Vari (Athens): Researchers from Greece's B.S.R.C. 'Alexander Fleming' have optimized a method for characterizing DNA traces in honey, revealing the species with which honeybees interact.The findings of the research were published in the journal 'Molecular Ecology Resources'.This collaborative work led by researcher Dr Solenn Patalano allowed the monitoring of the variability of bee diets across the year, revealing bee microbiota in a non-invasive way, as well as identifying pathogenic species they are confronted by.Why understanding the honeybee's ecological niche is important?What defines an organism's ecological niche is a delicate balance of interactions and adjustments to other species coexisting within the same habitat. By pollinating trees and flowers, honeybees exploit a large number of flowering plant species for their own food resources and growth.On the other hand, honeybee colonies are also weakened when environmental conditions favour the propagation of pathogenic species, such as Varroa mites. The species dynamics of the honeybee ecological niche are therefore inextricably linked with the type of habitat the bees live in and its seasonal changes.Faced with the increasing restructuring of agricultural areas and the effects of climate change, bee ecological niches are becoming more vulnerable. A better understanding of the dynamics of interactions between bees and surrounding species will help to identify risk periods and zones for bees."This is extremely important in rural and agricultural environments, where species interactions influence the productivity of crops. It's compelling how much of our food and survival depends on the proper functioning of tiny insects!" commented Anastasios Galanis, the first author of the study.Honey, a unique marker of environmental plant diversityHoneybees make honey by regurgitating the nectar and pollen from the flowers they forage and then placing it in the cells of their hive until enough water evaporates. Through this process, honey comes into contact with a variety of organisms and, therefore, contains DNA from multiple species, collectively called environmental DNA (eDNA); this originates from foraged plants, the gut bacteria of bees, and potential hive pathogens.The now published, optimised method called 'direct-shotgun metagenomics', involves sequencing and comprehensive identification of the DNA fragments found in honey. As explained by Galanis: "The design and testing of a bioinformatic pipeline tuned for honey metagenomic data allow us to increase sensitivity and specificity; thus, we can be quite confident about the identification of certain species".In this study, researchers analysed several samples of honey from an apiary located in a typical Mediterranean landscape. They identified more than 40 species of plants that reflect all the botanical diversity surrounding the hives. "What was very striking", said Dr Patalano, "is to see how variable the abundance of plant eDNA is over the seasons, reflecting perfectly the behavioural foraging adaptations that follow plant flowering."Researchers also compared the different samples of honey by the use of melissopalinology (using the shape of pollen grains for characterization). Beyond the great complementarity of the two analyses, the study revealed that the metagenomic approach also reveals non-pollen foraging behaviour, such as the foraging of pine honeydew, an important food resource for the survival of bees in early autumn.Anticipating disease and spread of pathogensContrary to what one might think, the ecological niche of bees extends well beyond plants. In the analysed honey samples, the researchers revealed an even greater number of bacterial DNA species, the vast majority of which emanates from microorganisms considered to be harmless and which comprise the core species of the bee microbiome.Dr Patalano explains: "As the human gut microbiome, the gut microbiome of the bee is an important element of their health. We already know that environmental stressors, such as pesticides, can seriously damage gut microbial communities and increase the risk of bee diseases. But how this works remains largely unknown." With this work, the researchers provide evidence that the honey metagenomics approach allows the study of gut microbiome variation without the need of sacrificing the bees.Researchers also looked for the presence of DNA from putative pathogens. They found that traces of Varroa mite eDNA in honey directly matched with observed hive contamination. It is a promising sign that this research could eventually be used to monitor and anticipate disease and pathogens in large scale studies."In the future, this work might also have very important implications for humans. If we want to ensure ecosystem services, such as fruit and vegetable pollination, while maintaining species biodiversity, we also need to safeguard bee health. Our challenge is to build biomonitoring strategies in order to identify the fittest ecological niches for all pollinators", concluded Dr Patalano. —ANI

 Researchers from Greece's B.S.R.C. 'Alexander Fleming' have optimized a method for characterizing DNA traces in honey, revealing the species with which honeybees interact.

Research: DNA Contained In Honey Reveals Honeybee Health

 Researchers from Greece's B.S.R.C. 'Alexander Fleming' have optimized a method for characterizing DNA traces in honey, revealing the species with which honeybees interact.


