Several university students from across the country protested outside the Higher Education Commission (HEC) office in Islamabad demanding the board to waive their full semester fee, suspended online classes and promote all students to the next semester without examinations.
Blocking Islamabad’s Service Road, the students had placards in their hands and raised slogans against the HEC.
They called out universities for charging full semester fees despite the coronavirus pandemic.
Many students also took to social media to voice their concerns.
Universities are demanding a full semester fee which is completely unfair and immoral. It is not just a piece of cake for everyone to bear the financial burden of their academics as some do part-time jobs/ home tuitions/more than one job at a time to pay off their expenses. pic.twitter.com/K0bBg36XAk
Economy is suffering due to which a lot of families are only surviving hand to mouth. Universities should not be charging complete tuition fees when they're saving up on so much of their own expenses. #WAIVINGSTUDENTFEES#HEC#GIVERELAXATIONTOSTUDENTS
Earlier, on May 12, Chairman Higher Education Commission (HEC) Dr Tariq Banuri had chaired a meeting with university vice-chancellors and discussed possible ways to conduct annual examinations.
Suggestions were given to conduct examinations based on an open book, multiple-choice questions, assignments and viva-voce methods. The vice-chancellors put forth complaints made by students regarding internet connectivity issues and asked HEC to help in this regard.
A pregnant elephant died in Kerala, India after she allegedly ate a pineapple stuffed with firecrackers. The fruit exploded in her mouth badly damaging her jaw and eventually causing her death.
Article 51-A (g) of the Indian Constitution says that it shall be duty of every citizen of India to have compassion for living creatures. The pregnant elephant in pic was killed in human- wildlife conflict.Action has already been initiated. But where lies our duty? N humanity?? pic.twitter.com/V1ufNt3HfN
— Kerala Forest Department (@ForestKerala) June 3, 2020
The Kerala Forest Department has lodged an FIR (First Information Report) against those responsible for the death of a 15-year-old pregnant wild elephant.
FIR lodged against unidentified people under relevant sections of Wild Life Protection Act over the incident wherein a pregnant elephant died in Malappuram after being fed a pineapple stuffed with crackers: Mannarkkad forest range officer #Kerala (File pic) pic.twitter.com/exLBKZGTRd
The Wildlife Warden of the Silent Valley National Park said this was a serious crime whosoever was behind it.
“We are quite certain that we will find the perpetrators of this crime, which is in no way acceptable at all. It was on the 23rd of last month we came to know about this incident when the elephant was spotted near a water source outside the national park,” said Pachuau.
As per reports, some people had placed firecrackers inside a pineapple and this was eaten by the wild elephant and in the process of chewing the cracker burst and injured the elephant.
“We called a veterinarian and later on the 25th, an elephant expert David Abraham came and examined and explained to us the bad situation,” said Pachuau.
“We informed the Forest officials that its situation was bad and two days later the elephant died in the water.”
The next day, when we conducted the post-mortem we found a nearly two-month-old fetus. From the uterus, we could make out it was the first pregnancy of the elephant. That sight left many of us deeply sad and moved.
Only when we conducted the autopsy, we could see that the upper and lower jaw, teeth and tongue of the elephant was badly damaged. The cause of death is due to the aspiration of the lungs as it was filled with water. It was a sad day for many of us,” said Abraham.
Soon after the autopsy was conducted, the dead elephant was buried in the Forest.
“Two sets of teams are probing this incident,” added Pachuau.
Meanwhile, several Bollywood stars including Anushka Sharma and Varun Dhawan condemned the incident and called for harsher laws against animal cruelty.
Earlier on Feb 11, a groom was manhandled over contracting third marriage in Karachi without the consent of his first two wives. The groom named Asif was subjected to torture by his first wife and her family in an ongoing Valima reception of his third marriage in Karachi.
To control the increase in the population of stray dogs in Peshawar, the Peshawar Livestock Department has decided to neuter the animals instead of culling them and is offering a cash reward of Rs 200 to anyone who brings in a stray dog to the department.
According to a report in The Express Tribune, the decision was taken after residents of the provincial capital complained about an increase in the population of stray dogs in the city. According to a survey by the Water and Sanitation Services Peshawar (WSSP), there are approximately 7,500 to 10,000 stray dogs in the Peshawar district alone.
KP Livestock Department Director Dr Syed Masoom Ali Shah, while discussing the matter said: “We have to change the mindset of killing stray dogs, which is a common practice.” He added that the population of stray dogs can be controlled by neutering them.
Dr Masoom revealed that a special centre, which can operate up to 100 dogs in a day, has been set up for this purpose.
He shared that the dogs will be neutered and sterilised by conducting an operation and will then be released back onto the streets. Before releasing the dog, a collar with reflectors will be fixed around its neck and a tattoo would be printed on its ear as a mark that the dog has been operated upon.
