Wildlife items seized

BEIJING: Forestry police in Beijing had seized 800kg of illegal ivory and other products during a crackdown on illegal wildlife trade, local authorities said yesterday. Other items seized included 11.3kg of rhino horn and 35 bear paws.

The seizure, worth about 24.39 million yuan (R53 million), was the largest in terms of wildlife products. – Xinhua

Island gets cyclone aid

ADEN: Aid flights rushed food and tents to the Yemeni island of Socotra, local officials said yesterday, after it was hit by a rare cyclone, which the UN said had displaced 40 000 people.

Cyclone Chapala killed three people when it made landfall on Monday on Socotra, an isolated island closer to the Horn of Africa than to Yemen, that has about 50 000 inhabitants. – Reuters

Quake hits Indonesia

JAKARTA: A strong earthquake of magnitude 6.3 struck the eastern Indonesian island of Alor yesterday, severely damaging homes and other buildings.

Indonesia’s disaster management agency said there were no reports of casualties from the quake which also rattled neighbouring East Timor. The epicentre was 83km north-west of it. – Reuters

US now more secular

NEW YORK: Americans are becoming less religious, judging by such markers as church attendance, prayer and belief in God, and the trend is more pronounced among young adults.

The share of US adults who say they believe in God slipped to 89% last year from 92% in 2007, according to the Pew Research Center’s Religious Landscape Study. – Reuters