You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed COLOMBO — The killing of a young forest ranger by suspected poachers has underscored that illegal hunting in Sri Lanka hasn’t stopped during the lockdown imposed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic Pradeep Bandara, 25, was shot dead on April 22 while leading his team on an anti-poaching raid in Gal Oya National Park in eastern Sri Lanka Acknowledging the ranger’s death as a loss to the department, Chandana Sooriyabandara, the Department of Wildlife Conservation’s director-general told Mongabay that anti-poaching operations had continued throughout the national lockdown period to protect the country’s unique and often threatened wildlife the department conducted 123 raids through its 156 field stations a five-fold increase from the same period last year Most of the raids uncovered poaching activities though there were also other environmental crimes including illegal farming in protected areas He said that while the numbers do not indicate a clear increase or decrease in poaching within nature reserves during the lockdown the surge in patrolling activity has helped nab suspects wildlife officers have to manage wildlife tourism-related activities and attend meetings The lockdown released officers from such engagements and we could get them to conduct anti-poaching activities,” Sooriyabandara said are small improvised devices that explode inside the mouth when an animal chews on them — a grisly method that’s a new favorite among poachers The poaching for bushmeat is driven largely by demand from domestic tourists visiting areas near wilderness sites who often seek out wild meat as an exotic delicacy But the lockdown has effectively dried up this market meaning the driving force during this period is likely subsistence hunting “Poaching is possibly carried out largely to cater to local demand, the second market for bushmeat in the island,” said Sumith Pilapitiya “Considering we had curfew throughout Sri Lanka for weeks and travel restrictions were in place with police checkpoints While local community consumption is a reaction of the real market Bandara’s death has prompted calls for authorities to take a tougher line on poachers including drafting in the military for anti-poaching activities The DWC has 1,200 field staff dedicated to tackling illegal activities across a network of protected areas that span a combined 12% of Sri Lanka’s total land area which experts and authorities concede is an insufficient number of staff we have sought and received the support of both the army and the STF,” Pilapitiya said He recommended drawing inspiration from the system adopted by the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) in the 1980s in which a regiment from the military was seconded to the agency together with the regiment’s commanding officer This regiment collaborated with KWS staff in carrying out anti-poaching operations and its commanding officer was accountable to both the military and the KWS head “It is possible to adopt a similar model here with the Special Forces or the STF,” Pilapitiya told Mongabay But other experts have misgivings about allowing a heavy military involvement in tackling wildlife-related crimes “The best solution is to empower the DWC by increasing manpower, allocating more resources and offering training,” said Jagath Gunawardana a renowned environmental lawyer and independent environmental activist “Military has its own identity and scope of work The need is to strengthen the department to effectively conduct operations.” He recommended increasing the number of DWC field staff six-fold The rangers’ equipment needs upgrading too “Wildlife officers use shotguns while some poachers use modern weapons,” he said adding that the fact that poaching has continued throughout the strict lockdown Enforcement efforts to tackle the bushmeat trade from the supply side should be coupled with a campaign to curb the demand, said Sarath Kotagama an emeritus professor of ecology who served as DWC’s director-general from 1989-1990 “The public perception that COVID-19 spreads by virus jumping from animals to humans creates a window for reducing the demand for wild meat It raises a general concern about deceases linked to the consumption of wild meat and people will consider it is not healthy to consume wild meat,” he said “This message needs to be strategically communicated to the public which can The “fortress conservation” model is under pressure in East Africa as protected areas become battlegrounds over history and global efforts to halt biodiversity loss Mongabay’s Special Issue goes beyond the region’s world-renowned safaris to examine how rural communities and governments are reckoning with conservation’s colonial origins and trying to forge a path forward […] Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Department of Military Science and LeadershipWestern Michigan UniversityKalamazoo MI 49008-5249 USA(269) 387-8120 His military career began when he received a Second Lieutenant commission from Western Michigan University's College of Education in 1954 as a Distinguished Military Graduate His education continued with the Quartermaster Officer Basic Course the Anti-Aircraft Artillery Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Basic Officers Course the Command and General Staff College and the Industrial College of the Armed Forces He attended Harvard University's Program