Stay updated with the latest Other news, articles, and insights from trusted sources. Explore in-depth coverage and expert analysis on Other topics.
Mumbai Customs officers intercepted a Thane-based woman at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport for attempting to smuggle 154 exotic animals. Hidden inside plastic containers in her luggage, the haul included four baby anacondas, iguanas, bearded dragons, tortoises, turtles, lizards, and raccoons. This marks the first time in at least five years that baby anacondas, a foreign snake species, have been seized at Mumbai Airport. The seized species are protected under international law
Bhubaneswar: Nature lovers have a fresh reason to visit Nandankanan Zoological Park in Odisha's Bhubaneswar, as the famed wildlife sanctuary welcomed seven baby yellow anacondas into its reptilian fold on Sunday -- a rare and exciting addition that underscores the zoo's growing reputation as a haven for exotic species. The tiny hatchlings were born to a breeding pair of yellow anacondas brought to Nandankanan from the Madras Crocodile Bank Trust in Chennai in October 2019. With these new arrivals, the zoo now proudly houses a thriving family of 14 yellow anacondas -- two adult males, two adul ...Read More >
Ludhiana: As International Plastic Bag Free Day is observed on July 3, rising use of plastics, including plastic bags, are posing an unprecedented threat to bird population. Ornithologists and conservationists are sounding urgent alarms about the growing menace of plastic pollution -- that is choking habitats, contaminating food chains, and pushing several bird species to the brink of collapse.Plastic has turned into a long-lasting hazard in natural ecosystems. Each year, over 400 million tonnes of plastic are produced globally, and a staggering amount finds its way into the open environment. ...Read More >
New Delhi: Governments negotiating the first-ever global treaty to curb plastic pollution were handed a new draft that leaves out binding limits on plastic production, a gap that has put the talks on edge and drawn sharp criticism from campaigners. The text, released during the fifth round of negotiations on plastics treaty (INC-5.2) in Geneva on Tuesday, is part of efforts launched in 2022 to address what the UN calls a "plastic pollution crisis" that threatens oceans, wildlife, human health and the climate. Scientists estimate more than 430 million tonnes of plastic is produced each year, m ...Read More >
Mumbai: The Mumbai Airport Customs in six separate cases between September 12-15 have seized hydroponic weed worth Rs 49.16 crore, recovered 68 dead and alive exotic wildlife animals and seized foreign currency worth around Rs 16 lakh. Four Passengers Arrested in Narcotics Cases According to the Customs sources four cases were related to the recovery and seizure of hydroponic weed. In the first case, on the basis of specific intelligence, the Customs officers at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), Mumbai, intercepted one passenger arriving from Tashkent. During the ex ...Read More >
New Delhi: The Enforcement Directorate has filed a chargesheet against YouTuber Siddharth Yadav alias Elvish Yadav, his friend and singer Rahul Yadav alias Fazilpuriya apart from two others, and charged them with money laundering in an alleged wildlife crime involving protected snakes and lizards, official sources said. The prosecution complaint was filed on October 13 before a special Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) court in Gurugram, Haryana. The court is yet to take cognisance of the chargesheet. Yadav (28), Fazilpuriya (35), a company named Sky Digital India Pvt. Ltd. and its di ...Read More >
New Delhi Oct 16 (UNI) The Enforcement Directorate (ED) in its chargesheet filed against YouTuber Elvish Yadav, rapper Rahul Yadav (Fazilpuria), a digital company, and its director has accused them of indulging in money laundering by generating money using income from videos that featured protected wildlife species like snakes and an iguana. The prosecution complaint, filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), states that the songs "32 BORE" on Fazilpuria's channel and a vlog on Elvish Yadav's channel depicted the protected animals, which is a scheduled offence under the Wild ...Read More >
MUMBAI, Oct 31 -- Indian customs officers have arrested a plane passenger after discovering two endangered gibbons stuffed inside a checked bag, the latest animals seized from smugglers at Mumbai's airport. One of the tiny apes from Indonesia was dead, while the other, in a video shared by Indian Customs, was seen cradled in the arms of an officer, softly hooting before covering its face with its arm. Customs said the passenger, who had travelled from Malaysia via Thailand, was given the rare apes by a wildlife trafficking "syndicate" for delivery in India. Officers acting on "specific inte ...Read More >
