BANGKOK — Thai authorities said yesterday that they arrested an American citizen on charges he insulted the country’s monarchy, in part by posting a link on his blog four years ago to a banned book about the Southeast Asian nation’s ailing king....
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"Endangered tigers captured in video" May 10, 2011|Associated Press
JAKARTA, Indonesia — Video cameras captured 12 critically endangered Sumatran tigers, including mothers with their cubs, in Indonesian forests slated to be cut down, wildlife activists said yesterday.
One of the videos shows three young cubs playfully chasing a leaf.
Another, triggered by an infrared sensor, recorded giant cats strolling across a clearing at night.
Sumatran tigers are on the brink of extinction because of the destruction of forests, poaching, and clashes with humans....
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"Baby leopards, bear found in bags at Thai airport
BANGKOK—Authorities at Thailand's international airport arrested a first-class passenger Friday whose suitcases were filled with baby leopards, panthers, a bear and monkeys. The animals had been drugged and were headed for Dubai....
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Let's head back the other way:
"Kenya seizes ivory in airport search" May 07, 2011|Associated Press
NAIROBI — Authorities have seized the tusks of 58 elephants — totaling one ton of ivory — after sniffer dogs led investigators to containers at the country’s main airport that were bound for Nigeria, officials said yesterday.
Joseph Ngisa, the officer in charge of criminal investigation in the country’s airports, said no arrests had been made. It was not immediately clear why the ivory was being transported to the West African nation; the most common destination for smuggled ivory is Asia....
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Time to meditate:
"A PICTURE OF SERENITY -- With one of them taking photos, Buddhist monks on the outskirts of Bangkok marked Vesak Day yesterday, an annual celebration of Buddha's birth, enlightenment, and death. In Nepal, up to 50,000 people were expected to visit the temple where Buddha is believed to have been born 2,555 years ago (Boston Globe May 18, 2011)."
