NAIROBI, July 16, 2008 (AFP) - Kenyan authorities on Wednesday detained three Chinese nationals at the country's main airport on suspicion of smuggling ivory, an official said.

CHIANG RAI, Thailand, March 31, 2008 (AFP) - Buddhist monks sprinkled holy water and draped garlands over the necks of 28 elephants at the start of a week-long polo tournament on Monday.

After the blessing, the elephants were treated to a sprawling buffet of fruit and vegetables ahead of the first match in a tournament to raise money for conservation projects to protect the beasts.

NAIROBI, March 24, 2008 (AFP) - Villagers in central Kenya killed nine elephants that strayed into their farmlands over the past year, a wildlife official said on Monday.

The elephants were killed as they strayed from Aberdare National Park, the park's senior warden Catherine Wambani told state-run Kenya News Agency.

BANGKOK, Dec 31, 2007 (AFP) - A herd of wild elephants killed one man and injured another in southern Thailand, local press reported Monday.

The Bangkok Post said that two men from Myanmar's Karen ethnic group were riding a motorcycle near the southern beach resort of Hua Hin on Sunday when they came across the elephants blocking the road.

BANGKOK, Dec 31, 2007 (AFP) - A herd of wild elephants killed one man and injured another in southern Thailand, local press reported Monday.

The Bangkok Post said that two men from Myanmar's Karen ethnic group were riding a motorcycle near the southern beach resort of Hua Hin on Sunday when they came across the elephants blocking the road.

SYDNEY, Dec 27, 2007 (AFP) - A elephant crushed a circus worker to death in Australia Thursday as it was being unloaded from a truck, police said.

Police said the accident happened late Thursday at Yamba, about 680 kilometres (420 miles) north of Sydney.

BANGALORE, India, Dec 20, 2007 (AFP) - An 'elephant corridor' linking two forest reserves is being opened in southern India, giving the endangered animals unrestricted movement to feed and breed in the region, officials say.

PHNOM PENH, Aug 22, 2007 (AFP) - Hundreds of samples of elephant dung collected in Cambodia will be sent to Australia to help determine how many of the animals are left in the wild here, conservationists said Wednesday.

Cambodia's agriculture ministry has greenlighted plans to run DNA tests on 520 dung samples collected in the country's southwest Cardamom Mountains.

It will allow scientists to determine how many of them still remain in the area, which is largely untouched by development, said Tuy Sereivathana of Flora and Fauna International.