for Senior Managers in Government of the John F Kennedy School of Government and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology He also holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Western Michigan University’s College of Education Michigan and a Masters in Science Degree in Management from the University of Arkansas He has held a variety of command and staff positions He served as Platoon Commander and Executive Officer of a Nike Battery Illinois; Sub-Post Quartermaster and Commissary Officer Federal Republic of Germany; Assistant S-4 Subsistence Division and later Deputy Director of Food Federal Republic of Germany; Staff Officer Federal Republic of Germany; and again in ODCSLOG Division Chief Troop Support Division and Deputy Director TRETS Upon his retirement in 1984 from the Uniformed Army as a Colonel (0-6) he was selected to serve as the Assistant Director He was sworn into the Federal Senior Executive Service in October 1984 and he retired from Civil Service as an SES-4 August 30 They have five children and 12 grandchildren The World Heritage Centre is at the forefront of the international community’s efforts to protect and preserve World Heritage partnerships for conservation Ensuring that World Heritage sites sustain their outstanding universal value is an increasingly challenging mission in today’s complex world where sites are vulnerable to the effects of uncontrolled urban development Our Partners Donate Take advantage of the search to browse through the World Heritage Centre information a female gorilla was shot in the southern sector of Virunga National Park and her 3-month old baby was found sitting on her dead body This female belonged to a group of 33 gorillas referred to as "habituated" meaning they are used to contact with humans The death of this female gorilla occurred less than six months after that of two males killed in the same sector In addition to frightening the local population (this terrible act occurred a few kilometers north of the city of Goma) and the seriousness of the attack on one of the flagship species of this World Heritage property is added a serious loss of income for the still fragile tourist sector In the face of this ongoing situation which affects both people and wildlife and makes the work of the guards increasingly dangerous UNESCO reiterated its appeal to Congolese authorities and the United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) it is a question of disarming the armed groups in Virunga National Park and the surrounding area.  For further information about this issue and the activities of the ICCN (the Congolese body in charge of protected areas management) and its partners in the field Logout Gateway to the world of smart farming This Premium article is exclusively available for subscribers Obtain insights from exclusive interviews Make the right purchasing decisions with our buyers guides Dive into articles covering innovative developments Already subscribed? Click here to login Toby Wilson is rolling around in his new recumbent trike looking like a mini racing driver The little boy with Down syndrome has never seen anything like this before The impressive Hase Trets Reh trike looks like a turbo charged baby buggy "His first reaction was 'wow'," says mum Nikki Mackenzie when the trike arrived from Germany last week and the family assembled it as his new hot wheels look so different from his usual mode of transport — buggy or toddler trike The trike is designed for children with special needs It has peddles so Toby can ride the trike himself (or take a break and be pushed with a parent pole) and steering wheel The bike can extend horizontally to accommodate his growth up to age 10 "When Toby was diagnosed with Down syndrome three days after he was born I knew the most important thing would be to get Toby out and about in the community and be a part of his community social support network." The Wilsons received a $6903.99 cheque from the Mazda Foundation to purchase a specialised trike The bike can be attached to an adult's bike and become a trailer Toby has outgrown his buggy and his toddler trike It was important to Nikki for Toby to be seen Toby does not have enough muscle tone or balance for a bicycle and a specialised trike designed for low muscle toned children was the next step And he didn't want to be carted about in a baby buggy any more He also has a very close bond with his older sister and one of the highlights of his day is to accompany her to school on his toddler trike "They adore each other more than I have ever seen between siblings." In August Nikki began her search for a specialised bike via Trikes NZ website "Thanks to the Mazda Foundation Toby will be enjoying trike riding in the outdoors with his family this summer." Nikki says the best gift you can give a person with a disability is friendliness "I tell little kids that it's okay to stare at Toby as long as you do it with a smile." She doesn't want people to feel awkward about him as "a genuine friendly 'hello' really makes Toby happy" "The thing that warms my heart the most as a mum is when a person who barely knows Toby comes up and has a friendly chat to Toby I think people forget how a simple gesture of kindness can make a massive difference Thank you so much to the members of our community who stop Thank you to all of you that have taken time to make Toby feel important." Nikki was no stranger to children with special