30 Simple Health Tips to Try Each Day of March

Celebrate National Nutrition Month by making small changes that will lead to big improvements. 

Why wait until dinner to get your daily allotment of vegetables? Try adding a serving to breakfast instead.

Unlike "National Pancake Month" or "National Whipped Cream Month," National Nutrition Month is a yearly occasion that you can and should celebrate for 30 days straight. In fact, why stop at the end of March? I hope that, once you try the following tips, you'll want to continue practicing them all year through.

Here's how it works: Try one tip each day, starting today. (You can change the order, but be sure you try each one.) Then, repeat.

1. Cut portions.

If you think leaving just a little something on your plate won't matter, think again. It will. Small amounts of uneaten food add up to calories that stay on the plate – not on you.

2. Sip while you sit. 

Bring a cup or bottle of water with you whenever you sit (at your desk, in the car or in front of the TV, for example). Although moving is better than sitting, at least you'll be performing a healthy habit when at rest.

3. Make a move. 

Take the stairs, park a few blocks away or otherwise become inefficient and take extra steps to get where you need to go.

4. Have a vegetable at breakfast. 

Most people save their veggies for dinner, but it's healthful to think outside the cereal bowl and veg out at breakfast. For example, add a sliced tomato to your cheese sandwich or some mushrooms to youreggs.

5. Find fiber. 

Whether it's a bran cereal, nuts, oatmeal or an array of other fiber-filled foods, added fiber can make you feel fuller longer and provide a, well, moving experience.

6. Flip the package over. 

Read nutrition labels to see what's really in your food. Don't be fooled by a flashy front-of-package claim.

7. Don't fear fat – but don't go overboard.

Fat has more calories than other nutrients, but it has multiple benefits. If you watch your portions, you can enjoy its decadence.

8. Don't have guilt as a side dish. 

If you overindulge at a meal, move on.

9. Be mindful. 

Unless you're driving, close your eyes when you eat. Notice the food's texture, temperature and flavor.

10. Pick plants. 

Protein derived from plant sources such as seeds, nuts, tofu and tempeh, as well as from grains, can help lower cholesterol, improve your heart health and add a satiating blend of flavors to extend Meatless Monday to the rest of the week.

11. Tap into your dark side. 

Dark chocolate has been shown to have heart-healthy benefits and it can certainly boost your mood. Be mindful of portions, though, to help keep yourself feeling happy.

12. Eat something fishy. 

Enjoy fish as a dish at least three times a week. It's heart-healthy, low in fat and contains beneficial omega-3 fatty acids.

13. Take time for tea. 

Tea contains polyphenols, it's good for your bones and it provides a soothing cup of comfort in any season.

14. Cook with your kids. 

Don't think of this interaction as cooking lessons. Rather, realize that teaching your kids to put together a meal is a lesson they can use for the rest of their lives. 

15. Shake the salting habit. 

Replace salt with lemon, herbs and spices.

16. Eat when you eat. 

Try not to do simultaneous activities such as typing, watching TV or driving when you eat. You'll appreciate each bite even more.

17. Sleep more, weigh less. 

The more hours you're awake, the more time you have to nosh. Lack of zzz's can also mess with your hormone levels.

18. Be good to your gut. 

Include Greek yogurt, sauerkraut, kefir or foods high in fiber in your diet.

19. Make healthy swaps. 

For instance, try mashed avocado instead of butter or use whole-wheat pastry flour in place of white, refined types.

20. Go nuts. 

Nuts add crunch and decadent flavor to salads, veggie dishes, yogurt and even sandwiches via nut butters. Nuts can help reduce cholesterol levels and stabilize blood glucose levels.

21. Indulge without bulge. 

Comfort foods in the right amounts and at the right times will provide what you're looking for – comfort. Excessive amounts could lead to discomfort and unnecessary weight gain. Avoid portion distortion.

22. Chill out. 

Frozen foods, particularly fruits and veggies, can be just as nutritious as fresh produce and, in some cases, they may be even better.

23. Have a superfood. 

Most superfoods can be found in the produce aisle – they're not fancy and they don't even wear food labels. Add a fruit or veggie to each meal.

24. Share a meal. 

Try ordering your own appetizer but split the main dish with a friend.

25. Get big on beans. 

Beans are the most undervalued food in the supermarket. They are inexpensive, easy to store, rich in protein and fiber, and taste so good. Add some to your soup tonight.

