Cites agree to maintain a tight leash on ivory trade to save endangered elephant species from extinction
The Standing Committee of the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites), has resolved agreed that countries must continue to report on their domestic ivory markets. The resolution was arrived in at its meeting in Lyon, France, on Wednesday during the 74 Cites...
Rising terrorist attacks in West African coastal states is ‘just the tip of the iceberg’
Violent extremism is escalating in West Africa’s coastal states. This is terrifying for citizens but is just the tip of the insurgency iceberg. Under the surface lies a covert network that ensures terrorism continues in the region. Evidence is emerging that jihadists’ activities within and through coastal states are enabling...
China’s daily caseload of Covid flare up hits two-year high with 214 incidents confirmed on Sunday
Mainland China has logged its highest number of daily new local symptomatic Covid-19 infections in about two years, with the highly transmissible Omicron variant putting pressure on the government’s strict policy of curbing each outbreak quickly. China reported 214 domestically transmitted cases with confirmed symptoms for Sunday, the majority in...
Moscow ready to end military strikes if Ukraine agrees to four conditions, including Crimea as Russian territory
Russia has told Ukraine it is ready to halt military operations “in a moment” if Kyiv meets a list of conditions, the Kremlin spokesman says. Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Moscow was demanding that Ukraine cease military action, change its constitution to enshrine neutrality, acknowledge Crimea as Russian territory...
South African intelligence, police slammed for sleeping on the job as US Treasury slaps sanctions on terrorism financiers
Was the United States Treasury’s announcement that it was imposing sanctions on four alleged organisers and financiers in South Africa of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) a wake-up call for South Africa? The capacity of the country’s State Security Agency and the South African Police Service has...
Congolese Islamic State-affiliated terror group ADF has widened its recruitment base to east and central Africa – report
The Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) terror group is broadening its recruitment base from its traditional pool of Congolese and Ugandan fighters to Kenya and Tanzania. Countries in the region were made aware of this risk several years ago. But as the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) prepares to join...
Campaigners and nations step up efforts to close ivory market in Japan and other Far East Asian consumers
The first in-person meeting since 2019 of the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) kicks off today in Lyon, France. The loaded agenda for the 74th Standing Committee contains 89 items related to the protection of more than 30 species and taxa...
Scientists in Ukraine warn of sinking, heaving ground that portends disaster ‘deeper and more dangerous than Chernobyl’
In the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, the ground has been behaving strangely. In some places, it is sinking; elsewhere it “heaves” – bulging upward, according to satellite data released this week. Before it became a conflict zone, the Donbas has long been Ukraine’s coal country, and the earth is...
Legislators in Florida vote to ban abortion after 15 weeks, set eyes on sexual orientation and culture wars
Florida legislators have voted to ban most abortions after 15 weeks – four months – of pregnancy, a move that would severely restrict access to the procedure in a state that for decades has been a refuge for women from across the South. The bill – modelled after a similar...
175 countries agree to legally end plastic pollution crisis in the world by disrupting entire supply chain
One hundred and seventy-five countries have agreed to a legally binding global treaty to end the plastic pollution crisis by tackling the material’s entire supply chain. Inger Anderson, executive director of the UN Environment Programme, says it is the “biggest multilateral environmental deal” since the 2015 Paris climate agreement. At...
