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Bug embedded keychain scam busted in Bangalore
by Kestur G Vasuki

     Bangalore: Wildlife officials in Bangalore on Thursday seized hundreds of key chains embedded with rare bugs and exotic insects, busting a flourishing trade catering to a growing national and international market. Officials of the Karnataka state Forest Department and members of People For Animals (PFA), a non-government organization, jointly conducted the raids following a tip-off. The officials recovered over 265 insect inlayed key chains from two key chain shops in the heart of the city. They included ones with wasps, butterflies, moths, beetles and bees. One of them had a crab embedded in it. Officials said they are now seeing under what section of the Wildlife Protection Act can the smugglers be booked. "Wildlife hunting and dealing with trophy is an offence as per the Wildlife Protection Act. We need to investigate which particular beetles or bugs; we need to identify the names. We are referring the matter to entomologists and after ascertaining the species, we will apply relevant sections applicable as per the Wildlife Protection Act and then we will proceed further," said B. M.Parameshwara, the city Deputy Conservator of Forests.

     Officials said the insects were collected from forest areas across the country. The insects were then doused in alcohol, and after they became unconscious, they were embedded into the key chains. But while environmentalists would cringe in disgust at the cruelty, they agree the trade thrives not only on a bullish international demand, but also on a fertile local market. R.Sharatbabu, a PFA member, said key chains featuring live insects are especially popular among the city's college students. "We did a raid in Kolar first and then we realized it is from (state capital city) Bangalore and we followed it up at Bangalore and Mamulpet and got a huge stock of 200 plus key chains from the market and most of them are under Scheduled species. Its a very sad way in which they key chains are manufactured," Sharatbabu said. According to conservative environmental estimates, the illegal trade of insects in India is estimated at 200, 000 ounces annually.

Indian Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran meets Musharraf (Go To Top)

     Islamabad: A day after India and Pakistan announced a slew of measures to carry forward their bilateral peace process, Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran met President Pervez Musharraf and briefed him about the outcome of the talks that he had with his Pakistani counterpart Riaz Muhammad Khan. Saran informed the President about the steps taken to give an impetus to the peace process. He was was accompanied by High Commissioner to Pakistan Shiv Shankar Menon. Ahead of the New York meeting between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pervez Musharraf, Sharan and Khan reviewed the progress in the Composite Dialogue Process and decided to carry it forward. They also decided to commence the third round of the composite dialogue by the end of this year and agreed to sign an agreement on pre-notification of ballistic missiles when Foreign Ministers meet in early October.

     India also proposed two additional bus routes between the two countries but firmly ruled out redrawing of boundaries or fixing "artificial deadlines" for resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir issue. Both sides also agreed "in principle" to increase the frequency of the Srinagar-Muzaffarabad bus service and that hotline between the two Foreign Secretaries would be set up soon. On Thursday, Khan said that both sides had agreed on the integrity of the composite dialogue. He said that the accord on pre-notification of ballistic missile tests will be signed when External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh meets his Pakistani counterpart Khurshid M Kasuri from October 3-5 this year, he said. Khan also said "the subject of Kashmir will be on top of the agenda" when President Pervez Musharraf meets Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New York on September 14 on the margins of the UN General Assembly session. Asked about Prime Minister Singh's decision to meet the Hurriyat leaders on September 5, Khan said: "We have always maintained that Kashmiri leadership should be involved with the peace process". Khan said when the Hurriyat leaders had visited Pakistan, "we welcomed them". They had discussions with the President, Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and others, he recalled. So, the Hurriyat leadership, "whom we recognise as the representatives of Kashmiri people should be associated with the peace process. Here, there are three parties -- Pakistan, India and the Kashmiri people. So, this is a positive development that they (Hurriyat) will also be meeting the Indian leadership," Khan said. Khan said a joint statement will be issued at the end of the talks on Friday.