26. Do something. 

Don't call it exercise – call it fun. Dance, ride a bike, take the dog for a long walk or just climb the steps in your home or apartment.

27. Cook someone a meal. 

There's no better way to show you care than to make the effort to cook for somebody you care about.

28. Keep a food diary. 

Most people don't realize how much they really consume in a day. If you write it down, the amount you eat may surprise you.

29. Make snacks count. 

Be sure your snack consists of protein, whole grains and healthy fat for the trifecta that will keep you feeling fuller longer.

30. Be kind to yourself. 

If you're not having a great day, don't "reward" yourself with food – the wrong foods in the wrong amounts may become punishments instead of rewards. Take a bath, write a letter, surround yourself with true friends or buy yourself something that will make you smile. You deserve to have a wonderful month – and a fabulous rest of the year.

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Farhad and Mike’s Week in Tech: The Unstoppable Facebook

Mark Zuckerberg, chief executive of Facebook, announced a new stock structure for the company this week.

Each Saturday, Farhad Manjoo and Mike Isaac, technology reporters at The New York Times, review the week’s news, offering analysis and maybe a joke or two about the most important developments in the tech industry.

Farhad: Hello, Mike! I’ve got to tell you, I’m getting really tired of saying that. We’ve already chatted on Facebook Live this week. We keep up a regular banter on Slack and Twitter. And then there’s this newsletter, week in and week out. You’re a nice guy, but … don’t you think we’re just too involved?

Mike: Is this you trying to break up with me? Don’t ever leave me, Farhad. I’m too fragile.

Farhad: Er, let’s just talk about tech news. It was another big week for corporate earnings. Let’s summarize: Apple made $10.5 billion in three months, which would be a record for just about any other company on the planet, but for Apple it was an embarrassing comedown from its year-ago peak. Now people are wondering whether Apple’s best days are in its past. Hey, whose aren’t, am I right?

Mike: My mom says my best days are ahead of me. But she also said I was the coolest kid in school which, uh, turned out to be a slight exaggeration.

Farhad: Twitter also disappointed investors: The company added some new users, but it fell short of revenue projections, sending people on Twitter into a panic. Amazon, meanwhile, crushed it. The company’s sales grew 28 percent, and it posted a profit of $513 million, a record for Amazon. For those keeping score at home: That’s about what Apple makes every four days. Amazon’s stock went predictably nuts.

Mike: Man, what if your job was looking at how much companies’ profit margins grew or shrank every day? Just thinking of being surrounded by Excel spreadsheets and punching in figures makes me want to cry.

Farhad: While we’re on the boring subject of earnings, let’s note some recent boardroom shuffles. So Yahoo — remember them? Used to be kind of famous — gave in to one of its fiercest tormentors this week: the hedge fund Starboard Value, often described as an activist investor. Yahoo allowed Starboard to have four seats on its board, a way to ease some tensions in advance of a potential sale of Yahoo’s core bus— oh, my God, I’m bored already. Anyway, that’s the Yahoo update.

Continue reading t

Mike: Holy moly, I am bored out of my mind. I need a place to sleep now.

Farhad: Funny you should say that! Arianna Huffington, the founder of the Huffington Post and the author of a new book about sleep, has joined the board of Uber. Also, the Huffington Post recently killed a story critical of Uber. Coincidence, I’m sure.

Mike: Maybe she can tell me the best way to sleep in an Uber. She’s willing to join us on rides, apparently.

Farhad: Maybe we should chat about Facebook? Mark Zuckerberg’s social behemoth announced huge growth and profits this week, beating out even the most optimistic of analysts’ expectations. Zuck also announced his intention to become a kind of world-historic deity, creating a new stock structure that would allow him to give away his money so that he can do things like — I kid you not, this is a real goal, written down on paper and everything — “cure all diseases by the end of this century.”

So you cover Facebook. Tell me, why are they doing so well? More important, can anything stop them?

Mike: I think we talked a little bit about this in our Facebook Live discussion this week. (Tune in every week!) It’s an important thing to highlight, so let’s dive in again.

For one, we cannot stress enough just how well Facebook handled the broad consumer shift from using a desktop computer to get to the web to now using smartphones as our gateways to pretty much everything on the Internet. The entire industry was caught off guard by the success of iPhone and Android, and absolutely no one was prepared for how to make money on the phone.

