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Drones in National Parks: For Whose Benefit?

Photo courtesy of  Sanjana Hattotuwa  For many years the Department of Wildlife Conservation (DWC) has been criticised for its lack of intent in upholding the principles of conservation. There are times, however, when the DWC does act on science and principle, upholds its values and is supported by the relevant political authorities in so doing, and this should be lauded. One such instance is its ban on the use of Unpiloted Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) or drones over national parks and other protected areas under its governance. The use of drones are not permitted over national parks in both India and the US either. These prohibitions are not only due to the stress that it causes wild animals but also because collisions, especially with bird species, have been fatal. There have been records of drones crashing and causing forest fires. What does science say? In a scientific paper published in 2022 in the journal Drones, researchers said, “We investigated how 18 species of megafauna reacte
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The FDA is proposing a ban on hair relaxers with formaldehyde due to cancer concerns

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Enlarge this image Kayleigh Butler, a hair stylist, stands for a portrait at her studio in Atlanta on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. "Relaxers have taken an extreme decline ... as we became more knowledgeable about the effects of the relaxer on your hair and what it can do to your hair," says Butler, who remembers getting relaxers when she was 5 years old. Kenya Hunter/AP hide caption toggle caption Kenya Hunter/AP Kayleigh Butler, a hair stylist, stands for a portrait at her studio in Atlanta on Tuesday, Oct. 17, 2023. "Relaxers have taken an extreme decline ... as we became more knowledgeable about the effects of the relaxer on your hair and what it can do to your hair," says Butler, who remembers getting relaxers when she was 5 years old. Kenya Hunter/AP The Food and Drug Administration is proposing a ban on using the chemical formaldehyde as an ingredient in hair relaxers, citing its link to cancer and other long-term adverse health effects. The n
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Egypt-Gaza border crossing opens, allowing first aid deliveries to reach Palestinians

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Enlarge this image Aid convoy trucks cross the Rafah border from the Egyptian side on Oct. 21, 2023 in North Sinai, Egypt. Mahmoud Khaled/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Mahmoud Khaled/Getty Images Aid convoy trucks cross the Rafah border from the Egyptian side on Oct. 21, 2023 in North Sinai, Egypt. Mahmoud Khaled/Getty Images JERUSALEM — Twenty trucks carrying medicine, medical supplies and food crossed into Gaza on Saturday morning from Egypt, marking the first humanitarian aid to arrive in the territory since an Israeli bombardment campaign began two weeks ago. As the trucks made their way through the Rafah border, hundreds of people gathered at the Gaza side, hoping to escape the violence that has beset the Palestinian territory. It was unclear whether anyone would be able to leave. For two weeks since the Gaza-based militant group Hamas launched a wave of deadly attacks on Israel, Israel's retaliatory airstrikes have damaged and destroyed thous
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Gale-force winds and floods strike northern Europe, killing at least 3 in the U.K.

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Enlarge this image People try to pump water away in a flooded neighborhood in Haderslev, Denmark, on Friday. Claus Fisker/AP hide caption toggle caption Claus Fisker/AP People try to pump water away in a flooded neighborhood in Haderslev, Denmark, on Friday. Claus Fisker/AP COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Gale-force winds and floods struck several countries in northern Europe as the region endured more heavy rain on Friday that forecasters say will continue into the weekend. Three deaths in the U.K. were blamed on the bad weather. The winds are expected to hit hardest in the eastern part of Denmark's Jutland peninsula and the Danish islands in the Baltic Sea. But the northern part of the British Isles, southern Sweden and Norway, and northern Germany are also in the path of the storm, named Babet by U.K.'s weather forecaster, the Met Office. Eastern Scotland continued to bear the brunt of the stormy weather. On Friday, the Met Office issued a new "red"
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With wildfires growing, California writes new rules on where to plant shrubs

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Enlarge this image Many homes are destroyed in wildfires due to wind-driven embers that get caught in the landscaping. California is now drafting rules that would limit vegetation within five feet of a house. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption toggle caption Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Many homes are destroyed in wildfires due to wind-driven embers that get caught in the landscaping. California is now drafting rules that would limit vegetation within five feet of a house. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images In most neighborhoods, houses are hugged by greenery – flowers surround the front steps, large shrubs screen the windows. But in wildfire-prone places, such as California, fire experts say this typical suburban template needs to drastically change as human-driven climate change makes intense wildfires more frequent. California has long had the strongest defensible space rules in the country. Now, it's drafting rules that would make it the first state to l
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Britney Spears claims dad Jamie used her image for ‘cash flow,’ told her ‘I’m Britney Spears now’

Britney Spears claimed that her dad Jamie Spears used her star-studded image to cash in, with him even once saying “I’m Britney Spears now.” The pop star detailed her 13-year conservatorship helmed by her estranged father in a newly released excerpt from her highly anticipated memoir,  “The Woman in Me.” The “Toxic” hitmaker, 41, recalled being told she was “too sick to choose my own boyfriend and yet somehow healthy enough to appear on sitcoms and morning shows, and to perform for thousands of people in a different part of the world every week,” back in 2008. “From that point on, I began to think that he saw me as put on the earth for no other reason than to help their cash flow,” she wrote of her father’s control at the start of the legal guardianship, according to the New York Times . She claims he told her, “I’m Britney Spears now.” Jamie served as Britney’s conservator from 2008 to 2021. Britney Spears/Instagram Spears was in a conservatorship from 2008 until November
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A major U.S. Muslim group cancels Virginia banquet over bomb and death threats

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Enlarge this image Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) national executive director Nihad Awad speaks during a news conference, Jan. 30, 2017, in Washington. Alex Brandon/AP hide caption toggle caption Alex Brandon/AP Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) national executive director Nihad Awad speaks during a news conference, Jan. 30, 2017, in Washington. Alex Brandon/AP ARLINGTON, Va. — A national Muslim civil rights group said Thursday it is moving its annual banquet out of a Virginia hotel that received bomb and death threats possibly linked to the group's concern for Palestinians caught in the Israel-Hamas war. The Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, canceled plans to hold its 29th annual banquet on Saturday at the Marriott Crystal Gateway in Arlington, just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The group, which has used the hotel for a decade, will move the banquet to an undisclosed location with heightened security, th
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