Pakistan | Ministry halts ordered closure of Save the Children office

A senior Pakistani official says the country’s Interior Ministry has halted an order it made closing the office of Save the Children in Islamabad. The official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity yesterday as he wasn’t authorized to discuss the decision, did not elaborate. The organization could not be immediately reached for comment. On Thursday, Pakistan shuttered shut the group’s main office in Islamabad for allegedly “violating its charter.” By Friday, the organization had shut all its offices across the country. At the time, Pakistan said it would not allow any non-government organization to work against its interests, without elaborating. The group has said it received no prior warning before its office was closed. The U.S. State Department has expressed concern over the closure.

Palau | Authorities burn Vietnamese boats caught fishing illegally

The tiny Pacific nation of Palau, fighting a rising tide of illegal fishing in its waters, has set fire to four boats belonging to Vietnamese caught poaching sea cucumbers and other marine life in its waters. Palau’s president, Tommy Remengesau Jr., said the boats were burned Friday morning. He hopes to turn most of the island nation’s territorial waters into a national marine sanctuary, banning commercial fishing and exports apart from limited areas to be used by domestic fishermen and tourists. “We wanted to send a very strong message. We will not tolerate any more these pirates who come and steal our resources,” Remengesau said in a phone interview with The Associated Press from Washington, D.C., where he was visiting. The country created the world’s first shark sanctuary in 2009, but until recently had only one patrol boat to help protect its great hammerheads, leopard sharks and more than 130 other species of shark and rays fighting extinction. The four boats destroyed Friday were among 15 Palau authorities have caught fishing illegally in their waters since last year with loads of sharks and shark fins, lobsters, sea cucumbers and reef fish.