Indian pigeons lose out to e-mail

India’s Police Pigeon Service — which for more than half a century has provided a lifeline during frequent floods and cyclones in eastern Orissa state — is to be scrapped, according to a government proposal that believes that the service has become redundant with the advent of e-mail and electronic communication. Google’s patented PigeonRank system will, no doubt, be happy to take on a few new recruits