Entertainment
New Delhi urges UN body not to restrict imports of animals by Ambani zoo
NEW DELHI: India has urged a UN wildlife trade body not to curb its imports of endangered species, saying it has tightened oversight amid growing allegations of irregular animal shipments to a large private zoo run by Asia’s richest family.
Vantara, a 3,500-acre zoo in Gujarat state run by the philanthropic arm of a conglomerate led by billionaire Mukesh Ambani and his family, has faced allegations of improper imports of certain animals, triggering higher scrutiny from authorities in Germany and the European Union, Reuters has reported.
Indian investigators tasked by the country’s Supreme Court to examine the allegations by non-profit and wildlife groups cleared the sanctuary of any wrongdoing in September, and Vantara has said it complies with all regulations.
However, after visiting the facility in September, the Secretariat of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) issued a report last week asking India to review its procedures.
The report cited discrepancies between exporter and importer trade data and flagged insufficient checks on the origin of some animals.
In a submission to Cites dated November 10, India said any restrictive or punitive measure at this stage would lack legal foundation and risk unsettling the Cites framework, calling the measure “premature and disproportionate”.
The wildlife body’s request “would constitute a de facto suspension or moratorium on lawful” imports, the government said.
The Indian submission, posted on the Cites website ahead of its convention meeting this month, is first being reported by Reuters. It signals new wrangling over Vantara’s imports.
‘Exceptionally high standards’
Cites is a global treaty that regulates trade in endangered plants and animals, or products derived from them, with the aim of ensuring their survival.
While Cites acknowledged last week that Vantara operates facilities of “exceptionally high standards,” it recommended that India halt new import permits for endangered species until safeguards are tightened.
The body warned that without stricter checks, animals sourced from the wild could be misrepresented as captive-bred.
India countered that it “has strengthened inspection and reporting mechanisms for all recognised zoos and rescue facilities” including Vantara. The government also instructed the Central Zoo Authority to ensure enhanced due diligence for all future acquisitions.
Cites and Vantara did not respond to a Reuters request for comment on the Indian government’s submission on Wednesday.
Vantara — home to 2,000 species
Vantara says it is home to some 2,000 species. That includes imported exotic species from South Africa, Venezuela, and the Democratic Republic of Congo, including snakes, tortoises, tigers, cheetahs, giraffes and chimpanzees.
The shipments were recorded with a declared value of $9 million, which Vantara has said reflected freight and insurance charges, not any payments for wildlife.
The Cites report last week noted that “a number of animals come from established commercial breeding facilities, which would normally sell the animals they breed”.
India has mounted a defence, saying in response that the SC panel’s findings showed imports were carried out in compliance with regulations.
Two popular leaders have formed an alliance ahead of March parliamentary elections in Nepal that will challenge the older parties, which have dominated the Himalayan nation’s politics for over three decades, party officials and analysts said on Monday.
Rapper turned-Kathmandu mayor Balendra Shah, known as Balen, a popular elected official, joined the Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) or national independent party, led by a former TV host-turned politician Rabi Lamichhane on Sunday, party officials said.
They said under the agreement with RSP, 35-year-old Balen will become the prime minister if the RSP wins the March 5 elections, while Lamichhane will remain the party chief.
Both have vowed to address the demands raised during the “Gen Z” or youth-led protests against widespread corruption in September, in which 77 people were killed and leading to Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli’s resignation.
“It is a very smart and strategic move by the RSP to bring in Balen and his young supporters into its fold,” analyst Bipin Adhikari said.
“Traditional political parties are in pain for fear of losing their young voters to RSP,” he said.
The election commission says nearly 19 million of Nepal’s 30 million people are eligible to vote in the elections. Nearly one million voters – mostly youths – were added after the protests.
Balen was in the spotlight after the protests and was an undeclared leader of the youngsters who led the September protests.
He also helped form the interim government of former Chief Justice Sushila Karki to oversee the vote.
Oli’s Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) or UML and the centrist Nepali Congress party have shared power between them for most of the past three decades and are most likely to be challenged by Balen.
Search titan Google has reportedly retreated its recently introduced portrait-related setting for the Pixel phones’ Phone app, meant to enhance user control over portrait effects during phone calls.
Initially designed exclusively for the Google Phone app on Pixel devices, this feature was part of Google’s efforts to improve user experience through software updates rather than hardware changes.
The feature was slated to gradually roll out via a server-side update for Pixel phones equipped with advanced computational photography and AI-driven camera capabilities. By extending portrait effects from photography and video into calling features, Google aimed to enhance visual clarity during communication.
With the new portrait setting, users could have managed portrait behaviour more effectively during calls, being able to activate or deactivate portrait processing instead of relying solely on automatic settings.
This functionality was particularly beneficial for those who frequently switched between voice and video calls, ensuring consistency and reducing unexpected visual effects.
Regardless, the rollback means that Pixel users will no longer have access to this feature, which was aligned with Google’s goal of enhancing the Phone app through AI-powered tools like Call Screen and improved spam detection.
As video calls have become more common than ever, the ability to control camera behaviour during calls is essential, but unfortunately, Google appears to have reconsidered its approach.
The decision to retract the feature reflects ongoing adjustments to Google’s strategy, as the company evaluates user feedback and the overall impact of such functionalities in the competitive landscape of communication technology.
- Rajab Butt faces case registered against him at Hyderi Police Station.
- Assault by lawyers leave YouTuber with torn shirt, bloodied mouth.
- Lawyers say Butt spoke against them in a vlog after last appearance.
KARACHI: YouTuber Rajab Butt was assaulted following an appearance at an additional district and sessions court in Karachi in a case related to controversial statement.
Appearing before the city court along with TikToker Nadeem Mubarak, alias Naniwaala, in relation to a bail plea, Butt was subjected to assault by lawyers, which left him with a bloodied mouth and torn shirt.
The lawyers claimed that the YouTuber had made “derogatory remarks” against them in a vlog after his previous appearance before the court, where he said that the one who filed a case against me “does not seem like a lawyer”.
Butt has been named in a case registered against him at the Hyderi Police Station by Advocate Riaz Ali Solangi related to controversial remarks.
Confirming the incident, the YouTuber’s counsel Mian Ali Ashfaq said that some lawyers had attacked his client and continued to beat him and injured him within the court premises.
“This is an unfortunate thing that has no place in any educated society,” he said in a post on X.
Meanwhile, during the hearing today, the court extended Butt’s interim bail till January 13, 2026 and adjourned the case over his bail plea till the same date.
Apart from the controversial speech case, Butt is also booked in another case, facing charges of promoting gambling and betting applications.
Earlier this month, the YouTuber, along with TikToker Naniwala secured a transit bail from the Islamabad High Court after their return to the country from the UK, from where the former was deported as his visa was revoked.
The duo then also got interim bail from a sessions court in Lahore on December 15.
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