“The project is first ever in Pakistan and will not only serve in maintaining public health through containing rabies but would also stop the cruel practice of culling of stray dogs through shooting and poisoning,” Dr Masoom said.
Dr Masoom further remarked that “the objective of the cash reward is to involve those who have lost livelihoods due to the coronavirus lockdown in an activity that aims at ensuring better public health and safety.”
However, the doctor advised people to be careful while catching a dog as it can bite them. He said a stray dog can easily be coaxed by offering it some food, patting on the head and then tying it with a rope.
While stray dogs are a “nuisance” to the public across the country, the recommendation to cull them had sparked outrage across the country with activists and animal lovers demanding the government to adopt more humane measures to control their population.
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth was photographed riding a 14-year-old Fell pony in Windsor Home Park as the country eases lockdown to control the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The Queen has been living at Windsor Castle, west of London, during the lockdown with her 98-year-old husband Prince Philip.
As per reports, Windsor is said to be the Queen’s favourite royal residence and the 94-year-old regularly rides in the grounds of Windsor.
She has issued several rallying messages to the nation from there, including televised addresses that have been a rarity during her 68-year reign.
The last public picture of the Queen was taken as she was driven away from Buckingham Palace to her Windsor Castle home.
The Queen leaving Buckingham Palace for Windsor Castle to socially distance herself amid the coronavirus pandemic
274,762 cases have been reported in the UK so far and a lockdown has been imposed to curb the virus spread.
There is no doubt 2020 isn’t exactly all that great. The coronavirus pandemic has led to the loss of life, jobs, social events, and much more. Amid all the crisis, a meme trend ‘My plans vs 2020’ has taken over the social media that might lighten our mood for at least a few minutes.
Netflix has started censoring meat for its Indian audiences. Netflix users took to social media to highlight how meat is being censored in Vikings on Netflix India.
Netflix India has censored meat (among quite a few other things) from Vikings. Same scene from India and Italy. pic.twitter.com/NXCE9Kzmh4
Meat (Appeasing the rabid vegetarian supporters). Pork (Appeasing the followers of Islam).
Pretty sure an enthusiastic intern came up with the idea. Good job kiddo!!
— Dirty Anurag⚡OSSIFY NOW! (@AnuragSaikia) June 1, 2020
Netflix India did issue a formal explanation when the debate heated up. Netflix is just trying to be respectful towards the Hindu religious sentiments of not eating meat.
However, it is unclear that this censorship was voluntary or demanded by the Indian government. This wouldn’t be the first time India went heavy-handed with censorships demands.
Previously there have been demands for the streaming platform’s original series Sacred Games and Leila to be censored for hurting political sentiments.
Leila on @Netflix is a Hindu Hate series, using Hindu sacred terminology and symbolism to create dystopian propaganda. Would India have allowed such a series attacking Islam?
India censor board blocks much more benign stuff, yet this is allowed? No FIRs for "outraging feelings"?
The All Pakistan Private Schools Federation (APPSF) has demanded the government to reopen educational institutes in the country from June 1.
As per reports, APPSF office-bearers, teachers and owners of school also took out rallies in various areas of Punjab to protest against shutting down the schools for too long.
The protestors, who raised the slogan of “Education for All”, requested the Chief Justice of Pakistan, the army chief, the prime minister and the provincial authorities to open the schools on June 1 after issuing the standard operating procedures (SOPs).
In Lahore, the people gathered outside the Civil Secretariat to protest against Punjab Minister for School Education Murad Raas.
“We are unable to pay the teachers,” the All Pakistan Private Schools Federation (APPSF) President Kashif Mirza said at a press conference in Lahore. “We must be allowed to open schools from June 1.”
He described the concept of online education as a “flopped project”.
He further said the closure of schools till July 15 would result in the permanent closure of 50 percent of the private schools and around one million people would lose their jobs. He said even the worst-hit countries were letting educational institutions work.
“We have formulated SOPs following international standards,” he said, suggesting the government to talk with them. He demanded that the government announce a relief package for private schools.
Educational institutes in Pakistan have been closed since March. The measure was taken to curb the spread of coronavirus
The number of reported coronavirus cases in Pakistan has gone to 66,457. The virus has claimed 1,395 lives in the country so far.
WARNING: This article may contain graphic images which may be distressing for some people
The DI Khan police have rescued an endangered striped hyena, which was captured by some locals to take part in a dog fight, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa MPA Faisal Amin Khan has shared. The hyena, which has been identified as a female, has been sent to Peshawar for treatment before it can be released back into the wild.
Khan also shared that hyena was being cared for and that Chief Conservator Wildlife KP is “personally taking care” of the injured animal.
He has open/soil surface outside but being kept here for a couple of days for easier handling/dressing wounds, Mohsin Sb Chief Conservator Wildlife KP is personally taking care of it
According to Deputy Commissioner DI Khan’s official Twitter account, the hyena was caught by some tribal locals and their hunting dogs.