That killed — or at least deeply wounded — quite a few successful companies. Remember Zynga? That place was raking in the cash from FarmVille-loving moms on the desktop. Suddenly, everyone is playing Candy Crush Saga on the iPhone and all those cash crops are lying fallow. Zynga still hasn’t recovered or found a viable way out.

Anyway, Facebook nailed mobile ads in the news feed, and now 82 percent of the company’s ad revenue comes from people viewing those ads on smartphones. That’s a shift in just a few years, and it’s insane.

Farhad: It’s all the more remarkable considering how unlikely the transition looked a few years ago. Just after the company’s I.P.O. in 2012, investors were almost universally convinced that Facebook couldn’t get people hooked on its app the way it had seduced us on desktops. And analysts were constantly sounding an alarm that Facebook was just a fad — “Teenagers Leaving Facebook!” became an evergreen tech headline — and everyone was constantly on the lookout for the next great social network.

Facebook endured, I think, because it understood that its appeal was primal and wasn’t dependent on format: People wanted to see what was going on with their friends and frenemies from whatever device they used. Kind of like how you and I can’t stop chatting no matter what machine we’re on.

Mike: Yes, isn’t it great? Now, Facebook gets to make all these huge bets on the future to figure out where the next enormous platform for consumers will be and really try to dominate that long before it’s backed into a corner and forced to.

No one puts Zuck in the corner, ever again.

That means huge gambles on acquiring start-ups like Oculus, the virtual reality company, and WhatsApp, the messaging app, for billions upon billions of dollars.

I’m nervous to give Facebook too much in the way of props, only because it’s already a lovefest with analysts and what goes up must eventually come down. I think Isaac Newton said that. Or Gordon Gekko.

Farhad: Yeah, I don’t think we should go overboard. Their bets on the future still face huge questions: Can WhatsApp ever make money? Will Facebook Messenger really become a place for commerce and services? Will virtual reality become entrenched in society, or could it end up as the next 3-D TV? And then there’s the biggest vulnerability: Will the new Farhad and Mike Facebook Live show convince people to delete Facebook forever?

Mike: I’ve got people unfriending me after that show already — 99 percent of the comments were insults.

Anyway, for now, Facebook is still the company to beat. I guess they get to keep taking victory laps.

Farhad: Not for long, friend. We’re doing another Facebook video next week. That’ll show them. See you then!

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Portable Device Can Test If Your Food Is Gluten-Free

This portable gluten tester from 6SensorLabs can detect if a food has 20 parts per million or more of gluten.

For people with gluten allergies or celiac disease, the idea of eating out in restaurants can be terrifying. It typically involves scrutinizing menus and food labels, interrogating waiters, or having to bring their own meals wherever they go.

But now, a discreet new device, small enough to fit into a pocket or purse, could make eating out an easier and safer experience for gluten-sensitive people.

Manufactured by San Francisco-based startup 6SensorLabs, the portable gluten-testing device, called Nima, can test food for the presence of gluten, providing results within minutes and reducing people's food anxiety. The device could also provide greater social freedom, making meals more enjoyable, said 6SensorLabs co-founder and chief technology officer Scott Sundvor. [8 Top Meals from Nutritionists]

"A lot of people who have food issues get very stressed when they're eating out, and they avoid eating out altogether," Sundvor told Live Science. "Our product will really enable them to start going out again and start being more open in social settings."

An estimated one in 133 Americans, or about 1 percent of the population, is affected by celiac disease, an inherited autoimmune disease in which eating gluten can cause severe damage to the small intestine, according to the organization Beyond Celiac. There are currently no treatments or cures for celiac disease — except eating a diet without any gluten, which is a protein found in wheat, rye and barley.

Using the Nima device, individuals can make sure their food is gluten-free by placing a tiny piece of their meal inside a disposable capsule, twisting the cap shut and inserting the capsule into the Nima's main sensor unit. Within 2 to 3 minutes, Nima will let users know if the food is safe to eat by displaying a smiley face on the screen if there is no gluten, or a frown if the result is positive for the protein, the company said.

The device can test a range of foods, from soups and sauces to more solid items like baked and fried goods, Sundvor said. Using a combination of a chemical and mechanical process, the Nima grinds down any chunky bits, dissolving the food in a proprietary blend of enzymes and antibodies that zero in on any gluten in the mix. And Sundvor said those antibodies can detect levels of gluten as low as 20 parts per million, the FDA limit for the maximum level of gluten considered acceptable in foods that are labeled gluten-free.