Jaipur:&nbsp;Honey-trapped Army jawan, who was arrested for sharing confidential documents and videos of his regiment's war exercise with Pakistan agents here, was on Wednesday presented before a local court which sent him to two-day police remand, officials said on Thursday.Considering the seriousness of the crime and the need for a thorough investigation, the court sent Shantimoy Rana, a resident of West Bengal, on two days police remand, said ADGP Intelligence Umesh Mishra. The accused was in contact with Pakistani women handlers for the last two years through WhatsApp and telegrams, he added.The investigation conducted so far confirmed that the accused was receiving money in lieu of strategically sensitive and confidential information of the Army.Mishra said that the receipt of money has been confirmed in the bank account records of the accused.Further investigations are on. —IANS

Honey-trapped Army jawan sent to police 2-day remand in Jaipur

Dehradun: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday flagged off vehicles carrying export consignments of mangoes, honey and rajma produced in the state.About 1.5 tonne of mangoes, 28 tonne of rajma and 80 tonne of honey produced in Uttarakhand were exported to the international market through the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority.While Chausa and Langda varieties of mangoes grown by the farmers of Uttarakhand were exported to Dubai, high-quality honey and rajma produced in the state were exported to the US.Speaking on the occasion, Dhami said all efforts are being made to ensure that the products of Uttarakhand get a better and bigger market by paying more attention to their branding, packaging and marketing.He also said steps are being taken to double the income of farmers.&nbsp;—PTI&nbsp;

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Friday flagged off vehicles carrying export consignments of mangoes, honey and rajma produced in the state.

Dhami Flags Off Export Consignments Of Mangoes, Honey, Rajma

Bijnor: Kunwar Bhartendra Singh, a former BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh's Bijnor, has lodged a police complaint, alleging that he was 'honey-trapped' and 'blackmailed' by an 'unidentified woman' who sought sexual favours from him via a video call.
The complaint has been filed at Najibabad police station.
"I got multiple video calls from an unidentified person a few days ago. I disconnected several times but they kept calling me repeatedly. Later, I received a message on WhatsApp, in which the caller identified herself as a woman and asked me to pick up the phone.
"When I finally picked up, the woman sought sexual favours from me. I disconnected immediately but I got another call, in which she could be seen in a compromising position. When I disconnected again, I received some morphed pictures with my face extracted from the call," Singh claimed.
He further alleged that the woman began blackmailing him soon after, threatening to release the pictures.
Addressing reporters, Bijnor SP Dinesh Singh said: "Police have registered a case under section 67 (transmitting obscene material) of the IT Act and section 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC based on the complaint filed by Kunwar Bhartendra Singh. A probe is on and we are trying to trace the accused woman. We appeal to people to not pick up any unknown video call on their phones."
The SP added that such scams are common on social media and the women associated with it make video calls mostly at night.
When someone receives the call, their picture becomes part of the video.
Later, these gang members blackmail them to extort money. Those who get scared, give money, the SP said.&nbsp;
—IANS&nbsp;

Kunwar Bhartendra Singh, a former BJP MP from Uttar Pradesh's Bijnor, has lodged a police complaint, alleging that he was 'honey-trapped' and 'blackmailed' by an 'unidentified woman' who sought sexual favours from him via a video call.

 Ex-BJP MP alleges he was honey-trapped, blackmailed

Bonn (Germany): Researchers found that Insecticides containing flupyradifurone and sulfoxaflor can be toxic to honey bees. The compounds harm the intestinal flora of insects, especially when combined with a common fungicide, making them more prone to illness and decreasing their life span.
This was recently proven in a study conducted at the Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU) and the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), as published in Science of the Total Environment. The two insecticides were considered harmless to bees and bumblebees when approved, but their use has since been severely restricted.
For the study, honey bees that were free from environmental influences were first bred in the laboratory. "We wanted to control every aspect of the bees' lives - from their diet to their exposure to pathogens or pesticides", says Dr Yahya Al Naggar, the biologist who led the project at MLU and who now works at Tanta University in Egypt. In the first few days, all bees were given the same food: sugar syrup. They were then divided into several groups and various pesticides were added to their food. One group was given flupyradifurone, while another was given sulfoxaflor. Both substances are approved insecticides in Germany, but their use is now limited to greenhouses.
As pesticides are often used as a mixture, the scientists also took this into account in their laboratory experiment by enriching the food administered to two other groups not only with the insecticides mentioned, but also with azoxystrobin, which has been used to protect plants from harmful fungi for many decades. The concentration of the substances was well below the legal requirements in each case. "Our approach was based on the realistic concentrations that might be found in pollen and nectar from plants that have been treated with the pesticides", says Al Naggar. A control group continued to receive the normal sugar syrup without additives.
Over a period of ten days, the team observed whether the substances had any effects on the bees and, if so, what. They found that the pesticides are anything but harmless: Around half of all bees whose diet had been supplemented with flupyradifurone died during the study - and even more when combined with azoxystrobin. While sulfoxaflor produced similar effects, more insects survived the diet.
The scientists also analysed the bees' intestinal flora, i.e. the bacteria and fungi living in their digestive tract. "The fungicide azoxystrobin led to a significant reduction in naturally occurring fungi. That was to be expected, as fungicides are used to control fungi", says Dr Tesfaye Wubet from the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research (UFZ), who is also a member of the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig. Over the course of the ten-day study, however, the team was able to show that the mixture of fungi and bacteria detected in the insects differed greatly from the control group depending on the substances used. According to the researchers, the bacterium Serratia marcescens was able to spread alarmingly well in the digestive tract of the treated insects. "These bacteria are pathogenic and harmful to bees' health. They can make it harder for the insects to fight off infection, leading to premature death", explains Al Naggar.
As the study was conducted in a laboratory in Halle to exclude the number of external influences, it is unclear whether the same results can be found in nature. "The effects of the pesticides could well be even more dramatic - or the bees might be able to fully or at least partially compensate for the negative effects", concludes Wubet. With this in mind, the team calls for the potential effects of new pesticides on beneficial insects to be researched more rigorously before they are approved and for their effects on aspects such as intestinal flora to be included as standard in the risk assessment. —ANI

Researchers found that Insecticides containing flupyradifurone and sulfoxaflor can be toxic to honey bees. The compounds harm the intestinal flora of insects, especially when combined with a common fungicide, making them more prone to illness and decreasing their life span.

