JOHANNESBURG – Mozambique says it has destroyed a large stockpile of confiscated ivory and rhino horn in an effort to curb severe poaching of the country’s elephant population. Samiro Magane, a conservation official in Mozambique, said in a telephone interview that the burning of the ivory and rhino horn on …
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KIGALI, Rwanda – A Rwandan opposition party leader says its lawyers have abandoned a case seeking to stop the government from scrapping presidential term limits because they fear for their lives. Jean Claude Ntezimana of Rwanda’s Democratic Green Party told the Associated Press Wednesday that lawyers are afraid their lives …
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SANTA CRUZ, Bolivia – The Vatican and Bolivia both insist no offense was intended or taken when President Evo Morales gave Pope Francis a “Communist crucifix” as gift during his visit to this South American nation. The Catholic blogosphere was buzzing Thursday about what Morales, a socialist who has attacked …
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PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – A conservation group in St. Maarten says a local Internet marketplace has illegally offered endangered sea turtle hatchlings. The Nature Foundation nonprofit says a “growing number of wild animals” are being advertised on local online sites. The group says it managed to intervene in the sea …
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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Saudi Arabia’s state news agency says the kingdom has warned Iran against abusing funds that will follow from the landmark nuclear deal to incite turmoil in the region. The Saudi Press Agency says Tehran must use the resources in the service of the Iranian people, “rather …
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MANILA, Philippines – A wall in a coal mining pit collapsed in the central Philippines, killing three workers and leaving at least six others missing, a provincial governor said Friday. Antique provincial Gov. Rhodora Cadiao said she ordered the operator to stop work at the open Panian pit on Semirara …
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MOSCOW – Russia says it is considering banning imports of cut flowers from The Netherlands, a move that would aggravate tensions between the two countries already at odds over the downing of flight MH17. National veterinary agency Rosselkhoznadzor said Monday it has urged the European Union’s organization for plant protection …
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AMMAN, Jordan – A government official says Jordan’s state security court sentenced 12 defendants to prison terms ranging from one to 15 years in what local media described as a plot by the Islamic militant Hamas group to carry out attacks in the West Bank. The official says eight defendants …
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MANILA, Philippines – Despite China’s objections, the United States and the Philippines will call for a stop to island-building work, military deployments and other aggressive actions that raise tensions in the disputed South China Sea in an annual diplomatic meeting in Malaysia, officials said Tuesday. Beijing has opposed any mention …
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UNITED NATIONS – The United Nations is releasing $70 million from an emergency fund to provide humanitarian aid to millions of people forced from their homes by violence and instability from Sudan’s conflict-wracked Darfur region to Myanmar. U.N. humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien said Wednesday that nearly 60 million people have …
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