But the Nima itself is not an FDA-approved device. It is not intended for medical or diagnostic use, the company said. Instead, the Nima is marketed as a tool for getting more information about food when eating out, Sundvor said.

"We're selling this as a device that can give another layer of data," Sundvor told Live Science. "This isn’t something that will help people treat their disease or diagnose gluten-sensitivity, and that's why we don't need FDA approval for the device."

The Nima offers a portable alternative to current clunky, time-consuming food-testing kits on the market, Sundvor said. The device is 99.5 percent accurate, he said. That number is based on about 2,000 tests comparing the Nima's sensitivity to gluten in various foods to that of other consumer gluten tests currently on the market.

Nima's results have also been validated by two different external labs: Bia Diagnostics and BioAssay Systems. And Sundvor said his company is making sure to get the device tested even more thoroughly by a third party before making the sensor available to the public later this year.

There are still some challenges, though. Most importantly, the Nima can't guarantee that an entire meal will be free of gluten, because the tests only the portion of the meal that users place in their device, Sundvor said. If there is gluten in the salad dressing on the side of a meal, for example, and not in the crusted Parmesan chicken, the device could give a false negative if the chicken is the only part of the meal tested.

The Nima avoids cross-contamination inside the device itself by using disposable capsules. This design also allows for potential expansion into capsules for other allergies later on, with the development of dairy and peanut allergy-testing capsules already underway, Sundvor said.

Currently, users can pre-order a starter kit online, which consists of the main Nima sensor unit and three capsules, selling for $199. Refill packs of 12 capsules each will also be available on a subscription basis for $47.95 during the pre-sale. Once the device is available, in mid-2016, the company will also have a Nima app, in which users can log results and share their experiences at different restaurants, testing different foods, Sundvor said.

"This is going to have a really big impact on people," he added. "It will bring more transparency to food in general and help people with their dietary issues."

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Worsening depression 'may predict dementia risk'

A link between depression and dementia has been known for some time

Symptoms of depression that steadily increase over time in older age could indicate early signs of dementia, scientists have said.

Other patterns of symptoms, such as chronic depression, appear not to be linked, a study found.

Dutch researchers looked at different ways depression in older adults progressed over time and how this related to any risk.

They concluded worsening depression may signal the condition is taking hold.

The research, published in The Lancet Psychiatry, followed more than 3,000 adults aged 55 and over living in the Netherlands.

All had depression but no symptoms of dementia at the start of the study.

Dr M Arfan Ikram of the Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam said depressive symptoms that gradually increase over time appear to be a better predictor of dementia later in life than other paths of depression.

"There are a number of potential explanations, including that depression and dementia may both be symptoms of a common underlying cause, or that increasing depressive symptoms are on the starting end of a dementia continuum in older adults," he said.

Only the group whose symptoms of depression increased over time were found to be at increased risk of dementia - about one in five of people (55 out of 255) in this group developed dementia.

Others who had symptoms that waxed and waned or stayed the same were not at increased risk.

For example, in those who experienced low but stable levels of depression, around 10% went on to develop dementia.

Prevention strategies?

The exact nature of depression on dementia risk remains unknown.

They often occur together, but the Dutch study is among the first to look at different patterns of depression symptoms.

Dr Simone Reppermund from the Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing at the University of New South Wales, Sydney, said more studies were needed to understand the link.

"A focus on lifestyle factors such as physical activity and social networks, and biological risk factors such as vascular disease, neuroinflammation, high concentrations of stress hormones, and neuropathological changes, might bring new treatment and prevention strategies a step closer," she wrote in a linked editorial in the journal.

Depression varies greatly from one person to another. Some experience depressive symptoms only briefly, others have remitting and relapsing depression and some people are depressed all the time.

Dr Simon Ridley, director of research at Alzheimer's Research UK, said anyone concerned about either condition should seek help.

"The findings suggest that low levels of depression or fluctuating symptoms may not affect dementia risk but that a worsening of symptoms in the over-55s may be an early indicator of diseases like Alzheimer's," he said.

"It's important to remember that only a relatively small number of people experiencing symptoms of depression went on to develop dementia during this 11-year study, but anyone concerned about either condition should talk to their GP."

Related Topics

• Dementia

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Iraqi Shia protesters storm Baghdad parliament

Protesters have entered the Iraqi parliament building

Hundreds of Shia Muslim activists have stormed Iraq's parliament in protest against ongoing deadlock in approving a new cabinet.

