Zimbabwe issues permits for cull of at least 50 elephants
HARARE (Reuters) -Zimbabwe has issued permits to cull at least 50 elephants on a reserve where there are three times more elephants than the habitat can sustain, wildlife authorities said on Tuesday.
The Save Valley Conservancy in southern Zimbabwe is home to roughly 2,550 elephants, whereas it has a "carrying capacity" of 800 elephants, Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority said in a statement.
The conservancy already moved 200 elephants to other reserves over the past five years to try to manage its elephant population.
Meat from the cull will be distributed to local people to eat, while the ivory from the killed animals will be handed over to the parks authority.
Zimbabwe is home to one of the largest elephant populations worldwide, and climate change has worsened human-wildlife conflict as elephants encroach on areas where people live in search of food and water.
The Southern African country authorised another cull last year of about 200 elephants, the first since 1988. At the time authorities said they would distribute meat from the cull to communities affected by a severe regional drought, shortly after Namibia said it would do the same.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


CNBC
22 minutes ago
- CNBC
U.S. preparing to partially evacuate Iraq embassy over regional security risks: Reuters sources
The United States is preparing a partial evacuation of its Iraqi embassy and will allow military dependents to leave locations around the Middle East due to heightened security risks in the region, U.S. and Iraqi sources said on Wednesday. The four U.S. and two Iraqi sources did not specify which security risks had prompted the decision and reports of the potential evacuation pushed up oil prices by more than 4%. "The State Department regularly reviews American personnel abroad and this decision was made as a result of a recent review," White House spokeswoman Anna Kelly told Reuters when asked about reports of the partial evacuations, without giving further details. A White House official said U.S. President Donald Trump was aware of the move. The partial evacuations come at a moment of heightened tensions in a region already aflame after 18 months of war in Gaza that has raised fears of a wider conflagration pitting the U.S. and Israel against Iran and its allies. Trump has repeatedly threatened to strike Iran if stuttering talks over its nuclear program fail and on Wednesday he said he was growing less confident that Tehran would agree to stop enriching uranium, a key American demand. Iranian Defense Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh also said on Wednesday that Iran would retaliate against U.S. bases in the region if the nuclear talks failed and it was subjected to strikes. The United States has a military presence in Iraq, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has authorized the voluntary departure of military dependents from locations across the Middle East, a U.S. official said. Another U.S. official said that was mostly relevant to family members located in Bahrain -- where the bulk of them are based. "The State Department is set to have an ordered departure for (the) U.S. embassy in Baghdad. The intent is to do it through commercial means, but the U.S. military is standing by if help is requested," a third U.S. official said. An Iraqi foreign ministry official said a "partial evacuation" of U.S. embassy staff had been confirmed due to what the official termed "potential security concerns related to possible regional tensions." Another U.S. official said that there was no change in operations at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East and that no evacuation order had been issued for employees or families linked to the U.S. embassy in Qatar, which was operating as usual. Oil futures climbed $3 on reports of the Baghdad evacuation with Brent crude futures at $69.18 a barrel. Earlier on Wednesday Britain's maritime agency warned that increased tensions in the Middle East may lead to an escalation in military activity that could impact shipping in critical waterways. It advised vessels to use caution while travelling through the Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the Straits of Hormuz, which all border Iran. Iraq, a rare regional partner of both the United States and its arch regional foe Iran, hosts 2,500 U.S. troops and has Tehran-backed armed factions linked to its security forces. Tensions inside Iraq have heightened since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, with Iran-aligned armed groups in the country repeatedly attacking U.S. troops. Top U.S. regional ally Israel has also struck Iran-linked targets across the region, including Iraqi armed groups operating both inside Iraq and in neighboring Syria. Iran's U.N. mission on Wednesday posted on X: "Threats of 'overwhelming force' won't change facts: Iran is not seeking a nuclear weapon and U.S. militarism only fuels instability." The statement appeared to be a response to an earlier comment by U.S. Central Command chief U.S. Army General Michael Kurilla that he had provided the president with "a wide range of options" to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran.


