GUWAHATI

Nuevo Laredo: Elderly foreign tourists are tapping Mexican pet shops for a drug used by veterinarians to put cats and dogs to sleep that has become the sedative of choice for euthanasia campaigners. Tourists from as far as Australia have travelled to Mexico to buy liquid pentobarbital, which causes a painless death in humans in less than an hour, right-to-die advocates say.

Puducherry: There is a new delicacy that is in hot demand in hamlets in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry protein rich rat meat. It comes cheap, just Rs 2.50 per rat, and villagers swear nothing tastes better. Snake-hunting Irula tribals, desperate to peddle their rodent-snaring skills, have succeeded in getting the meat on the kitchen menu of villages in Cuddalore district and the Union Territory. The trend could catch on elsewhere too.

Rajya Sabha MP Naresh Gujral today said farmers across the country, especially in Punjab, suffered a setback due to the decision of the Union government to withdraw incentives given under a scheme for export of skimmed milk, ghee and other dairy products. The Union government had extended the incentive schemes by a year on April 11, but then decided to withdraw it within a week of its announcement with an objective to bring down the domestic prices, Gujral said.

No Quick End For Cloning Product Moratorium - USDA US: April 8, 2008 WASHINGTON - The US Agriculture Department said Monday it will not lift a voluntary moratorium on selling meat and milk from cloned animals to consumers any time soon. In January, the US Food and Drug Administration ruled that products from cloned cattle, swine and goats and their offspring were as safe as milk and meat from traditional animals. Before then, farmers and ranchers had followed a voluntary ban on the sale of cloned products.

If you thought Chandigarh was all about greens, here's a peek into its "wild, red' side.