Local biodiversity rapidly being affected by various developmental activities across the nation has spurred forestry official to come up with various measures to combat it.

THIMPHU: With climate change being the central theme of the SAARC summit, India hoped the eight-nation bloc would hold the dialogue on the issue in a "meaningful manner" and backed its "fresh" position on global warming to be adopted at the Cancun meet later this year.

DHENKANAL: Baidyanath Sahoo, a farmer of Tarava village in Dhenkanal district, is a happy man today. He along with his family members have cultivated watermelons in over 200 acres. They have already sold 300 tonnes of this popular fruit so far and earned a profit of Rs 12 lakh.

Santosh Kumar Sahoo of the same village too has earned a profit of Rs 3 lakh by growing watermelons in his 40 acres.

GUWAHATI

Bhutan Consul General in Kolkata, Dasho Tsering Wangda has met Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi at the latter's official residence and discussed issues of mutual interests.

The top Bhutanese official revealed that Bhutan would start flight operations with Assam on the Guwahati-Bhutan-Bangkok route subsequently to Patna.

Leaders from Bhutan, Norway and Finland, among other countries, today supported Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) chairman R K Pachauri on the glacier melting issue and said the recent attacks on the IPCC and climate change by no means damaged the credibility of the institution or the science.

Bhutan will export oranges to Bangladesh through Dawki land customs station in Meghalaya, official sources said.

Following a nod from New Delhi, a delegation from Bhutan comprising members from Bhutan Chamber of Commerce, Bhutan Import and Export Association, Bhutan-Indo Friendship Association and other officials arrived at Dawki recently to complete the formalities.