New York Post
32 minutes ago
- New York Post
LA-based Jimmy Kimmel claims ‘there's no riot outside' as he blasts ‘mentally ill' Trump
Los Angeles-based comedian Jimmy Kimmel told his audience on Tuesday that 'there's no riots outside' and slammed 'mentally ill' President Donald Trump for deploying troops to quell what he claims is exaggerated unrest in the city. Trump sent over 700 Marines to Los Angeles in an effort to quash anti-ICE protests that have ravaged parts of the city on Tuesday. Images from L.A. showcase masked protesters blocking roads, destroying vehicles and engaging with police, while Mayor Karen Bass issued a curfew for a portion of the city's downtown area. Advertisement Kimmel mocked the media for portraying the anti-ICE protests as 'some kind of totalitarian hellscape' and condemned the Trump administration for deporting 'people who have lived here their whole lives.' 'You won't see this elsewhere on television. Not only is it not an apocalypse, they're having a Disney/Pixar movie premiere for 'Elio,' a movie about aliens. Don't tell Trump — he'll send in the Green Berets, too,' Kimmel ribbed. 'But I just want to say, thank God for President Trump and the heroes at ICE for protecting us from these bloodthirsty fruit stand vendors spreading their dangerous pineapple chunks and mangos with a squirt of lime all over the city.' 4 Kimmel mocked the media for portraying the anti-ICE protests as 'some kind of totalitarian hellscape.' ABC 4 Cars burn during a protest against federal immigration sweeps in downtown Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 8, 2025. REUTERS Advertisement The late-night host vented his anger towards the ICE raids in the city, claiming that the 'vast majority' of those being deported have 'never done anything wrong.' 'People who have lived here their whole lives, people who have been in this city longer than I have, the vast majority of whom have never done anything wrong, are being abducted, which is the correct word to use, by agents in masks, hiding their identities, grabbing people off the street and at work, sending people to detention centers,' he claimed. Kimmel asserted that it's not only Los Angelenos' right to protest the deportations, but it's their 'responsibility.' 4 U.S. President Donald Trump walks away after speaking to the media upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews following a visit to North Carolina, in Maryland, U.S., June 10, 2025. REUTERS Advertisement 'Los Angelenos gathered to demonstrate and, with very few exceptions, peacefully demonstrate to voice their opposition to this disgusting and unnecessary abuse of power instigated by our mentally ill president, who is dead-set on exacerbating this, who actually wants conflict, who is intentionally inflaming and lying to make it seem like there's a war going on,' he charged. Kimmel continued his criticism of the president and claimed that 'he wants there to be a war going on' in L.A. and doesn't care who gets hurt in the process. 'There's no riot outside,' Kimmel declared. 'We have more so-called 'unrest' here when one of our teams wins a championship.' 4 A protestor is detained in downtown Los Angeles, Sunday, June 8, 2025, following last night's immigration raid protest. AP Advertisement The host maintained that the media is exaggerating the violence taking place at the anti-ICE protests and argued that Trump exacerbated the unrest by sending in troops. 'Someone sets a fire in a garbage can, 12 camera crews go running toward it,' he asserted. 'Trump wants it to seem like anarchy, so he goes around our governor and calls in 4,000 troops from the National Guard and 700 active-duty Marines. When we had the wildfires that devastated big chunks of our city, he did absolutely nothing. Now that we're in the middle of a non-emergency, send in the National Guard!'
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Trump is receptive to contacts with North Korean leader, White House says
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump would welcome communications with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un after having had friendly relations with Kim during his first term, the White House said on Wednesday. "The president remains receptive to correspondence with Kim Jong Un," White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters. Trump and Kim held three summits during Trump's 2017-2021 first term and exchanged a number of what Trump called "beautiful" letters. In June 2019, Trump briefly stepped into North Korea from the demilitarized zone with South Korea. Little progress was made, however, at reining in North Korea's nuclear program, and Trump acknowledged in March that Pyongyang is a "nuclear power." The attempts at rapprochement come after the election in South Korea of a new president, Lee Jae-myung, who has pledged to reopen dialogue with North Korea. Analysts say, however, that engaging North Korea will likely be more difficult for both Lee and Trump than it was in the U.S. president's first term. Since then North Korea has significantly expanded its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs, and developed close ties with Russia through direct support for Moscow's war in Ukraine, to which Pyongyang has provided both troops and weaponry. Since Trump's first-term summitry with Kim Jong Un ended, North Korea has shown no interest in returning to talks.