Sri Lanka

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Sri Lanka destroys giant illegal ivory haul

Sri Lanka's government on Jan. 26 destroyed its biggest ever illegal ivory haul in the first public crushing of poached tusks in South Asia, intended to send a stark message to smugglers.

The international trade in ivory has been banned in most of the world since 1989, but illegal smuggling persists in many parts of Asia where ivory is highly prized for medicinal and decorative uses.

Kurdish drama, Turkish tragedy

The new Turkish party-state has proven to be no different to the "ancien regime" regarding its Kurdish policy, despite all the fanfare in the name of democratization, dialogue, negotiations and the so-called peace process. Now, the situation has returned to a fully-fledged "war on terror," military operations, long curfews, and suspension of the order of law in the name of the law of order.

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