Kendrapara (Odisha), Feb 16 (PTI) Migratory birds of the trans-Himalayan region have started their homeward journey from Bhitarkanika National Park in Odisha's Kendrapara district after a four-month-long winter sojourn, a forest official said on Monday. More than 1.52 lakh feathered guests of 106 species had flocked to the Bhitarkanika wetland sites this year to avoid the harsh winter, Rajnagar Mangrove (wildlife) Forest Division assistant conservator Manas Das said. Every year, birds fly thousands of miles to Bhitarkanika to escape the severe cold conditions in northern Asia and some centra ...Read More >
Bhubaneswar, June 5 (UNI) Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi on Thursday urged the people to resolve to end plastic pollution and maintain a healthy, clean environment. "Today, let us pledge to eliminate plastic pollution and create a healthier, cleaner environment for our citizens," Majhi said while addressing the state-level World Environment Day event. He noted that plastic has become an integral part of our lives, especially single-use plastics. Stressing that plastic waste must be ad ...Read More >
MADURAI: Likening the custodial murder of Ajith Kumar in Tiruppuvanam to an 'organised crime by police where the state kills its own citizens,' Madras high court lambasted the Tamil Nadu police and said the action against the perpetrators should be more stringent than in normal murder cases.A division bench of Justice S M Subramaniam and Justice A D Maria Clete pointed to 44 external injuries on the person of Ajith Kumar and said no part of the body was spared by the delinquent cops. "Even an ordinary murderer would not have inflicted such kind of injuries," the bench said on Tuesday.The natur ...Read More >
New Delhi: Protest at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) against a recently announced fee hike, the long-standing suspension of students' union elections and calls for administrative accountability have entered their sixth day, with students boycotting classes and staging sit-ins at the Bab-e-Syed gate (the iconic entrance of the varsity). The fee structure for different courses has witnessed a sharp revision. Students say the hike ranges from 25% to over 60% across various programmes. Many claim they first learned of the revised fees only while trying to pay through the university's online ...Read More >
NEW DELHI - Indian customs officers in Mumbai said they have stopped a plane passenger arriving from Thailand with a wriggling cargo of live snakes, the third such seizure in June. "Customs officers... foiled yet another wildlife smuggling attempt, 16 live snakes... seized from a passenger returning from Thailand," said a customs officer at Mumbai's airport The passenger, who arrived on June 29, has been arrested, the customs agency said in a statement, with "further investigation underway". The live snakes included reptiles often sold in the pet trade, and were largely non-venomous, or wit ...Read More >
Lucknow: Enforcement Directorate's Lucknow unit filed prosecution complaint against YouTuber and Bigg Boss OTT season 2 winner Elvish Yadav and three others under Prevention of Money Laundering Act before a special court in Gurgaon. Court will take cognisance of charges, after which both accused will be summoned. ED also named Chandigarh-based company Sky Digital and its owner as a co-accused in the case.Rs 1 crore assets of Elvish Yadav and his aide Fazilpuria were attached. The duo had used liv ...Read More >
Indian customs officers in Mumbai said they have stopped a plane passenger arriving from Thailand with a wriggling cargo of live snakes, the third such seizure this month. "Customs officers... foiled yet another wildlife smuggling attempt, 16 live snakes... seized from passenger returning from Thailand," said customs officers in the airport in the Indian financial hub. The passenger, who arrived on Sunday, has been arrested, the customs agency said in a statement, with "further investigation un ...Read More >
Mumbai: Drugs, gold and other expensive or illegal items are often seized from passengers during inspection at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport in Mumbai, the country's financial capital. However, this time, customs officials seized as many as 48 poisonous snakes and 5 turtles from a passenger. Even the security guards were alarmed when it came to light that the passenger had been found with poisonous snakes. The passenger concerned had been to Thailand and had taken a flight from Bangkok on his way to India. At Mumbai's airport, customs found 48 poisonous snakes and five tur ...Read More >