Supporters of Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr broke through barricades of the protected Green Zone in Baghdad after MPs again failed to convene for a vote.

A state of emergency has been declared in the city, but not a curfew.

Security forces near the US embassy later fired tear gas to stop more protesters entering the Green Zone.

Mr Sadr wants PM Haider al-Abadi to commit to a plan to replace ministers with non-partisan technocrats.

Powerful parties in parliament have refused to approve the change for several weeks.

Earlier this week, hundreds of thousands of people marched towards the Green Zone, the most secure part of Baghdad that houses embassies and government buildings, to protest against the political deadlock.

The Shia protesters unfurled banners after storming parliament

Delighted protesters cheered and posed for photos

Protesters breached blast walls to reach the building

The demonstrators streamed through the Green Zone's defences

Stones were thrown at cars thought to be carrying MPs away

A new protest outside the zone escalated after parliament again failed to reach a quorum on Saturday.

Groups marched on the district soon after the end of a televised appearance by Mr Sadr, although he did not call for the storming of parliament.

The protesters tried to topped lawmakers attempting to flee the building.

One protester, Ali Mohammed, said they were angry at the politicians' failure to act.

"The people have come to the right place, to rule themselves," he told Reuters news agency.

"The people are now staging a sit-in inside parliament. Our legitimate and only demand is to dismiss the government and replace it with an independent cabinet of technocrats."

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Crisis escalates - BBC Middle East analyst Sebastian Usher

This is a major escalation of a political crisis that's been brewing for months. The Iraqi prime minister set out an ambitious programme for reform last year - intended to foster a sense of political unity and accountability to help Iraq tackle the challenge of a failing economy and even more urgently, the battle against IS.

But he's met fierce opposition at every turn in his attempt to cut off the political and financial corruption that's enriched and empowered the elite for so long.

Moqtada Sadr has ostensibly supported him in this aim - having reinvented himself as the voice of the angry Iraqi people, fed up with the status quo.

But with the storming of parliament by his followers, there must now be a big question over whether he offers support to the beleaguered prime minister, or a challenge.

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'Lockdown'

The protesters are reported to have begun ransacking parliament buildings. United Nations and embassy staff were on lockdown inside their compounds, Reuters reported.

Iraq's system of sharing government jobs has long been criticised for promoting unqualified candidates and encouraging corruption.

Mr Abadi, who came to power in 2014, has promised to stamp out corruption and ease sectarian tensions, but he has failed to far to introduce a new technocratic cabinet.

A survey by the Pew Research Centre in 2011 found that 51% of Iraqi Muslims identified themselves as Shia, compared with 42% Sunni.

Elsewhere in Baghdad, a car bomb targeted a group of Shia Muslim pilgrims on Saturday, killing at least 21 people.

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Who is Moqtada Sadr?

Shia Muslims make up most of Iraq's population

The Shia cleric and his militia group, the Mehdi Army, gained prominence after the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. galvanising anti-US sentiment.

Mr Sadr's followers clashed repeatedly with US forces, whose withdrawal the cleric consistently demanded.

An arrest warrant was issued for Mr Sadr in 2004 in connection with the murder of a rival cleric.

His militia was also blamed for the torture and killing of thousands of Sunnis in the sectarian carnage of 2006 and 2007. Mr Sadr fled to Iran during that period.

In 2011, Mr Sadr returned from his self-imposed exile to Iraq, taking a more conciliatory tone and calling for Iraqi unity and peace.

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Iran elections: Hardliners lose parliament to Rouhani allies

Iranians went to the polls again on Friday

Run-off elections have given moderates and reformists a working majority in the Iranian parliament for the first time in more than a decade.

Supporters of President Hassan Rouhani won 42% of the total seats - short of an outright majority but comfortable enough to pass his legislative plans.

Independents took nearly 30% and many of them are said to be reform-minded.

Hardliners won just under a third of seats in a humiliating performance, a BBC correspondent reports.

The run-off was held on Friday in constituencies where no candidate had won the minimum 25% of the vote at the first round in February.

The results are regarded by many as an endorsement of the nuclear agreement that the government of President Rouhani signed with the US and other world powers to curtail Iran's nuclear programme in return for the lifting of international sanctions.

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Rouhani can be happy - analysis by Kasra Naji, BBC Persian

President Hassan Rouhani will look at the results of the run-off elections with a good deal of satisfaction. The moderate and independent candidates have dwarfed his hard-line opponents.