Study: Novel Insecticides Have Devastating Effects On Honey Bee Health

Bengaluru (The Hawk): An alleged video chat of the deceased with a woman came on public domain on Thursday, days after Lingayat seer Basavalinga Sree of Kanchugal Mutt in Ramanagar district died by suicide, raising suspicions that he was honey-trapped.
According to police, the discovery proves that the seer was targeted. A gang of important persons honey trapped Basavalinga Sree and gathered evidence against him.
Devotees argue that the video clip was not shot on the mutt grounds. They report that the deceased seer wore a gold karadige (a shivling wrapped in a little box and worn around the neck) that is now missing, and that he only wore a rudraksha mala when he went out.
Three ladies are being questioned in connection with the swamiji honey trap. The authorities are investigating whether the voice in the video footage is similar to one of the three ladies.
Investigations into the suicide case had previously revealed that the deceased seer had been honey-trapped, tormented, and forced to end his life.
Investigations have also shown that another Lingayat seer is plotting to take over the position behind this conspiracy.
According to police, a team of 10 to 15 people, including politicians, worked on and carried out the plot. According to investigators, the deceased seer was methodically honeytrapped and blackmailed over the publication of images and recordings of his private moments.
The Kudur police, who have taken over the inquiry, have already put a few people into custody and are looking into the incident. In his death note, the deceased swamiji alleged torture and honey trapping.
(Inputs from Agencies)

An alleged video chat of the deceased with a woman came on public domain on Thursday, days after Lingayat seer Basavalinga Sree of Kanchugal Mutt in Ramanagar district died by suicide, raising suspicions that he was honey-trapped.

Honey-trapped swami's chat with lady surfaces in Lingayat seer suicide case

Bhubaneswar (The Hawk): On Monday, hundreds of BJP leaders and supporters from Odisha protested in Bhubaneswar, calling for action against BJD ministers and leaders who are allegedly connected to the killing of BJD Zilla Parishad member Dharmendra Sahoo and the Archana Nag honey-trap case.
From the party headquarters, BJP supporters staged a protest march toward Naveen Niwas, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's official residence. However, when they were stopped by police in Sishu Bhawan Square, BJP workers and police got into a fight.
The police placed a number of BJP members, including female leaders, in preventative custody. The BJP members, including female leaders, sat in protest at police action on the street.
The BJD leaders who are reportedly connected to the scandalous woman blackmailer case and the passing of Nimapara Zilla Parishad member Dharmendra Sahoo are the subject of a CBI investigation and legal action, according to the BJP.
They claimed that despite Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik's silence, various BJD leaders, including Ministers, are engaged in the Archana Nag honey-trap issue.
Even while the murder of Sahoo has brought attention to the role of School and Mass Education Minister Sameer Ranjan Dash, no action has yet been taken, according to BJP leader Lekhashree Samantsinghar.
"Naveen Patnaik is in a deep sleep, and we need to wake him up," BJP leader Pravati Parida declared. Nowadays, it is quite challenging for the public to receive justice.
According to BJP National Spokesperson Sambit Patra, the Odisha government has to explain how blackmailer Archana Nag was able to acquire real estate worth Rs 100 crore in just five years.
"This lawsuit involves a number of BJD leaders. Why is Naveen Patnaik, the chief minister of Odisha, still silent? BJP requests that the CBI look into the situation, Patra continued.
(Inputs from Agencies)

On Monday, hundreds of BJP leaders and supporters from Odisha protested in Bhubaneswar, calling for action against BJD ministers and leaders who are allegedly connected to the killing of BJD Zilla Parishad member Dharmendra Sahoo and the Archana Nag honey-trap case.

BJP protests in Odisha over the Archana Nag honey trap case

Chitradurga, Karnataka (The Hawk): According to police reports, BJP MLA Tippa Reddy of Chitradurga has complained to the cyber police about a video call made by a nude young woman.
It was a gang's fruitless attempt to lure the senior leader into a honey trap, according to police sources. Since the MLA reported the event, the gang has come under police scrutiny.
On October 31, MLA Tippa Reddy received a call from an unidentified woman. It started out as a regular call before she switched to a video call on Whatsapp. The BJP leader was startled to witness a naked woman chatting in Hindi on the other side.
The legislator immediately ended the call. Then, from that mobile number, he received multiple pornographic films. According to police sources, the politician had blocked the phone and destroyed all of the tapes.
The politician then complained to the Chitradurga cyber police and urged that the offenders be brought to justice.
The cops, however, stay silent about the incident.
According to the reports, it could be the work of his political opponents to catch him in a honey trap because the state's Assembly elections are quickly coming.
Additional research is being done.
(Inputs from Agencies)

According to police reports, BJP MLA Tippa Reddy of Chitradurga has complained to the cyber police about a video call made by a nude young woman.