     To a question, he said that the issue of Sarabjit Singh, sentenced to death for his alleged involvement in the bomb blasts in Lahore and Multan in 1990, did come up. "There was a mention...we have provided consular access." Asked about the mandate of the Joint Commission, he said "it will be revived" in pursuance to the decision taken by Musharraf and Singh when they met in New Delhi in April this year. The last meeting of the Joint Commission was held in 1989. At that time, it had four sub-commissions. "We will have to see what kind of format it should have," Khan said, adding dates for its first meeting to be held at the Foreign Ministers' level were being worked out. The meeting will discuss what should be the mandate of the Commission, its structure and objectives.

Pak consular access for prisoners held in India from Sept 12 (Go To Top)

     Islamabad: Officials at Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi would begin approaching the nearly 208 Pakistani prisoners held in New Delhi, Amritsar and Jaipur jails from September 12, the country's Interior Secretary Syed Kamal Shah said. Shah said this while speaking to reporters in Islamabad on his return from New Delhi after holding talks with his Indian counterpart VK Duggal. He said that personal details about the Pakistan prisoners, including their addresses in Pakistan, would be gathered during the consular access. "After receiving the information from our High Commission, we will confirm the details provided by the prisoners about their whereabouts," The Nation quoted Shah as saying. He added that the release of Pakistani prisoners (other than the 208) would begin from September 12 as per the agreed list given to India. He added that soon after completion of confirmation process, Pakistan would hand over the list to Indian government, most probably within ten days of receiving the information from the High Commission in New Delhi.

Al Qaeda video shows 7/7 bomber declare war on London (Go To Top)

     London: An al Qaeda video tape telecast by Arabic TV news channel Aljazeera shows one of the 7/7 London bombers, Mohammad Siddique Khan, who died in the Edgware Road Circle Line blast, as saying that similar attacks would take place in future if Britons didn't stop attacks on Muslims. "Until you stop the bombing, gassing, imprisonment and torture of my people we will not stop the fight. We are at war and I am a soldier. Now you too must taste the reality of the situation," The Sun quoted him as saying in the video, perhaps recorded during his visit to Pakistan in the beginning of this year. Describing the video as "sickening", the paper said that it shows Siddique relishing the prospect of his 7/7 London suicide mission. Hailing from Dewsbury in West Yorks, Siddique, a teaching assistant by profession, while speaking in distinctive Yorkshire accent declares that he was a "soldier at war" with the British people. Reacting to the video, British Home Secretary David Davis last night said, "people across Britain will be sickened by this video." The video also shows al Qaeda chief Osama Bin Laden's deputy Ayman al-Zawahri talking about the "blessed raid" on London, and claiming that the bombings were the result of "British foreign policy". Threatening more attacks in Europe, Zawahri is shown as saying that the atrocities (on Muslims) had moved the battle to "the enemy's land". The paper also quotes a grieving boy, who lost his girlfriend in the blasts, as saying: "This video is appalling. It's sickening to gloat over the death of one person, but how can anybody gloat over the deaths of fifty odd?"

India defeats New Zealand by six wickets (Go To Top)

     New Delhi: India today registered its second win in the Videocon Cup tri-series in Harare by registering a six wicket win over New Zealand. Mohd. Kaif scored a brilliant century, helping India overcome New Zealand's score of 279 with 15 balls to spare. Earlier the Kiwis won the toss and elected to bat first, with Scott Styris cracking an impressive half-century. His 89 of 56 balls provided the momentum to the Kiwis to pile up a score of 278 for the fall of nine wickets. The Kiwi frontline failed to put up a decent contribution with the bat. Skipper Stephen Fleming, Lou Vincent Lou Vincent and Craig McMillan chipped in with scores of 47, 37 and 40 respectively. The Indian bowling attack was not upto the mark and the Kiwis plundered more than 70 runs in the last 10 overs. JP however put up a good bowling show of 10-1-34-1. India started off on a brisk note before wickets started falling, but India never seemed out of the game. Skipper Sourav Ganguly could only score 19. Sehwag scored 45. Kaif and MS Dhoni remained undefeated at 102 and 37.

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