Many of the independents are generally believed to be supporters of the government. This means he will have little trouble in the next parliament, which is due to start work in less than a month from now.

His first priority, according to his Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif, is the introduction of bill to guarantee citizens' rights - a major step, he hopes, that will improve human rights in the country and the rule of law.

But he still faces other centres of power that are in the hands of the hardliners, who may block his every effort to steer Iran towards moderation.

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'Issue by issue'

In February, reformists also made gains in elections for the Assembly of Experts, which appoints the country's most powerful official, the Supreme Leader.

Dr Sanam Vakil, an associate fellow at Britain's Chatham House think tank, said the swing power of independent lawmakers would make for combative politics in Iran.

"It's going to be issue by issue," she told Reuters news agency.

"I don't think we should expect a group of independents to be supportive of any political, social and cultural liberalisation."

Analysts say that although the parliamentary elections are not expected to herald large-scale changes in Iranian policies, they could help President Rouhani push through economic and social reforms.

Related Topics

• Iran

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Elephant summit: Kenya sets fire to huge ivory stockpile

This fire will keep burning for a number of days, reports Anne Soy in Nairobi

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has set fire to a huge stockpile of ivory in an effort to show his country's commitment to saving Africa's elephants.

More than 100 tonnes of ivory was stacked up in pyres in Nairobi National Park where it is expected to burn for several days.

The ivory represents nearly the entire stock confiscated by Kenya, amounting to the tusks of about 6,700 elephants.

Some disagree with Kenya's approach, saying it can encourage poaching.

Before igniting the first pyre, Mr Kenyatta said: "The height of the pile of ivory before us marks the strength of our resolve.

"No-one, and I repeat no-one, has any business in trading in ivory, for this trade means death of our elephants and death of our natural heritage."

Does burning actually destroy ivory?

The burning comes after African leaders meeting in Kenya urged an end to illegal trade in ivory.

Experts have warned Africa's elephants could be extinct within decades.

But some conservationists have expressed opposition to the ivory burn in Kenya, the biggest in history.

They say destroying so much of a rare commodity could increase its value and encourage more poaching rather than less.

Botswana, which is home to about half of Africa's elephants, is opposed to the burn and its president did not attend the event in Nairobi.

Demand for ivory comes largely from Asia, with the main trafficking route being through the Kenyan port of Mombasa.

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The war on elephants, by Alastair Leithead, BBC News

The love of ivory goes back millennia. Its pure, translucent beauty and the ease with which a tusk can be carved into intricate sculptures have given it a lasting value throughout the ages.

Tackling demand and destroying the market are both important but there are also ways of making elephants more valuable alive than dead.

In the parks and game reserves of Africa, close encounters with the most remarkable animals on the planet lie in wait - you just need time, patience and a good eye.

Alastair's report in depth

The stockpile burned includes seized ivory carvings and statues

The African push to tackle ivory poaching, by BBC Monitoring

• Kenya is struggling with poaching, and tough laws with huge fines and prison sentences do not seem to be a deterrent. Kenya Wildlife Service says it suffers from staff and equipment shortages.
• Uganda is a conservation success story. Elephant populations have increased to around 5,000 after reaching a low of 700 in the 1980s. Kampala has set up a wildlife crime unit, and plans cross-border programmes with its neighbours.
• Gabon uses paratroops to crack down on poachers who target elephants living in dense equatorial forests. The wildlife service has expanded 10-fold to over 650 guards with a much-increased budget.
• Botswana adopted a shoot-to-kill policy in December 2013 in an effort to curb elephant poaching. It also placed a total ban on hunting in 2014 which extends to all animal species.
• Tanzania's government has increased routine patrols, netting over 1,000 suspected poachers by the end of 2015.

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Africa is home to between 450,000 and 500,000 elephants but more than 30,000 are killed every year for their tusks. Tanzania has lost 65% of its elephant population in the past five years.

The Kenyan ivory pyres are seven times the size of any stockpile destruction so far, and represent about 5% of global ivory stores.

Hong Kong has a legal ivory industry

Some 1.35 tonnes of rhino horn will also be burned.

The street value of the ivory to be destroyed is estimated at more than $100m (£70m), and the rhino horn at $80m.

"We don't believe there is any intrinsic value in ivory, and therefore we're going to burn all our stockpiles and demonstrate to the world that ivory is only valuable on elephants," said Kitili Mbathi, director general of the Kenya Wildlife Service.

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