My honeytrap was attempted by a young woman, claims K'taka. A BJP MLA

Chennai (The Hawk): The false appointment orders that were issued for the temporary supervisor positions in the cooperative body have been the subject of an investigation by the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac). IANS was informed by sources that supervisors were being hired for positions in bars and clubs, and their monthly salaries were set at Rs 14,700.
Tasmac has already instructed the district managers of the outlets to look into who issued the directives for the institution's temporary job appointments.
The name of Tasmac's Managing Director, L. Subramanian, was mentioned in posting orders that were shared on social media. But his signature was fake.
One of the wealthiest companies in Tamil Nadu, Tasmac holds a monopoly on the selling of alcoholic beverages. Even a temporary supervisor position in the cooperative pays well, with salesmen and supervisors reaping the rewards of the generous liquor sellers.
According to sources in the alcohol industry, the corporation set a preset commission rate for the salesmen and supervisor for each box of booze. The commission rate, however, varies from store to store.
When asked if Tasmac would turn the case over to the Tamil Nadu Police, an officer told IANS that the department wouldn't make a decision until after the internal investigation.
The revenue from liquor sales for Tasmac in the fiscal year 2021–2022 was Rs 36,013 crore.
(Inputs from Agencies)

The false appointment orders that were issued for the temporary supervisor positions in the cooperative body have been the subject of an investigation by the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac). IANS was informed by sources that supervisors were being hired for positions in bars and clubs, and their monthly salaries were set at Rs 14,700.

TN cooperative launches an internal investigation on phoney appointment orders

Bengaluru (The Hawk): The Karnataka police announced on Saturday that they had busted a honey-trap group operating in the state after arresting ten people, two of whom were women.
A High Court employee named Jairam filed a complaint, and the police responded.
The cops claim that Jairam and Anuradha first met in court two years ago. Six months ago, she saw him once more and borrowed Rs 10,000 from him. In October, she asked him for a loan of Rs. 5,000 once more after returning the money.
Jairam went to her house and gave her the money, but as he was leaving, four guys grabbed him and pulled him back, demanding Rs. 2 lakh.
Then, one of the suspects called Jairam's wife and kids to confess to trying to rape his wife. Later, Jairam reported the suspect to the Kamakshipalya police station for robbery.
The police, who took over the investigation, discovered that the suspects from the city of Davanagere had organised a gang to steal money using honey traps. The gang also took part in boisterous activities.
The authorities are looking into the crime and believe that the group had numerous people trapped.
(Inputs from Agencies)

The Karnataka police announced on Saturday that they had busted a honey-trap group operating in the state after arresting ten people, two of whom were women.

Honey-trap group busted by K'taka police; 10 people detained

Bhubaneswar (The Hawk): Khageswar Patra was detained by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Archana Nag honeytrap case, and the court has given the ED permission to hold him on custody for 10 days.
After conducting raids on Archana's homes and properties—who has been jailed for allegedly amassing riches by honey trapping influential individuals in Odisha—the ED has been holding Patra since Thursday night. In this instance, Archana's husband, Jagabandhu Chand, is also incarcerated.
After doing a thorough health examination, ED representatives brought Patra before Khurda District Judge in the state capital of Bhubaneswar and requested a 15-day remand. However, sources claimed that the judge had granted a 10-day remand.
Patra was reportedly the couple's business partner, according to reports. Between 2010 and 2019, he was managing a used vehicle dealership. He grew his business empire by constructing a used vehicle store in the Hansapal neighbourhood on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar after meeting Archana.
During the raids, the central agency used members of the Central police. According to reports, during the raids, it discovered bank transaction connections between the couple and Patra and seized mobile devices, computers, hard drives, and other evidence.
A money laundering complaint has just been filed by the ED against the couple and their two colleagues, Patra and Sradhanjali Behera.
(Inputs from Agencies)

Khageswar Patra was detained by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Archana Nag honeytrap case, and the court has given the ED permission to hold him on custody for 10 days.