اسسٹنٹ کمشنر ردازندہ، محکمہ وائلڈ لائف ڈیرہ اور ضلعی پولیس ڈیرہ کی بروقت کاروائی، قبائلی تحصیل درازندہ کے علاقہ کھوئی بہارہ میں کوہی پیور کے مقام پر مقامی افراد اور ان کے شکاری کتوں کے ہتھے چڑھ جانے والے جنگلی جانور ''لگڑ بگڑ'' کو بازیاب کرواکر علاج معالجے کے لئے پشاور بھیج دیا۔ pic.twitter.com/JoJ3iNJJFE
— Deputy Commissioner DIKhan (@dcdikhan) May 30, 2020
From the limited details available, it can be understood that the animal had been captured by the locals to take part in a dog fight.
The whole village had gathered for the dog fight, only 5/6 policemen & wildlife staff was there, it's an extremely secluded corner bordering Balochistan so saving the animal was priority one, will get culprits eventually
Sir the whole village was there dog fight was about to start, give credit to Police, Levies & Wildlife staff who risked their lives being only 5 or 6 in number & still saved the animal, it's easy to tap on keyboards than actually risking ur skin for a cause
The matter of the captive hyena had come to light after a Twitter account dedicated to saving Pakistan’s wildlife “from the threats of hunting, loss of habitat and pesticides” raised alarm and shared videos of people capturing the hyena. Sharing the location of the incident, they had urged the authorities to take swift action and rescue the animal.
Meanwhile, conservationist Javed Mahar shared some characteristics of the rare animal, called lagar bagar in the local language, and said that they are mostly found in Sindh along the Kirthar National Park.
Stripped hyenas prefer scavenging rather than hunting The perception of community (i) it is killer (ii) ride of witch (ڏائڻ جي سواري) is absolutely wrong. They r beautiful creatures &companions of evolutionary survival process They r found in Sindh along Khirthar National Park https://t.co/ZcOz9NNwdf
Coronavirus cases in Pakistan are on the rise and according to the latest numbers, there are 64,028 cases of COVID-19 in the country. Healthcare workers, who are fighting on the frontlines, have been badly affected by the virus.
As per reports, until May 28, 17 medical professionals had died of COVID-19 in Pakistan out of the total 1,904 who tested positive; this figure included 299 nurses, 570 others healthcare staff and 1,035 doctors.
This is the total data of medical staff, as far as young doctors are reported, many of these were among them who sacrificed their lives fighting against coronavirus.
Here are a few young doctors who lost their lives because of this pandemic.
Dr Sana Fatima
The doctor lost her life due to coronavirus on May 29. She was admitted to Lahore General Hospital after being tested positive for Covid-19 on May 20.
Another young warrior Dr Fatima sana has lost her life while fighting against covd19, she was admitted in LGH,we young drs are fighting for this nation who are busy in attacking hospitals. RIP MORALITY @AroojAurangzaib@ammaralijan @kpk_young @yda_punjabpic.twitter.com/BQ2ZZ5v92M
Salman Tahir, an MBBS fourth-year student of a private medical college in Lahore, was admitted due to high fever, but due to the high viral load of the virus, he died in the ICU of a private hospital within 24 hours. Dr. Salman Tahir’s father Prof. Tahir Saleem is in charge of the pediatric ward in a private hospital while his mother Dr. Shabana is a gynecologist in a private hospital.
Mussarat Dilbar
Mussarat Dilbar, a nurse at the Kohat Development Authority (KDA) hospital, was tested positive for the virus a few days ago. She had been admitted to the facility but her health condition continued to worsen and on May 29, she succumbed to the virus.
Dr Usama Riaz
The 26-year-old was infected with the coronavirus while screening infected pilgrims who had returned from Iran and Iraq in Gilgit-Baltistan and lost his life to COVID-19 disease on March 22. He was among the first healthcare workers to succumb to the disease.
Dr Rabia Tayyab
26-year old Rabia Tayyab succumbed to coronavirus at Rawalpindi’s Holy Family Hospital after battling the infection for almost two weeks.
The doctor, who hailed from Gujjar Khan, was the daughter of a renowned teacher Mohammad Tayyab. She graduated from the Quaid-e-Azam Medical College in Bahawalpur and was due to start her house job from May 1.
Healthcare workers are risking their lives and fighting on the forefront to save us from COVID-19. We can play our part in controlling the spread of the virus by following the SOPs and precautionary measures issued by the government and the World Health Organisation (WHO). Here’s what you can do:
Avoid going out unnecessarily
Clean your hands often. Use soap and water, or an alcohol-based hand rub to disinfect them
Maintain a safe distance from anyone who is coughing or sneezing
Don’t touch your eyes, nose or mouth with dirty hands. Cover your nose and mouth with your bent elbow or a tissue when you cough or sneeze
Stay home if you feel unwell
If you have a fever, cough and difficulty breathing, seek medical attention as soon as possible
