Police in northern Vietnam have seized nearly 3 tons of ivory smuggled from South Africa in the latest action taken against the illegal trade. Thanh Hoa provincial police said the ivory was found in boxes on a truck stopped by police early Saturday morning. The account posted on the police website quoted the truck driver as saying he was hired to transport the ivory from southern Dong Nai province to the capital Hanoi. Last year, nearly 7 tons of ivory were seized in Vietnam’s southern commercial hub of Ho Chi Minh city. Vietnam is one of the world’s major transit points and consumers of ivory and rhino horn. It bans hunting of its own dwindling population of elephants.
Aftershock follows Philippines quake
The strongest aftershock yet has shaken the central Philippines following last week’s 6.5-magnitude earthquake that damaged a power plant and other buildings. No damage or casualties were immediately reported after the 5.4-magnitude earthquake yesterday morning. Renato Solidum, head of the Philippine Institute of Volcanology and Seismology, said the quake was strongly felt in and around Ormoc City and may trigger landslides or cause more damage to already damaged structures. He says it is the strongest aftershock of the 6.5-magnitude quake on July 7. The earlier earthquake left two dead and four people missing. It damaged a geothermal power plant, triggered landslides and collapsed a building with a grocery store and other shops.
Myanmar refugees to leave Thailand
More than 100 Myanmar refugees residing in Thailand’s Tha Song Yang district have decided to return to their hometown of Suebpong Nimpoonsawat, reported the Bangkok Post, citing the district’s chief. The refugees are currently housed in the Mae La refugee camp on the Thai-Myanmar border. Mainly of Karen ethnicity, the refugees are now awaiting travel documents to be arranged by the Thai Foreign Affairs Ministry and the Myanmar embassy in the country. According to the media outlet, the Myanmar government has agreed to provide the refugees with land they can live on and farm.