Khageswar Patra is given a 10-day remand in the Odisha honeytrap case by the ED

New Delhi (The Hawk): In connection with the Odisha honeytrap case involving Archana Nag, Jagabandhu Chand, Khageswar Patra, Shradhanjali Behera, and others, who reportedly ran a sextortion racket, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) announced on Monday that it had searched seven locations.
The scam, which allegedly was run by Nag and her friends, preyed on wealthy and important people.
The ED reported that numerous damning documents, digital evidence such mobile phones, and one SUV were all taken throughout the course of the search.
Khageswar Patra was detained by the ED in connection with the Archana Nag honeytrap case last Thursday, and the court gave them permission to hold him on custody for ten days.
After conducting raids on Archana's homes and properties, who was imprisoned for allegedly amassing fortune by "honey-trapping" well-known persons in Odisha, the ED detained Patra last week. The case has landed Archana's husband, Jagabandhu Chand, in jail as well.
Patra was reportedly the couple's business partner, according to reports. Between 2010 and 2019, he was managing a used vehicle dealership. He extended his company by constructing a used automobile showroom at Hansapal, which is on the outskirts of Bhubaneswar, after getting in touch with Archana.
A money laundering complaint has just been filed by the ED against the couple and their two colleagues, Patra and Sradhanjali Behera.
(Inputs from Agencies)

In connection with the Odisha honeytrap case involving Archana Nag, Jagabandhu Chand, Khageswar Patra, Shradhanjali Behera, and others, who reportedly ran a sextortion racket, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) announced on Monday that it had searched seven locations.

ED raids seven Odisha honeytrap sites

Toronto (Canada): Researchers from the University of Toronto have discovered that honey, particularly if it is raw and originates from a single floral source, can improve critical cardiometabolic health indicators including blood sugar and cholesterol levels.
The findings were published in the journal Nutrition Reviews.
The researchers conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of clinical trials on honey, and found that it lowered fasting blood glucose, total and LDL or 'bad' cholesterol, triglycerides, and a marker of fatty liver disease; it also increased HDL or 'good' cholesterol, and some markers of inflammation.
"These results are surprising, because honey is about 80 per cent sugar," said Tauseef Khan, a senior researcher on the study and a research associate in nutritional sciences at U of T's Temerty Faculty of Medicine. "But honey is also a complex composition of common and rare sugars, proteins, organic acids and other bioactive compounds that very likely have health benefits."
Previous research has shown that honey can improve cardiometabolic health, especially in in vitro and animal studies. The current study is the most comprehensive review to date of clinical trials, and it includes the most detailed data on processing and floral source.
"The word among public health and nutrition experts has long been that 'a sugar is a sugar,' said John Sievenpiper, principal investigator and an associate professor of nutritional sciences and medicine at U of T, who is also a clinician-scientist at Unity Health Toronto. "These results show that's not the case, and they should give pause to the designation of honey as a free or added sugar in dietary guidelines."
Sievenpiper and Khan emphasized that the context of the findings was critical: clinical trials in which participants followed healthy dietary patterns, with added sugars accounting for 10 per cent or less of daily caloric intake. "We're not saying you should start having honey if you currently avoid sugar," said Khan. "The takeaway is more about replacement -- if you're using table sugar, syrup or another sweetener, switching those sugars for honey might lower cardiometabolic risks."
The researchers included 18 controlled trials and over 1,100 participants in their analysis. They assessed the quality of those trials using the GRADE system and found there was a low certainty of evidence for most of the studies, but that honey consistently produced either neutral or beneficial effects, depending on processing, floral source and quantity.
The median daily dose of honey in the trials was 40 grams, or about two tablespoons. The median length of trial was eight weeks. Raw honey drove many of the beneficial effects in the studies, as did honey from monofloral sources such as Robinia (also marketed as acacia honey) -- a honey from False Acacia or Black Locust Trees -- and clover, which is common in North America.
Khan said that while processed honey clearly loses many of its health effects after pasteurization -- typically 65 degrees Celsius for at least 10 minutes -- the effect of a hot drink on raw honey depends on several factors, and likely would not destroy all its beneficial properties.
He also noted other ways to consume unheated honey, such as with yogurt, as a spread and in salad dressings.
Future studies should focus on unprocessed honey, Khan said, and from a single floral source. The goal would be higher quality evidence, and a better understanding of the many compounds in honey that can work wonders for health. "We need a consistent product that can deliver consistent health benefits," said Khan. "Then the market will follow." —ANI

Researchers from the University of Toronto have discovered that honey, particularly if it is raw and originates from a single floral source, can improve critical cardiometabolic health indicators including blood sugar and cholesterol levels.

