NAIROBI (Xinhua) --

Kenyan wildlife authorities on have seized 131 pieces of ivory hidden in a truck that was parked at a petrol station near a shopping mall in Nairobi.

Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS) said a Kenyan suspect free on court bail over ivory related charges and a Guinean accomplice are being held in policy custody after being arrested and their vehicle impounded at the fuel station.

"They are expected to be arraigned in Kibera Court in Nairobi on Tuesday morning," KWS Corporate Affairs Manager Paul Udoto said. The two will be charged with unlawful dealing with wildlife trophy. Udoto said the suspects are being held by the Special Crimes Unit of the Police who had said the seized ivory has markings that show that they are from a stockpile which is not from Kenya.

Elephant and rhino deaths due to poaching for their tusks and horns respectively have dominated the news recently.

According to Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS), Kenya’s population of elephants and rhinos stand at 37,000 and 1,100 respectively.

Some 19 rhinos have been lost, with 16 killed by poachers and three due to natural causes. Last year, Kenya lost a total of 59 rhinos.

KWS officials said rampant poaching has seen 30 elephants being poached since January compared 302 elephants in the whole of 2013.

Kenya has been identified as one of the leading transit routes for smuggling ivory out of Africa, with several incidents of ivory seizures and recovery of wildlife carcasses in recent days.

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Kenya acquires digital technology to curb poaching

NAIROBI (Xinhua) -- Kenya’s wildlife officials have acquired superior digital and solar radio communications technology to boost the country’s fight against poaching which has led to the decline of the number of wildlife.

The 9.7 million U.S. dollar projects are part of the French government’s support for strengthening conservation efforts in Kenya," said Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) Director General William Kiprono.

He said the radio and radio gadgets will be instrumental in facilitating KWS security operations through the upgrading of its current analogue network to a more robust and enhanced digital platform. "The upgrading of the technology would assist in combating poaching as KWS officers would have the advantage of an enhanced, secure and efficient radio communication system," Kiprono said after signing the agreement in Nairobi.

The new technology which has additional capabilities such as GPS tracking, messaging and voice encryption is expected to greatly reduce maintenance costs and increase efficiency in communications.

"This will ultimately ensure timely and accurate responses to cases of human wildlife conflict, poaching and visitor security," Kiprono said.

The move follows the signing of the implementation contract between KWS and Ellipse Projects S.A.S, a French international engineering and contracting company, for the roll-out of the digital radio and solar power and back-up system project.

The wildlife agency has enhanced the round-the-clock surveillance at all Kenya’s entry exit and entry points while sniffer dogs and their handlers have proved incorruptible and have once again outsmarted the smugglers.

The East African nation says it’s at a point where it cannot allow further poaching of wildlife because the animal numbers have been reducing at an alarming rate.

The project will be rolled out in the next three months in Tsavo, Southern (Nairobi, Amboseli) and Central Rift (Nakuru and Maasai Mara) Conservation areas.

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UPDATE: Singapore remains significant transit point for illegal ivory shipments: media

SINGAPORE (Xinhua) -- While the sale of ivory in Singapore has fallen over the years, the country remains a significant transit point for shipments of illegal ivory moving from Africa to Asia, and even within Asia itself, local TV Channel NewsAsia reported on Saturday.

Some of the illegal ivory shipments passing through Singapore have been declared as coffee berries, marble sculptures, and even waste paper, animal welfare activists were quoted as saying.

Authorities worked on tip-offs to intercept these shipments.

The Agri-Food and Veterinary Authority (AVA) said there have been eight illegal ivory seizures since 2008.

While some of the ivory was seized from travellers at ports of entry and from local shops, most were en route to other destinations.

Three of these seizures—involving 244 pieces of ivory—took place in the first three months of this year.

Activists said this could be the tip of the iceberg. Elaine Tan, chief executive officer for World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Singapore, was quoted as saying that there’s a lot of this illegal ivory trade going on in Asia, and Singapore being in a very strategic position in Asia-Pacific. "We are a major transit point. We have a very efficient and effective port. Consignments, shipments pass through very quickly and in some ways, I think this is a loophole being exploited by illegal traders," Tan said.

Some animal activists said more could be done to detect illegal wildlife shipments coming into and through Singapore, suggesting that sniffer dogs specifically trained to detect illegal wildlife products could be introduced at Singapore’s border checkpoints.

This is already being done in countries like India, Thailand, and South Korea.

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South Africans sign an MOU with Mozambique to

strengthen joint efforts in fighting rhino poaching

CAPE TOWN (Xinhua) -- South Africa and neighboring Mozambique signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Thursday to promote bilateral cooperation against rhino poaching.

"The signing of the MOU with Mozambique today comes within the context of the strengthening of relations between our two countries to enhance the protection of endangered species, such as the rhino, while working towards a common and coordinated management approach for the GLTP( Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park) ," South African Minister of Environmental Affairs and Water Edna Molewa said at the signing ceremony in the Kruger National Park (KNP) in northeastern South Africa.

Within the coming months, a further diplomatic agreement will be signed by South Africa and Mozambique to ensure the MOU comes into force, according to Molewa.

Escalating incidences of poaching have become a major challenge within the GLTP, both to rhino and elephant populations.

The MOU was signed as rhino poaching continued unabated in South Africa.

Latest official statistics showed that since 2008, more than 2,000 rhino have been killed in South Africa, with 1,004 rhino killed last year.

Since the start of 2014, 294 rhino have been poached, with the KNP continuing to bear the brunt of rhino poaching.