Malaysian authorities say they’ve made the largest seizure of elephant ivory and other illegally trafficked wildlife parts in the nation’s history. The Royal Malaysian Customs Department (JKDM) statement said the agency found US$18 million in tusks, rhino horn, pangolin scales and related items while tracking a shipment of timber to…
President Macky Sall of Senegal and his Ugandan counterpart, Yoweri Museveni, are among African heads of state participating in a conference on counterfeit medications hosted by President Faure Gnassingbé of Togo. The two-day conference runs through Saturday and is expected to lead to a “Lomé Initiative” to end the illegal…
Some 35 million people suffer from drug use disorders across the globe, according to the newly released World Drug Report 2019, and the higher numbers – especially where opioid use is concerned – are derived in part from a 2017 drug use survey in Nigeria (as well as India) that…
The Chinese government distanced itself on Wednesday from the illegal wildlife trafficking of one of its citizens, who was sentenced this week in a Tanzanian court to 15 years in prison for smuggling almost two tons of elephant-tusk ivory. The trafficking involved ivory from at least 430 elephants. The 2015…
An op-ed on maintaining protections against the illegal wildlife trade is getting lots of attention in the United States. It’s not just because of its stance against rollbacks from the President Donald Trump administration or the commitment to work with groups like the Elephant Project – but rather, because of…
The Democratic Republic of Congo is among nations where authorities are working to reduce the impact of organized crime that is thriving among armed groups in conflict zones and financing international terrorism. That’s according to experts who briefed the United Nations Security Council this week. They discussed progress and challenges…
People may think that African wildlife is already facing enough threat from climate change or illegal trafficking, but the continent’s preserves are facing up to USD$2 billion in funding shortfalls that threaten protected areas. That’s according to Peter Lindsey, director of the Lion Recovery Fund and co-author of new research…
Legislation to protect wildlife from poaching in the Okavango River Basin of southern Africa was passed this week by the United States House of Representatives, where members who sponsored the bill raised the alarm over ties between wildlife trafficking and terrorist organization finance. “This ecosystem spans three countries,” said bill…
The annual World Drug Report was released Tuesday, and it points to continued Tramadol use and trafficking across central and western Africa as one of the most significant international problems. “We need to raise the alarm about addiction to Tramadol, rates of which are soaring in parts of Africa,” said the…
Officials with the United Nations migration agency say the death toll has reached at least 112 after a boat on the Mediterranean Sea sank off the coast of Tunisia at the weekend. The boat was carrying an estimated 180 migrants, many of them from Tunisia, when it went down between…
Human traffickers in Libya reportedly killed more than a dozen people and wounded many others after a group of some 200 Eritreans, Ethiopians and Somalis attempted to escape captivity, UNHCR said on Friday. The United Nations refugee agency said the incident happened May 23 in Bani Walid, about 180 kilometers…
Officials in Seychelles are ramping up efforts to combat the island nation’s notorious heroin problem, which now effects more than 5 percent of the population age 15 or older. That’s according to survey results released earlier this month by the Agency for the Prevention of Drug Abuse and Rehabilitation, which…
There’s a new strategy to combat the illegal wildlife trade in Africa, and it relies on local communities and their role in curbing elephant, rhino and other wildlife trafficking. The International Union for Conservation of Nature, in partnership with the International Institute for International Development (IIED), rolled out a toolkit…
President Emmanuel Macron of France on Tuesday will host Fayez Al-Sarraj, head of the Presidency Council for Libya’s internationally recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), and Khalifa Haftar, head of the Libyan National Army in the nation’s east, at La Celle Saint-Cloud near Paris to discuss solutions to the Libyan…
Mauritania’s borders with Algeria and Mali are now restricted military zones, following a defense ministry announcement that calls on all civilians to avoid the border areas. The government says the decision last week to seal off the border zones is part of an effort to combat illegal migration and criminals…