Researchers Reveal How Honey Can Lower Risk Of Cardiometabolic Disorder

Kanpur (The Hawk): Five Bangladeshi family members, including a child, were held by the Kanpur police for allegedly possessing forged identification documents, according to the police.
A couple, their kids, and the woman's father make up the family.
They were held, according to the police, for possessing forged Indian passports, Bangladeshi passports, Aadhar cards, and other documents, as well as for residing unlawfully in Kanpur. They were taken into custody on Meston Road.
Irfan Solanki, a jailed Samajwadi Party MLA, and Manny Rahman, a local councilman, are said to have given Rizwan and his family certificates. Rizwan was originally a native of Khulna, Bangladesh.
The signatures of Solanki and Rahman will be compared to those on the certificates given to the family, according to Joint Commissioner of Police (law and order), Anand Prakash Tiwari, in order to determine whether they are guilty of fraud.
Additionally, 13 bogus passports, five Aadhar cards, diplomas, foreign currency, gold jewellery, and more than Rs 14 lakh were recovered by the police.
Rizwan Mohammad, 53, his father Khalid Majid, 79, his wife Hina Khalid, and their two children were among those apprehended and jailed.
Rizwan allegedly originally sought to deceive the police but subsequently admitted to the crime when questioned, according to the police.
Rizwan admitted to authorities that he entered India in 1996 on a tourist visa and married Hina Khalid in Delhi in 1998.
Hina had also entered Bangladesh illegally, he said, and had gotten a Bangladeshi passport before leaving for India.
Both of their kids, Rukhsar Rizwan, 21, and his son, Rukhsar Rizwan, 17, had entered Bangladesh without authorization and received passports there.
Both the 14-Foreigners Act of 1946 and the Indian Penal Code apply to them. A thorough inquiry into the situation is under progress.
(Inputs from Agencies)

Five Bangladeshi family members, including a child, were held by the Kanpur police for allegedly possessing forged identification documents, according to the police.

B'desh family held with phoney IDs, connected to SP MLA

Bhubaneswar (The Hawk): The main suspect Archana Nag and her husband Jagabandhu will be placed on detention by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is looking into the money laundering aspect of the notorious honeytrap case in Odisha.
In connection with the well-known sex and extortion incident, a local court in Bhubaneswar authorised the ED to hold Archana on remand for an additional six days. From December 14, the central agency will also place Jagabandhu Chand, Archana's husband, on remand for nine days.
According to sources, the ED detained Archana on Tuesday in accordance with Section 19 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). Khageswar Patra, Archana's business partner, had previously been detained by the ED in the case.
The central agency requested the remand of the two accused so that additional investigation could be conducted. In light of this, the ED requested that Archana and Jagabandhu be detained for seven and fifteen days, respectively.
Debasish Mohapatra, Archana's attorney, stated in a statement to the media, "We contested to the ED's request for additional remand of Archana on the basis of her medical condition. The court did, however, award Archana and Jagabandhu remands of six and nine days, respectively."
Following their arrest by the Bhubaneswar-Cuttack Commissionerate Police on accusations of blackmailing and extortion, Archana and Jagabandhu are currently being held in the Jharapada Special Jail.
When a lady filed a complaint against famed Odia film producer Akhaya Parija, accusing him of sexually exploiting her, the shocking sextortion case came to light. In response to this accusation, some allegedly pornographic images of Parija with a woman quickly gained popularity on social media.
Later, Parija made a similar complaint to the Nayapalli police station, claiming that two women, Archana Nag and Shradhanjali Behera, had demanded Rs 3 crore in extortion from him.
More than 20 figures from the ruling BJD and the opposition BJP, as well as well-known businesspeople, movie producers, and real estate moguls, were allegedly caught in Archana Nag's honey trap after she allegedly hired famous call girls to appease wealthy clients.
(Inputs from Agencies)

The main suspect Archana Nag and her husband Jagabandhu will be placed on detention by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which is looking into the money laundering aspect of the notorious honeytrap case in Odisha.

Odisha honeytrap case: ED gets 6-day Archana Nag, 9-day husband remand

San Francisco: The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved the first vaccine for honeybees, which will prevent American foulbrood disease, a fatal bacterial disease that destroys honeybee colonies.
According to CNN, USDA issued a conditional vaccine license to the US-based Diamond Animal Health company, the collaborating manufacturer for Dalan Animal Health, on December 29.
“We hope the availability of this product will aid in the prevention and/or treatment of the disease American Foulbrood in honeybees given their central role in American agriculture (eg — pollination),” USDA was quoted as saying.
The agency said that it was its “first licensure of a honeybee product”, according to the report.
On its website, the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service describes American foulbrood disease as “one of the most widespread and destructive of the honeybee brood disease”.
Moreover, Dalan’s CEO, Annette Kleiser, called the vaccine “a breakthrough in protecting honeybees”, said the report.
“Global population growth and changing climates will increase the importance of honeybee pollination to secure our food supply,” Kleiser was quoted as saying.
“We are ready to change how we care for insects, impacting food production on a global scale,” he added.
Furthermore, unlike traditional vaccines, the honeybee vaccine is not administered via a syringe. According to Dalan, it is mixed into “queen feed”, which the worker bees consume.
Dalan further mentioned that the vaccine will be available for purchase in the US in 2023, the report added. —IANS

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has approved the first vaccine for honeybees, which will prevent American foulbrood disease, a fatal bacterial disease that destroys honeybee colonies.

