DENPASAR, Indonesia (AP) — Indonesian police have confiscated 33 endangered sea turtles believed to be headed for local restaurants on the resort island of Bali. Bali police spokesman Col. Hariadi said the turtles were seized from a boat off the coast. He said crewmen who were believed to be waiting to unload them escaped as police arrived. Hariadi, who uses one name, said they included green turtles and hawksbill turtles weighing between 65 and 130 pounds. Turtle meat is a delicacy among Balinese despite threats by animal welfare groups of a tourist boycott of the island. Indonesia has banned trade and consumption of endangered turtles.

BEIJING (AP) — China’s leaders have pledged to reduce pomp, ceremony, and bureaucratic visits and meetings. State media reported that members of the 25-member Politburo agreed that officials should reduce ostentation "in order to remain close with the public." They agreed that red carpets will no longer be rolled out for officials on visits, and welcoming flowers and banners should also go. They said overseas Chinese shouldn’t be bussed to airports to greet leaders when they arrive. The official Xinhua News Agency says the Politburo also agreed to cut spending and the size of leaders’ entourages on official domestic and overseas visits, that fewer traffic controls should be arranged for such trips to avoid inconveniencing the public, and to ban worthless news reports on senior officials’ work and activities.

SINGAPORE (AP) — Four Chinese immigrant workers who organized Singapore’s first strike in nearly three decades face up to a year in prison after being charged with instigating labor unrest. The men who worked as bus drivers for the island’s public transport company were charged and are in jail while an investigation continues. Strikes are almost unheard of in Singapore where the ruling party has been in power since 1959 and maintains strict control over political dissent. Some 171 Chinese bus drivers went on strike in protest at being paid nearly a quarter less than Malaysian bus drivers who work for the same Singapore transport company. Singapore law requires essential service workers such as bus drivers to give 14 days of notice of a strike.

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysian authorities have seized 1,500 elephant tusks in a $20 million shipment that was believed to have been headed to China. Customs official Azis Yacub says inspectors at Port Klang harbor found 24 tons of unprocessed tusks hidden in secret compartments in containers of timber. He says the shipment originated from Togo and sailed to Spain, where it was transferred to another ship before arriving in Malaysia. He said in a statement that intelligence showed the shipment was to be moved to another ship before heading to China. No arrests have been made. Malaysia has stepped up inspections for illegal ivory after wildlife groups said the country was becoming a transit hub for tusks amid robust demand in China that has decimated African elephant populations.

MANILA, The Philippines (AP) — The Philippine Department of Justice has announced that murder charges have been filed against four suspects in the fatal stabbing of a U.S. diplomat’s husband. Prosecutor-general Claro Arellano said that the murder charges were filed before a Makati city court against four Filipino suspects in the killing of U.S. Marine George Anikow. Anikow, an Afghanistan war veteran and father of three, died of stab wounds in the neck. The four men allegedly attacked Anikow after a heated argument at the gate of an upscale residential compound. A CCTV camera captured the attack on video.