Tuesday, July 23, 2019
Singapore seizes elephant ivory and pangolin scales in record $48m haul
(BBC) - Singapore authorities have seized 8.8 tonnes (8,800kg) of elephant ivory, its largest seizure to date.
Authorities estimate that the tusks, valued at $12.9m (£10.4m), have come from nearly 300 African elephants.
Some 11.9 tonnes of pangolin scales valued at $35.7m were also seized. It is believed to have belonged to about 2,000 of the mammals.
The illegal cargo was found in containers after a tip-off from China's customs department.
Authorities discovered the animal parts on Sunday after they inspected a shipment from the Democratic Republic of Congo that was passing through Singapore on its way to Vietnam.
The containers were falsely declared to contain timber.
"Upon inspection, sacks containing pangolin scales and elephant ivory were found in one of the containers," the National Parks Board said in a statement.
The seized pangolin scales and elephant ivory will be destroyed.
It is not the first time such illegal goods have been found in Singapore. The country has seized a total of 37.5 tonnes of pangolin scales since April this year.
"Singapore has always been inadvertently implicated in the global ivory trade for two reasons: its global connectivity, as well as the presence of a small domestic market where pre-1990s ivory can be legally sold," Kim Stengert, chief communications officer for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Singapore, told Reuters.
Ivory is used for ornaments and in traditional medicine in Asia. Pangolin scales are also in high demand in Asia for use in traditional Chinese medicine.
The pangolin is said to be the most widely trafficked mammal in the world.
Under Singapore's Endangered Species Act, the maximum penalty for illegally importing, exporting and re-exporting wildlife is a fine of up to S$500,000 ($370,000; £295,000) and/or two years imprisonment. ContinueReading
'Guatemala has not been good': Trump threatens tariffs, fees on migrant cash
WASHINGTON/GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said he is considering a “ban,” tariffs and remittance fees after Guatemala decided not to ink a safe third country agreement that would have required the poor Central American country to take in more asylum seekers.
“Guatemala ... has decided to break the deal they had with us on signing a necessary Safe Third Agreement. We were ready to go,” Trump tweeted.
“Now we are looking at the ‘BAN,’ Tariffs, Remittance Fees, or all of the above. Guatemala has not been good,” Trump wrote.
In response, Guatemala’s President Jimmy Morales blamed the country’s top court and political opponents for undermining his close ties to the United States.
Morales was due to sign a deal with Trump last week that would have made the country act as an asylum buffer zone to reduce immigration to the United States.
Instead he canceled the planned summit with Trump at the White House after the country’s Constitutional Court ruled he could not ink such an agreement without prior approval from Congress, which is on a summer recess.
Migrant remittances accounted for 11% of Guatemalan GDP in 2017, according to the IMF, a total of $8.2 billion. The United States is Guatemala’s main trading partner, with bilateral trade of some $4.7 billion through May this year, Central Bank data shows.
“The Constitutional Court, without any understanding and without the right to interfere in foreign relations, wrongly took a stance against the national interest,” Morales said in a statement posted on Facebook.
In the past the Morales government has clashed with the court, which it considers aligned with the opposition. The case against the third safe country deal was brought by several former foreign ministers, the country’s rights ombudsman and a former presidential candidate.
Morales called the politicians “petty” and said they were attacking the country’s governability.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Guatemala ... has decided to break the deal they had with us on signing a necessary Safe Third Agreement. We were ready to go,” Trump tweeted.
“Now we are looking at the ‘BAN,’ Tariffs, Remittance Fees, or all of the above. Guatemala has not been good,” Trump wrote.
In response, Guatemala’s President Jimmy Morales blamed the country’s top court and political opponents for undermining his close ties to the United States.
Morales was due to sign a deal with Trump last week that would have made the country act as an asylum buffer zone to reduce immigration to the United States.
Instead he canceled the planned summit with Trump at the White House after the country’s Constitutional Court ruled he could not ink such an agreement without prior approval from Congress, which is on a summer recess.
Migrant remittances accounted for 11% of Guatemalan GDP in 2017, according to the IMF, a total of $8.2 billion. The United States is Guatemala’s main trading partner, with bilateral trade of some $4.7 billion through May this year, Central Bank data shows.
“The Constitutional Court, without any understanding and without the right to interfere in foreign relations, wrongly took a stance against the national interest,” Morales said in a statement posted on Facebook.
In the past the Morales government has clashed with the court, which it considers aligned with the opposition. The case against the third safe country deal was brought by several former foreign ministers, the country’s rights ombudsman and a former presidential candidate.
Morales called the politicians “petty” and said they were attacking the country’s governability.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Boris Johnson to be next prime minister of U.K., replacing Theresa May amid Brexit turmoil
DRAMA!
London -- Former London Mayor Boris Johnson has been chosen by his party to become Britain's next prime minister. He will replace Theresa May, who was forced to resign amid a bitter feud in the U.K. -- and within both her and Johnson's Conservative Party -- over Britain's exit from the European Union.
As CBS News correspondent Charlie D'Agata reports, the new leader of America's closest ally is one of Great Britain's most prominent figures, and probably a familiar face to many Americans.
By a quirk of British politics, Johnson was not elected by the general public but instead chosen to lead by about 160,000 registered Conservative Party members. He won with 92,153 votes to rival Jeremy Hunt's 46,656 -- a margin of almost two to one.
The new prime minister will officially take office on Wednesday, when May formally resigns the post. Johnson thanked his opponent in the leadership contest, Hunt, and May in remarks to gathered party members in London after the results of the election were announced on Tuesday.
London -- Former London Mayor Boris Johnson has been chosen by his party to become Britain's next prime minister. He will replace Theresa May, who was forced to resign amid a bitter feud in the U.K. -- and within both her and Johnson's Conservative Party -- over Britain's exit from the European Union.
As CBS News correspondent Charlie D'Agata reports, the new leader of America's closest ally is one of Great Britain's most prominent figures, and probably a familiar face to many Americans.
By a quirk of British politics, Johnson was not elected by the general public but instead chosen to lead by about 160,000 registered Conservative Party members. He won with 92,153 votes to rival Jeremy Hunt's 46,656 -- a margin of almost two to one.
The new prime minister will officially take office on Wednesday, when May formally resigns the post. Johnson thanked his opponent in the leadership contest, Hunt, and May in remarks to gathered party members in London after the results of the election were announced on Tuesday.
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