Ivory

China’s complete ban on ivory trade went into effect on Dec. 31, officials said, a major step forward in Beijing’s efforts to rein in what was once the world’s largest market for illegal ivory.

Sotheby's is staging what it calls its most comprehensive series of exhibitions and sales to cover the history of Middle Eastern art.

Five sales ranging from the contemporary to the ancient will complement a series of talks and lectures by leading scholars from the region.

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.

Thailand destroyed more than two tons of ivory on Aug. 26 - a victory for animal rights groups fighting against the trade in a country renowned for being a hub for illegal tusks.

China destroyed more than six hundred kilograms of ivory in front of media and diplomats May 29, as it seeks to shed its image as a global trading hub for illegal elephant tusks.

Poachers have killed nearly half of Mozambique?s elephants for their ivory in the past five years, the U.S.-based Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) said on May 26.

A Mozambique government-backed survey showed a dramatic 48 percent decline in elephant numbers from just over 20,000 to an estimated 10,300, the WCS said in a statement.

Police seized souvenirs made from endangered species of animals and worth around 500,000 Turkish Liras from a shop in Istanbul?s historic and touristic Grand Bazaar. 

Poachers slaughtering Africa's elephants and rhinos with impunity are often shielded from police by powerful connections, but a group of conservationists has turned to the anonymity of tip-offs to try to stem the killing.

Poachers killed an estimated 100,000 elephants across Africa between 2010 and 2012, a huge spike in the continent's death rate of the world's largest mammals because of an increased demand for ivory in China and other Asian nations, a new study published Monday found.
     

Greece striker Costas Mitroglou, who took a hit to his side and had to be taken off during their World Cup Group C draw against Japan on Thursday, will be fit in time for their final game against Ivory Coast, a team official said.