US Approves First-Ever Vaccine For Honeybees

Agra: About half a dozen foreign tourists have been injured in an attack by honeybees at the monument of Fatehpur Sikri.
The incident took place on Thursday afternoon and the injured tourists were escorted to the primary health centre in Fatehpur Sikri where they were discharged after first aid. Deepak Kumar, the conservation assistant for Archaeological Survey of India at the monument of Fatehpur Sikri, said, "These foreigners were in a group which mostly had tourists from France and were walking from Agra Gate towards Diwan-e-Aam in Fatehpur Sikri. It was rather hot, and honeybees attacked them."
The attack by honeybees is nothing new at the monument of Fatehpur Sikri, located 40 kilometres from Agra city, towards the Rajasthan border.
Beehives are common along the upper curve of Buland Darwaza and on arches of Shahi Jama Masjid in Fatehpur Sikri. The removal of these hives is in the list of tasks to be undertaken by the ASI. "We are planning to have a detailed plan to tackle the issue of beehives spread at monuments," said an ASI official.&nbsp;
—IANS

 About half a dozen foreign tourists have been injured in an attack by honeybees at the monument of Fatehpur Sikri.

Foreign Tourists Face Bee Attack In Fatehpur Sikri

Washington: In a new paper in the journal PeerJ, a team led by Concordia researchers argued that the rapid growth in urban honeybee-keeping over the past decade may be negatively impacting nearby wild bee populations. Small bees with limited foraging ranges may be especially at risk, they write.
The researchers compared bee population data collected from sites around the island of Montreal in 2013 to data they collected at the same sites in the summer of 2020.
"We found that the sites with the largest increase in honeybee populations across sites and years also had the fewest wild bee species," says Gail MacInnis, a former Concordia postdoctoral researcher and the study's lead author. Etienne Normandin from the Universite de Montreal and Carly Ziter, an assistant professor in the Department of Biology, are co-authors. According to Quebec's Ministere de l'Agriculture, des Pecheries et de l'Alimentation (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food), the number of honeybee colonies on the island of Montreal has increased over twelvefold. In 2013, there were under 250 colonies. That number has ballooned to almost 3,000 in 2020.
Honeybees are not native to the region, the researchers note. This type of bee is therefore in competition with almost 180 other species for resources like pollen and nectar, as identified in the 2013 study.
Invasive and hungry
The researchers visited 15 sites across the island of Montreal that were known to attract pollinators. Sites included community gardens, cemeteries and large urban parks. The researchers used a standardized system of pan trap triplets -- multicoloured bowls designed to attract bees -- and nets to collect their samples. Each site was sampled five times between late June and early September 2020, with a total sample size of 6,200 bees. The researchers also measured other important factors that influence wild bee populations, like habitat and floral resource availability.
Nearly 4,000 samples turned out to be wild bees belonging to 120 species. Roughly 2,200 were honeybees. By contrast, in 2013, approximately 5,200 bees were collected at similar locations. Nearly all of these samples were wild bees belonging to 163 species.
Statistical analyses were performed across sites in 2020 on wild bee diversity; bee traits and honeybee abundance; wild bee community composition; and pollen depletion. Similar analyses compared the bee communities of 2013 and 2020.
The study found that wild bee species richness declined significantly. Honeybee abundance increased but remained similar to 2013 levels in areas where the honeybee population was comparatively lower. Honeybee abundance was also associated with pollen depletion in white clover flowers.
Not a risk-free hobby
MacInnis points out that a lack of registry or regulations makes studying bee populations difficult. Understanding honeybee colony density is crucial, she says, as just one honeybee colony can support up to 50,000 individuals. "We need to provide food if we want to support large bee populations. But we also need to be careful about population density, especially for commercially managed bees, because they are prone to many diseases," she says. "This issue can become especially bad when there are many new beekeepers in the area. They may not be as knowledgeable about controlling for things like mites, viruses and other pathogens."
"Beekeeping provides an agricultural product that is valuable to people in the form of honey. My concern is that urban beekeeping is often falsely marketed as a solution to biodiversity loss," Ziter adds. "Just as we wouldn't advocate keeping backyard chickens to save the birds, we shouldn't look to beekeeping to save the bees. It's important that our actions match our goals or motivations."
"If our goal is to increase urban biodiversity, we're much better off planting pollinator gardens than adding more urban hives."&nbsp;&nbsp;
—ANI

 In a new paper in the journal PeerJ, a team led by Concordia researchers argued that the rapid growth in urban honeybee-keeping

