We reached the old wolf in time to watch a fierce green fire dying in her eyes. I realised then, and have known ever since, that there was something new to me in those eyes — something known only to her and to the mountain. I was young then, and full of trigger-itch; I thought that because fewer wolves meant more deer, that no wolves would mean hunters’ paradise. But after seeing the green fire die, I sensed that neither the wolf nor the mountain agreed with such a view. These are the most moving lines from forester and philosopher Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac, his breakthrough work in ecological preservation which was published in 1949, almost a year after his death and has since become a cornerstone of environmental ethics. At one point in time, wolves were persecuted in the United States to the extent that by 1926, Gray Wolves had completely vanished from Yellowstone National Park and the 2.2 million acres of wilderness was left to elk and deer who roamed freely without fear of an apex predator. The result was an ecological disaster. The massive elk feasted on the riverbanks, wiping out young trees, causing soil erosion and taking a toll on the biodiversity. The worst affected were the beaver colonies as fewer new trees meant they were losing both a source of food and building materials. With the beavers gone, there was no one left to stabilise the river which started to flow freely. The water table dropped, fish lost their home and riverbanks eroded. In 1995, however, the US decided to slowly re-introduce Gray Wolves to Yellowstone and 14 of them from Alberta were released into the wild with 17 more Canadian ones a year later. The results were remarkable. In no time, the elk and deer started to avoid the open valleys and riverbanks, trees started to grow again, the beavers returned, and fish populations started to grow. The riverbanks stabilised and the river changed its behaviour. A feared predator, the big bad wolf, had become the saviour of an entire ecosystem. The fading fire in the dying wolf’s eyes symbolised to Aldo Leopold the death of a symbiotic system, which Nature has woven for the benefit of its species. In Leopold’s mind, humans and nature do not exist in hierarchy but are bonded in a kinship in which each member does their part to preserve the entire community. This approach to the environment is known as the Land Ethic, which sees humans are part of the biotic community and not separate from it. This philosophy is the answer to countering the damage humans have done over centuries by disbalancing the system. The greatest example is their creation of cities which severed natural waterways, sealed soil under concrete, and drove out animals to make way for machines and bipeds. The irony is perhaps not lost on Pakistani readers who are watching this happen from the Malir River to the marble factories of Buner. Karachi’s land ethic At sundown, start looking up to notice the swarms of kites and crows returning to their nests after a day of scavenging. Living in Karachi is an easy business for these birds because Karachiites produce over 14,000 tonnes of garbage daily which is dumped in ways that delight these flocks. Kites and crows rule these skies because they attract no known predators, which alongside their scavenging business, makes them a threat to indigenous birds such as the Sparrow, Hoopoe, Myna, Koel, Rose-Necked Parakeet, Bulbul, Sunbird, Tailor Bird. All of these populations are declining under pressure from loss of habitat and the fierce dominance of kites and crows. Human activity is not the only reason they are suffering a loss of habitat; the growing numbers of kites and crows demand more nesting space. These smaller species can adjust to urban conditions if there is enough greenery to provide them protection and food but with the city’s green cover shrinking and the population of the kites and crows growing, Karachi is losing its smaller cheerful companions. Thanks to a few magnificent banyan trees near my house I see squirrels gleefully skittering about every few days. Elsewhere in the city, I had the luxury of seeing an owl once and wondered how many of us have. Otherwise, it seems all we have left in our dreary skies are Kites, Crows, and Feral Pigeons. Unfortunately, we are more sympathetic towards these birds as a visit to Native Jetty will prove. People feed the Kites and Crows with fresh meat to ward off evil, although I am not terribly certain how evil is managed by killing one animal and feeding it to another. We also love to feed kabutar or feral pigeons, for whom chowks and chowrangis are dedicated across the city. In some parts of the world, feral pigeons are referred to as flying rats and are considered to be dirty and carriers of disease. The famous Trafalgar Square in London became a kabutar chowk until the then mayor Ken Livingston banned bird feeding as their droppings have harmful bacteria and parasites which cause serious lung infections (histoplasmosis) among other serious illnesses. Our bias towards feral pigeons comes from our belief in doing good for that which is in greater numbers. But our bias makes us blind to the fact that not all birds live in flocks. We cannot expect Bulbuls, Koels and Mynas to come in staggering numbers to feast on our offerings, but this does not mean we cannot do something to make our city more hospitable for them. Not just birds Kites and crows are not the only scavengers of Karachi, they control its skies. On the ground, however, stray dogs, feral cats and rats roam free. Stray dogs are resilient animals who thrive on whatever is available. Fortunately for them, Karachi has a lot to offer with garbage dumps, roadside food stalls, meat markets and generous residents ensuring an unlimited supply of food. These mutts have fewer health problems as well given that their genetic makeup is sturdier than inbred pure breeds. Given our aversion to what we think are unclean and dangerous dogs, our attentions are much more sympathetic towards stray or feral cats. They are less dangerous than dogs, for sure, but no less swift and agile as natural predators. Their increasing numbers pose a threat to the dwindling numbers of indigenous small birds. All the birds that are under threat are integral members of Karachi’s ecology. It is obvious from the declining numbers of indigenous birds and small animals that Karachi is transforming into a lifeless corpse being feasted upon by scavengers. Our apathy has robbed Karachi of its natural wealth. There were times when Leopard and Deer were found in this area. Rapid urbanisation, hunting and environmental degradation have pushed most of the animals to more remote parts and many are on the brink of extinction. Unfortunately, the remaining few will be lost if we do not step up to protect them. This can perhaps only be done when we start seeing “land as a community to which we belong” and only then, “we may begin to see it with love and respect”. Leopold’s idea of land included “soil, water, plant and animals” and he believed that they are equally worthy of ethical consideration. The answer lies in the central principle of Leopold’s Land Ethic which states that “a thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.” We have tipped the natural balance in favour of some species, so the responsibility to make things right rests solely with us. I am not against the existence of scavengers for they play a role in the welfare of the ecosystem. What I am arguing for is creating balance which can be achieved if the human role is minimised. Through our actions we are an externality favouring some species over others. Fortunately, we do not have to go to extreme lengths as they did in Yellowstone by reintroducing the wolf. A lot can be done with a little course correction and we are already in a symbiotic relationship with scavengers as they feed on our waste. We could start with environmentally friendly garbage disposal which would bring the scavenger populations down automatically. Yes, someone might argue that I am recommending that poor animals should go hungry and starve to death. But we must also keep in mind that life in the wild has its own logics; there is never an abundance of food but fierce competition over meagre resources. We should think twice before upsetting these balances. Note: All images in the piece have been provided by the author.
TUBA, Benguet — Police are searching for two unidentified armed men who robbed a gas station along Kennon Road in Camp 3 here on Sunday evening, May 24, and escaped with an estimated P260,000 in cash. An employee said workers had just finished counting the day’s sales and were preparing to deposit the money in
Mike Brown had a thought he had to get across.
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A Houston bakery named The Bearded Baker was broken into for a third time as owner Allan Hursig battles colon cancer.
Stolen jewellery had been sold at a shop at around Rs 3 lakh (Representational Image)