needs She grew up in Paihia and her best friend's sister had Down syndrome "I witnessed for over 15 years how a nurturing family and a community spirit can enable an additional needs child to absolutely thrive mentally Whether you’re in front of your TV on summer afternoons with your neighbour or a good fan at the roadside to acclaim the cyclists the Tour de France and its mythical cols leave no-one indifferent a remontada a few kilometres from the finish and even the final sprint… Let’s take a look back at some memories of the Tour de France in the Alps Une publication partagée par Two Wheeled Ronin (@twowheeledronin) There have been some unforgettable moments in the history of the Tour de France. During the 1975 Tour de France, the competition really heated up on stage 15 between Nice and Pra-Loup A ruthless battle between the yellow jersey Eddy Merckx Felice Gimondi and Bernard Thevenet over the last four kilometres Gimondi took the lead but was overtaken in the last kilometre by Thevenet who won the stage and the yellow jersey that he kept until the final finish the tumultuous 208-kilometre stage 16 of the 1980 Tour de France between Trets and et Pra-Loup was marked by the impressive fall of the Dutch racer Johan Van De Velde who lost his balance when his bike chain jumped taken with him in his fall the yellow jersey Joop Zoetemelk who injured his elbow Joseph De Schoenmaecker and Alberto Fernandez finally came out on top after a memorable sprint won by the Dutchman Zoetemelk managed to catch up and keep his yellow jersey Une publication partagée par Ciclismo Operazione Nostalgia (@ciclismonostalgia) ITV News' Senior International Correspondent John Irvine reports Fifteen year-old Nahed Barbakh had been waving a white flag in Gaza when he was shot dead last week All of this was witnessed by their nine-year-old sister who was only able to watch on in horror sister Rimas Barbakh said: "They fired and hit him in the leg and he fell My father kept telling him to crawl back towards us "Then he was hit in his neck and back "My father grabbed him by the jacket but he got free and ran towards Nahed He looked at us with a smile and then passed away." She added that she can't sleep because she cries her "eyes out" every time she thinks of her brothers "My parents are so sad and I'm so sad for them," she added Mohammad Barbakh said: "They used loudspeakers to tell us to evacuate when we did they killed my sons before my very eyes." Nine-year-old Rimas watched in horror as both her brothers were shot dead while waving a white flag The last image of the pair together paints a tragic scene one of two young brothers entwined in death Their deaths come days after cameraman Mohammed Abu Safia, who was filming for ITV News, captured the killing of Ramzi Abu Sahloul Sahloul was also holding a white flag as he was trying to cross battle lines to rescue relatives A senior commander in the Israel Defence Force (IDF) strongly implied that Israeli forces were responsible for the attack The incident caused international outrage and was slammed as a war crime a 57-year-old grandmother was killed in similar circumstances while trying to lead a group of people to safety in Gaza Hala Khreis was holding the hand of her toddler grandson who was waving a white flag when suddenly she was shot dead Her 18-year-old daughter Sara was further back in the group Her mother was a retired Arabic teacher loved by her students and her family “My mother was going to be 58 on December 30,” she said Each of the families asked the same questions when speaking with ITV News about the killing of their loved ones Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know.. La Rédac' OKDu 16 au 25 mars prochain le Festival cinéma de Rousset - Pays d’Aix nouv.o.monde revient avec une sélection d’œuvres originales En point de mire : les mouvements du monde et les préoccupations actuelles captés par des cinéastes 25 films sont à découvrir de 10 nationalités différentes rencontres avec les réalisateurs des films et invités spécialistes des thématiques La programmation vise la pointe de l’actualité et offre ainsi la possibilité de visionner de nombreux films inédits et en avant-premières PREMIERS FILMS SELECTIONNES POUR CETTE EDITION 2018 :« Volubilis » de Faouzi Bensaïdi (Inédit - France-Maroc)« The Line » de Peter Bebjak (Inédit - France/ Italie/ Suisse)« Mobile Homes » de Vladimir de Fontenay (avant-première - Canada/ France) - Quinzainedes réalisateurs Cannes 2017« 7 Minutes » de Michele Placido (Avant-première France/ Italie/ Suisse) avec Anne Consignyet Clémence Poésy« Vent du Nord » de Walid Mattar (Avant-première - France) avec Philippe Rebbot et CorinneMasiero« Centaure » de Aktan Arym Kubat (2018 – Kirghizistan / Fra / All / Pays-Bas)« Paris la Blanche » de Lidia Terki (Avant-première – France) Infos pratiques :Rousset : Salle Emilien Ventre (bd de la Cairane)Trets : Cinéma Le Casino (Rue du Docteur Villemus)Aix-en-Provence : Cinéma Le Mazarin (6 Rue Laroque) (rue Saporta),Maison de la recherche (Fac de lettres - Université d'Aix-Marseille bd Schuman)Théâtre Antoine Vitez (Fac de lettres - Université d'Aix-Marseille bd Schuman)TARIFS : à partir de 4 euros Billeterie : sur place les jours de l’événement et prochainement en ligne Le Festival international Music & Cinema Marseille dévoile son palmarès  Une femme disparaît d'Hitchcock en ciné-concert au Mucem en avril Toutes les places de ciné à 5€ durant trois jours en mars