Chinese ban on ivory sales goes into effect

China's complete ban on ivory trade went into effect Sunday, officials said, a major step forward in Beijing's efforts to rein in what was once the world's largest market for illegal ivory."From today... the buying and selling of elephant ivory and goods by any market, shop or vendor is against the law!" the forestry ministry said on its official account on Chinese social media platform Weibo.According to the Xinhua state news agency, a partial ban had already resulted in an 80 percent decline i