Nagpur: Development without ecology is not development it is devastation in disguise, remarked, environmentalist and member of the State Board for Wildlife Shrikant Tekade while addressing a World Environment Day programme organised by RTO Nagpur in collaboration with the Institute of Environment, Ecology, Health & Management (IEEHM).Speaking on this year's theme 'Beat Plastic Pollution and Deforestation', Tekade painted a grim picture of plastic misuse and its growing impact on both urban and forest ecosystems. He pointed out that Nagpur generates over 1,100 tonnes of municipal waste daily, o ...Read More >
Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], October 3 (ANI): Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday met Mahamandaleshwar Swami Yatindranand Giri Maharaj at the Chief Minister's residence in Dehradun. During the meeting, the two held detailed discussions on various spiritual, social, and national interest issues. Also Read | Mizoram: Lengpui Airport Halts Operations As Potholes Spotted on Runway, 4 Flights Cancelled. Welcoming Mahamandaleshwar Swami Yatindranand Giri Maharaj, Chief Minister Dhami said that the blessings of saints and spiritual leaders bring positive energy into society ...Read More >
Guwahati: National Green Tribunal (NGT), in an interim order issued on Saturday, stayed the Assam govt's directive to divert 1,600 Assam Forest Protection Force (AFPF) personnel to assist the police during the upcoming assembly elections.The govt order, issued by the special chief secretary, had instructed AFPF staff to report to the additional director general of police by April 3.A two-member NGT Eastern Zone bench, comprising judicial member Justice Arun Kumar Tyagi and expert member Ishwar Singh, issued the interim stay in response to a petition filed by advocate Gaurav Bansal.Conservation ...Read More >
Sambalpur: The population of Indian Bisons (Gaur) in Odisha's Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary has increased to 788 from 659 in six months, a forest officer said. The authorities of the Hirakud wildlife division conducted the census from May 11 to May 13, this year and published the report Friday. As per the report, the total number of Indian Bison in the wildlife sanctuary was 788, which includes 315 juveniles (less than 2 year old) and 128 newborns (less than 3 months). Of the total bison population, 315 (40 per cent) are juvenile. For the first time, the census of Indian Bisons was conducted ...Read More >
Bhubaneswar: Debrigarh wildlife sanctuary on Friday recorded an increase of 129 Indian bison in the summer census in just a few months, bringing their total count to 788. In the winter census, their number was 659.This time, Debrigarh, the lone sanctuary in the state with a rich bison density, recorded 60 herds, compared to 52 herds in the last census.The 788 gaurs include 315 juveniles (less than two years old) and 128 newborns (less than three months old). The juveniles constitute 40% of the total population."Due to the increase in population, herds keep drifting, with female adults leading ...Read More >
Pilibhit (UP), Jul 7 (PTI) A 15-foot dead python found floating in the Kharja canal at Kalinagar area of Pilibhit district threw local residents into a frenzy on Monday. The locals, who noticed the massive snake drifting in the water, alerted the forest department, who reached the spot and fished out the carcass. Divisional Forest Officer Manish Singh said, "The preliminary investigation has not ascertained the cause of death, but it appears to be natural." The dead python attracted a large crowd of curious villagers, many of whom captured photos and videos on their mobile phones. The frenzi ...Read More >
VMPL New Delhi [India], August 14: Ellenox, India's largest venture studio, is accelerating its global push in enterprise AI development. In the past year, the company has grown its headcount by 50% over the last year, bringing in senior AI talent from Amazon and Google to power its next phase of expansion. Already delivering AI transformation for Fortune 50 leaders in fintech, cloud computing, consumer social, and sports-tech, Ellenox has built systems that replace costly call centers with natural-voice AI agents and deployed end-to-end social media pipelines capable of scaling global brand ...Read More >
