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Dame Jane Goodall remembered as a ‘true hero for the planet’
Conservationist Dame Jane Goodall, a world-leading expert on chimpanzees, has died aged 91.
Former US president Barack Obama was among those who paid tribute to Dr Goodall, who he said, “opened doors for generations of women in science”.
Actor and environmental campaigner Leonardo DiCaprio said that she “inspired millions to care, to act, and to hope”, and called her a “a true hero for the planet”.
Dr Goodall died of natural causes while in California on a speaking tour of the US, according to a statement from the Jane Goodall Institute.
It said her discoveries “revolutionised science” and that she was “a tireless advocate for the protection and restoration of our natural world”.
The United Nations said it mourned the loss of Dr Goodall, saying that she “worked tirelessly for our planet and all its inhabitants, leaving an extraordinary legacy for humanity and nature”.
Greenpeace said it was “heartbroken” by her death, calling her “one of the true conservation giants of our time”.
Its co-executive director in the UK, Will McCallum, said: “Dr Goodall’s legacy is not only in science but in the global movement she helped spark to protect nature and give hope for a better world.”
Naturalist Chris Packham told the BBC that he counted her among his heroes, calling her “revolutionary” and “remarkable”.
“To have lost a hero at a time when we need all of them on the frontline fighting for life on earth is a tragedy.”
Born in 1934 and raised in London, Dr Goodall said she became fascinated by animals after reading books like The Story of Dr Doolittle and Tarzan.
She met leading primatologist Prof Louis Leakey while staying on a friend’s farm in Kenya in her mid-twenties. Although she had no qualifications, Mr Leakey saw her potential and helped arrange her first research trip to the jungles of Tanzania in 1960.
That year, she became the first person to record witnessing an animal using a tool – a large male chimpanzee, who she had named David Greybeard, digging termites out of a mound with a stick.
Until then, it was thought only humans were intelligent enough to do so. Her observations challenged years of conventional scientific thinking and shaped the future of evolutionary science.
Her work was published in leading journals, and in 1965 she made the front cover of National Geographic, introducing the world to the emotional and social lives of the primates.
She revealed that the animals form strong family bonds and even engage in warfare over territory. She featured in a television documentary narrated by Orson Welles, which saw her playing and wrestling with baby chimps.
Her approach – associating so closely with the animals she studied, naming them and even referring to them as “my friends” – was scoffed at by some, mostly male, scientists at the time. She undertook a PhD based on her findings, despite not having an undergraduate degree or any prior scientific training.
After her experiences in the field she became an activist, working to free chimpanzees kept in zoos or in captivity for medical research, and later urged action on climate change in the face of widespread habitat devastation.
She told BBC in 2024 “We’re in the midst of the sixth great extinction… the more we can do to restore nature and protect existing forests, the better.”
Asked what kept her motivated late in life, she said: “Surely people want a future for their children.”
Getty ImagesDr Goodall was appointed a Dame in 2003 and received the US Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2025.
She was known for travelling constantly for her work, telling the Times newspaper in 2022 that she had not slept in the same bed for more than three weeks since 1986.
Dr Goodall worked right up until her death, being interviewed on stage in New York a week ago. She was due to speak again at a sold-out event on 3 October in California.
“Dr Jane Goodall DBE was a visionary humanitarian, scientist, friend to the planet, and friend to us,” Prince Harry and Meghan said in a statement.
Former Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau, said “her compassion will live on” in future conservation work.
Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres hailed her work as a Messenger of Peace, a UN title she has held since 2002 for bringing “global attention to the urgency of protecting our environment”.
Environmental organisations, including Greenpeace and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), have also commemorated Dr Goodall’s legacy.
[BBC]
Three weeks after the joint US-Israeli war against Iran began, the conflict has reached a fuzzy state of mixed messages and uncertainty, with Donald Trump’s public comments often seemingly contradicted by realities on the ground.
The war is “very complete, pretty much”, Trump has said, but new American ground forces – including a Marine expeditionary unit – are moving into the region. It is “winding down”, but US and Israeli bombing and missile strikes on Iranian targets continue unabated.
Opening the Strait of Hormuz, the geographic choke point through which 20% of the world’s oil export travels, is a “simple military manoeuvre”, but for now only Iranian-approved ships are transiting the waters.
The Iranian military is “gone”, but drones and missiles are still striking targets in the region and targets have extended as far as the joint US-UK base on Diego Garcia.
In a Friday evening Truth Social post published while he was flying from Washington to his Florida resort for the weekend, the US president provided a numbered list of American military objectives for the Iran war, which he said the US was “getting really close” to fulfilling.
The items, comprising his most detailed statement on the subject since the war began, included degrading or destroying Iran’s military, its defence infrastructure and its nuclear weapons programme, as well as protecting American allies in the region.
