As China steps into the new year, it is doing so without a once-thriving facet of its economy: the ivory trade. The country's ban on the domestic sale and processing of ivory and its products took ...

The ban covers ivory items of all ages, with an unlimited fine or five years in jail the maximum penalty for breaching the ban. The decision, which must be approved by parliament, comes after a ...

(Kazuhiro NOGI/AFP/AFP) At his store in Tokyo's ritzy Ginza district, Hajime Sasaki displays a disparate array of wares, from chopsticks to Buddha statues -- including many made of ivory.