Elephants on parade in Laos as numbers dwindle

Dozens of elephants, adorned in bright colors and with garlands of flowers, paraded through a Laotian town on Saturday in a celebration of a species that has become increasingly scarce in the Southeast Asian country.Known historically as the "Land of a Million Elephants", Laos now has only a few hundred left in the wild and not many more than that in captivity, most of which are used in logging.Nearly 70 elephants joined the main procession at the 11th annual elephant festival in Sayaboury Provi