Not included was the goal of securing the Strait of Hormuz, which Trump said should be the responsibility of other nations that are more dependent on oil exports from the Gulf. The president has frequently noted that the US is a net exporter of energy and does not rely on oil from the Middle East – although such a view glosses over the global nature of the fossil fuel market, where price fluctuations directly impact the price at American gas pumps.
Trump’s Truth Social post also made no call for Iranian regime change. Gone are any references to approving the nation’s next leader or “unconditional surrender”, which Trump had insisted on in the early days of the war.
In Trump’s latest outline of his objectives, it is possible that the US could end its operation with Iran’s current anti-American leadership in power, its oil exports still flowing and its ability to assert some measure of control over the Strait of Hormuz intact.
If that is an unappealing resolution to a war that the president and his aides have said began with the 1979 Iran Revolution and that they would finish, there is an alternative route that involves the US ground forces presently on the way to the Middle East region.
Just over a week ago, US media reported that a Marine expeditionary unit, with about 2,500 combat soldiers and supporting ships and aircraft, had been dispatched from Japan to the Middle East, which it should reach in the coming days. Another Marine force of similar size recently departed its base in California with its arrival expected in mid-April.
Military analysts have suggested that the US could be planning to capture Kharg Island. an 3-sq-km (8-sq-mile) slice of land that contains Iran’s primary oil export terminal. Doing so could, in theory, cut off the nation’s oil shipments, depriving the nation of much-needed revenue and forcing it to make greater concessions to the Americans in exchange for an end to hostilities.
Trump on Friday said that he wasn’t sending ground troops to Iran, but added: “If I were, I certainly wouldn’t tell you”. Clarity, it seems, is not his intention.
The threat of such a move prompted Iran’s state media to report on Saturday that any attack on Kharg Island would lead Iran to cause “insecurity” in the Red Sea, another key global shipping transit point, and “set fire” to energy facilities throughout the region.
Iran’s warning underscores the dangers that would accompany a US escalation that further exposes American military forces to Iranian reprisals.
Earlier this week, US media reported that the Trump administration was preparing to ask Congress for $200bn (£150bn) in emergency funding for the ongoing Iranian military operation. Such a request would suggest that, far from winding down, the White House is preparing for a long, expensive fight.
The initial reaction from Congress, including from Trump’s Republican allies, was cautious at best.
“We’re talking about boots on the ground. We’re talking about that kind of extended activity,” said Republican Congressman Chip Roy of Texas.
“They have got a whole lot more briefing and a whole lot more explaining to do on how we’re going to pay for it, and what’s the mission here.”
The so-called “fog of war” doesn’t just cloud the thinking of military planners, it also affects the perception of politicians and the public.
The Iran war, it seems, is at a pivot. But which direction it takes from here is a puzzle.
(BBC)
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Heat Index likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and in Anuradhapura, Monaragala, Mannar and Vavuniya districts
Warm Weather Advisory
Issued by the Natural Hazards Early Warning Centre of the Department of Meteorology
at 3.30 p.m. on 21 March 2026, valid for 22 March 2026.
Heat index, the temperature felt on human body is likely to increase up to ‘Caution level’ at some places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern and North-western provinces and in
Anuradhapura, Monaragala, Mannar and Vavuniya districts.
The Heat Index Forecast is calculated by using relative humidity and maximum temperature and this is the condition that is felt on your body. This is not the forecast of maximum temperature. It is generated by the Department of Meteorology for the next day period and prepared by using global numerical weather prediction model data.
Effect of the heat index on human body is mentioned in the above table and it is prepared on the advice of the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medical Services.
ACTION REQUIRED
Job sites: Stay hydrated and takes breaks in the shade as often as possible.
Indoors: Check up on the elderly and the sick.
Vehicles: Never leave children unattended.
Outdoors: Limit strenuous outdoor activities, find shade and stay hydrated.
Dress: Wear lightweight and white or light-colored clothing.
Note:
In addition, please refer to advisories issued by the Disaster Preparedness & Response Division, Ministry of Health in this regard as well. For further clarifications please contact 011-7446491.
The Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (Ceypetco) has announced a revision of fuel prices, effective from midnight today (21).
Accordingly,
Auto Diesel – Rs. 382 (increased by Rs. 79)
Super Diesel – Rs. 443 (increased by Rs. 90)
Petrol 92 Octane – Rs. 398 (increased by Rs. 81)
Kerosene – Rs. 255. (increased by Rs. 60)
Petrol 95 Octane – Rs. 455 (increased by Rs. 90)
Showers may occur at several places in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and Southern provinces and in Nuwara-Eliya district after 1.00 pm.
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