Rapid Urban Honeybee-Keeping Adversely Impact Wild Bee Populations: Study

Washington: Auburn University researchers showed that honey bee colonies had extraordinary skills to adapt and preserve their nest construction even in the face of severe disturbances. Contrary to previous assumptions, the researchers found that the disruption of three-dimensional nest structure while colonies were building their nests did not hinder colony performance. The findings shed new light on the adaptive nature of honey bee colonies and how nest structure contributes to colony function. The study focused on the intricate three-dimensional nest building behavior of honey bee colonies. To investigate the development of honey bee nests over time, the research team employed non-destructive, photo-based sampling methods using moveable wooden bee-frames. This approach allowed them to observe and analyze the growth and organization of combs within the nests without sacrificing the colonies. They found that honey bees rapidly build a well-connected spheroid nest composed of parallel combs that expand in all directions from the nest origin. To test how important this stereotyped structure is for colony development, the international team of researchers disrupted the nest structure of another group of colonies by rearranging the movable wooden bee-frames in a new randomized order every week. They initially hypothesized that this disruption would negatively impact colony-level performance. However, the study revealed no significant difference in worker population, comb area, hive weight, or nest temperature between colonies with intact nest structures and those with disrupted nest structures. The surprising lack of difference in colony performance led the researchers to explore the mechanisms behind the honey bees' ability to compensate for repeated disruptions. By modeling the colony's building behavior, they found that colonies prioritize structural connectedness when expanding their nests, actively repairing connections in the three-dimensional nest structure following the experimental disruptions. This highlights the colony's ability to adapt their comb shape to the available space within a cavity, an essential skill in the wild, where cavities are not uniform. The study also identified potential reasons why honey bees prioritize nest connectedness. A well-connected nest reduces the surface area-to-volume ratio, potentially enhancing thermoregulation efficiency, improving larvae development and winter survival. It also may facilitate information-sharing among colony members and optimize travel distances within the nest for essential activities such as foraging, feeding larvae, and egg-laying. "We were all surprised that the shuffled colonies performed as well as they did," said Auburn's Peter R. Marting, the first author of the study. "We expected some shuffled colonies wouldn't even survive the summer. The bees' resilience led us to take a closer look at how and where exactly workers were adding new comb to shape their nests and ultimately led us to develop the predictive comb growth models." The research team believes that understanding the underlying mechanisms behind these adaptive building strategies in social insects can provide valuable insights into collective intelligence and resilience in complex systems. The study, "Manipulating nest architecture reveals three-dimensional building strategies and colony resilience in honeybees," appears in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences and is available for reference. "Honey bees are an extremely well-studied system, but many basic developmental questions remain unanswered, because we don't typically look at the colony's natural life cycle," said Michael L. Smith, senior author of the study. "Sometimes you just have to do the experiment and see what the bees will do." —ANI

Auburn University researchers showed that honey bee colonies had extraordinary skills to adapt and preserve

Honey Bee Nest Structure Is Surprisingly Adaptive, Resilient: Study

Washington: Researchers from Auburn University discovered that honey bee colonies had amazing abilities to adapt and retain their nest construction even in the face of severe shocks. Contrary to previous assumptions, the researchers found that the disruption of three-dimensional nest structure while colonies were building their nests did not hinder colony performance. The findings shed new light on the adaptive nature of honey bee colonies and how nest structure contributes to colony function. The study focused on the intricate three-dimensional nest building behavior of honey bee colonies. To investigate the development of honey bee nests over time, the research team employed non-destructive, photo-based sampling methods using moveable wooden bee-frames. This approach allowed them to observe and analyze the growth and organization of combs within the nests without sacrificing the colonies. They found that honey bees rapidly build a well-connected spheroid nest composed of parallel combs that expand in all directions from the nest origin. To test how important this stereotyped structure is for colony development, the international team of researchers disrupted the nest structure of another group of colonies by rearranging the movable wooden bee-frames in a new randomized order every week. They initially hypothesized that this disruption would negatively impact colony-level performance. However, the study revealed no significant difference in worker population, comb area, hive weight, or nest temperature between colonies with intact nest structures and those with disrupted nest structures. The surprising lack of difference in colony performance led the researchers to explore the mechanisms behind the honey bees' ability to compensate for repeated disruptions. By modeling the colony's building behavior, they found that colonies prioritize structural connectedness when expanding their nests, actively repairing connections in the three-dimensional nest structure following the experimental disruptions. This highlights the colony's ability to adapt their comb shape to the available space within a cavity, an essential skill in the wild, where cavities are not uniform. The study also identified potential reasons why honey bees prioritize nest connectedness. A well-connected nest reduces the surface area-to-volume ratio, potentially enhancing thermoregulation efficiency, improving larvae development and winter survival. It also may facilitate information-sharing among colony members and optimize travel distances within the nest for essential activities such as foraging, feeding larvae, and egg-laying. "We were all surprised that the shuffled colonies performed as well as they did," said Auburn's Peter R. Marting, the first author of the study. "We expected some shuffled colonies wouldn't even survive the summer. The bees' resilience led us to take a closer look at how and where exactly workers were adding new comb to shape their nests and ultimately led us to develop the predictive comb growth models." The research team believes that understanding the underlying mechanisms behind these adaptive building strategies in social insects can provide valuable insights into collective intelligence and resilience in complex systems. The study, "Manipulating nest architecture reveals three-dimensional building strategies and colony resilience in honeybees," appears in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences and is available for reference. "Honey bees are an extremely well-studied system, but many basic developmental questions remain unanswered, because we don't typically look at the colony's natural life cycle," said Michael L. Smith, senior author of the study. "Sometimes you just have to do the experiment and see what the bees will do." —ANI

Researchers from Auburn University discovered that honey bee colonies had amazing abilities to adapt and retain their nest construction

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