Mumbai: Environmentalists have vehemently opposed the proposed relaxation in sand extraction permissions and environmental clearances for residents near sandbeds in the draft Sand Mining policy (released on Jan 30, 2025). The policy, which awaits public hearing, has drawn significant criticism regarding its suggested amendments for local sand usage without following prescribed tender processes and environmental protocols. Awaaz Foundation's Sumaira Abdulali has consistently corresponded with the government for two decades regarding the detrimental environmental impact of manual sand mining at ...Read More >
Srinagar, June 5: Indian Railways will commence regular operations of two new Vande Bharat Express trains between Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra and Srinagar from June 7, following their official inauguration by Prime Minister Narendra Modi tomorrow, June 6. The trains will offer passengers a fast, reliable, and modern travel option, running six days a week in both directions, officials said on Thursday. Prime Minister Modi is expected to flag off the two specially designed Vande Bharat trains running between Srinagar and Katra on June 6, marking the completion of the long-awaited project to li ...Read More >
HYDERABAD: Veteran character actor, comedian, and former MLA Kota Srinivasa Rao passed away due to ill health in Hyderabad on Sunday morning. He was 83. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2015. He joined the BJP and was elected as the Vijayawada East MLA in the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh in 1999. Srinivasa Rao, popularly known as Kota, began his acting career as a theatre artist. He was born on July 10, 1942, in Kankipadu village, a suburb of Vijayawada city in Andhra Pradesh. He started acting in films in 1978 with Pranam Khareedu. However, he got his major break with the character Kasa ...Read More >
India's Vantara Sets a Global Benchmark: CITES endorses Transparency, Ethics and Scientific Rigor in Private Conservation In a rare commendation from international regulators, India's Vantara initiative has earned high praise from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), marking a milestone in private-sector conservation. Following detailed inspections and document reviews, CITES concluded that Vantara's Greens Zoological Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre and the Radha Krishna Temple Elephant Welfare Trust operate with "exceptionally high standards" -- fully complia ...Read More >
Guwahati: A community forest in Meghalaya's Ri-Bhoi district has emerged as a significant biodiversity hotspot, with a recent study documenting a rich diversity of swallowtail butterflies, including several legally protected species. The findings highlight both the ecological importance and vulnerability of these landscapes. The study, conducted by A.D. Marbaniang and S.R. Hajong, recorded 15 species of swallowtail butterflies (Papilionidae) in the Saiden Community Forest over a year-long survey. The research underscores the crucial role community-managed forests play in biodiversity conserva ...Read More >
Dibrugarh: Three YouTubers were arrested in Dhemaji on Thursday for the brutal killing of wild birds and uploading graphic footage of their acts on their YouTube channel 'Jakrub'. The accused have been identified as Munindra Mushahary, Maheshwar Swargiary and Shiviram Swargiary.The trio reportedly hunted birds and destroyed nests at the Pitoni region of Hastinapur and Kardoiguri villages, an ecologically sensitive area. They used slingshots to kill birds and collected hundreds of eggs from their nesting grounds. The videos, which showed the destruction of habitats and killing of birds, sparked ...Read More >
Mumbai: The Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of Mumbai Customs on Wednesday intercepted two Indian men at Mumbai airport after they arrived from Bangkok with endangered wildlife species, including two Sumatran striped rabbits, one Waigeou spotted cuscus, three Brown basilisk lizards (one was dead), and 115 green iguanas, concealed in their baggage. Waigeou spotted cuscus and green iguana are listed under Appendix-II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, making their transport strictly regulated.The duo was arrested under relevant provisions of the Customs Act, 1962 and the ...Read More >
Mumbai, March 30: A local court on Sunday extended the police custody of self-styled astrologer and numerologist Ashok Kharat, popularly known as "Captain," until April 1, 2026. Kharat, a retired Merchant Navy officer, was arrested on March 18 following allegations of serial sexual assault, blackmail, and financial fraud. The case has sent shockwaves through Maharashtra's political circles, leading to high-profile resignations and the formation of a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe what opposition leaders have termed a "horrifying" pattern of exploitation. Ashok Kharat, 62, maintains ...Read More >