Malaysian authorities have arrested a Vietnamese man and seized a stash of elephant ivory worth almost $70,000, an official said Monday, highlighting the country’s role as a hub for the wildlife-smuggling trade. The man was detained Friday at Kuala Lumpur’s main international airport after flying into the country from Addis Ababa in Ethiopia, said airport … Read more
Vietnamese authorities have seized nearly three tonnes of ivory hidden among boxes of fruit, officials said Sunday, the latest haul to spotlight the country’s key role in the global wildlife smuggling trade. Police in the central province of Thanh Hoa found 2.7 tonnes of tusks inside cartons on the back of a truck that was … Read more
More than seven tonnes of ivory worth over US$9 million was seized in Hong Kong, officials said Thursday, the largest bust of its kind in the city in three decades. The 7,200 kilogramme (16,000 pound) haul was hidden underneath frozen fish and raised suspicions because of the high transportation fees listed on the bill of … Read more
China on Thursday rejected allegations that two of its diplomats working in Uganda were involved in the trafficking of ivory from the African country. The Chinese embassy officials are suspected of helping move ivory from the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic and South Sudan, using Uganda as a transit point, Ali Munira, … Read more
Members of blues-rock powerhouse Fleetwood Mac on Tuesday announced a new album that will bring together all of the band’s classic lineup — except Stevie Nicks. Guitarist Lindsey Buckingham said the album would be the first by a duo of him and keyboardist Christine McVie, who rejoined Fleetwood Mac for a 2014-15 global tour after … Read more
Tanzania’s most notorious elephant poacher, nicknamed “The Devil”, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison. Boniface Matthew Maliango was responsible for killing thousands of elephants, a conservation organisation said. He was arrested in Dar es Salaam in September 2015 after a year-long manhunt. His crimes were the focus of a Netflix documentary film, The … Read more
UK Prime Minister Theresa May is likely to trigger the formal process of leaving the European Union early next year, according to a top EU official. European Council President Donald Tusk said Mrs May had told him the UK could be ready to begin talks by February. The BBC’s Tom Bateman says this is the … Read more
Over that period alone an estimated 6.8% of the continent’s elephant population was wiped out by the illegal ivory trade, scientists say. In central Africa, the worst affected region, poaching led to a 63.7% fall in elephant numbers between 2002 and 2012. Evidence suggests a strong link between the slaughter, the price of ivory and … Read more