Also, President-elect Barack Obama on Monday reiterated his stance that removing combat troops from Iraq in 16 months is the right timeframe.

CNN: Coalition nations leave Iraq as security improves

Kenya has recently taken a more aggressive stance against poaching as it tries to combat a surge in demand for ivory from Asia.

BBC: Kenya hunts ivory poachers after elephant family killed

Italy finds itself part of a new and potentially powerful grouping in the EU as the traditionally dominant Franco-German axis struggles to combat the threat of isolation which its anti-war stance has brought.

ECONOMIST: Trouble at home | The