Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Navigation
Primary Navigation
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology
Secondary Navigation
Top Stories
Full Coverage
Most Popular
Photos
Search
Search:
Zimbabwe auctions four tonnes of ivory to China, Japan
AFP - Tuesday, November 4
HARARE (AFP) - - Zimbabwe on Monday sold nearly four tonnes of ivory for almost half a million dollars, the third in a set of four auctions approved under an international agreement, an animal welfare body said.
The auction, open only to buyers from China and Japan, sold 3.7 tonnes of ivory for 487,162 dollars (380,268 euros), the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) said in a statement.
One Zimbabwean official involved in the sale said he was disappointed with the earnings from the sale of the government's stocks of tusks.
"We were, however, expecting more than this from our four tonnes. This is the problem when you just have two buyers who end up behaving like a cartel," he said.
CITES, which regulates international trade in endangered species, is allowing four African countries to hold one-off sales only to buyers from China and Japan.
The auction will put a total of 108 tonnes of tusks on the block, in sales that some conservationists fear could make it easier for poachers to slip their illegal ivory on to the market.
CITES has imposed stiff requirements on buyers of the ivory, which can only be sold within China and Japan and cannot be resold overseas. Both countries were required to create monitoring systems before the sale.
CITES Secretary General Willem Wijnstekers, who witnessed the auction in Harare, also called for harsher punishment to deter ivory poachers.
"If punishment levels were commensurate with the crime, it would assist in reducing illegal poaching," the state-run Ziana news agency quoted him as saying.
He dismissed fears that the auctions could increase poaching, saying "we have no such evidence."
Namibia last Tuesday sold more than seven tonnes of ivory for 1.1 million dollars, while Botswana auctioned 44 tonnes of ivory Friday for 7.1 million dollars.
The final and largest auction is scheduled for Thursday in South Africa, with 51 tonnes of tusks for sale.
The four countries are home to 312,000 elephants, and their government stocks of tusks came from natural deaths or the culling of herds to keep the population under control.
Email Story
IM Story
Printable View
Blog This
Recommend this article
Average (0 votes)
Sign in to recommend this article »
Most Recommended Stories »
Most Popular – Top Stories
Viewed
Foods to prevent disease?
Obama in command on eve of US vote
Hamilton pips Massa to Formula One title in tense Brazil finale
Formula One driver Hamilton wins 2008 F1 championship
Australia anxious as Indonesia prepares to execute Bali bombers
View Complete List »
Search:
Home
Singapore
Asia Pacific
World
Business
Entertainment
Sports
Technology