27 h. ago Two teens and 5,000 ants: how a smuggling bust shed new light on a booming trade

Two Belgian 19-year-olds have pleaded guilty to wildlife piracy – part of a growing trend of trafficking ‘less conspicuous’ creatures for sale as exotic petsPoaching busts are familiar territory for the officers of Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), an armed force tasked with protecting the country’s iconic creatures. But what awaited guards when they descended in early April on a guesthouse in the west of the country was both larger and smaller in scale than the smuggling operations they typically encounter. There were more than 5,000 smuggled animals, caged in their own enclosures. Each one, however, was about the size of a little fingernail: 18-25mm.The cargo, which two Belgian teenagers had apparently intended to ship to exotic pet markets in Europe and Asia, was ants. Their enclosures were a mixture of test tubes and syringes containing cotton wool – environments that authorities say would keep the insects alive for weeks. Continue reading...

Politics

39 h. ago Belgian teenagers found with 5,000 ants to be sentenced in 2 weeks

Two Belgian teenagers who were found with thousands of ants valued at $9,200 and allegedly destined for European and Asian markets will be sentenced in two weeks

Politics

4 d. ago Premium chocolatiers thrive as consumers develop taste for luxury

High-end brands shrug off volatile cocoa prices to enjoy a boom in demand as buyers ‘trade up’

Politics

9 d. ago Two teenagers arrested in Kenya for smuggling thousands of ants out of the country

Two Belgian teenagers have been charged with wildlife piracy

Events

1 week ago Woman who's spent £35k on tattoos stuns with design in 'unexpected' place

Becky Holt, who has spent more than £35,000 on tattoos since her teenage years that now cover around 95% of her body, has performed a U-turn by going against her word

Economics

1 week ago Wild probe after driver caught smuggling lorry load of monkeys, zebras and antelopes

Border police between The Netherlands and Germany were shocked when they did a routine vehicle check of a lorry's cargo - it was packed to the brim with wild animals, everything from monkeys to swans

Events

2 w. ago A high school teacher offered teenager $2,000 to kill her husband, authorities allege

‘This particular teacher was attempting to groom this young person into committing murder,’ a Columbus police spokesperson said

Culture