Conservationists sound the alarm on the fate of rare Sumatran Elephants;  Moscow cops blame human traffickers for a city beneath the city;  Government troops push back Islamist rebels in Western Africa;  And I just don’t understand the world anymore, so.. puppy.

Police in Mexico are holding 3 people in connection with the disappearance of 12 young revelers from the popular Zona Rosa entertainment district of Mexico City.  Security videos in the area show the 12 entering the after-hours bar, but not coming out.  Three of the missing are related to a crime boss in the growing no-mans-lands outside the capital city, raising fears the Mexico’s provincial chaos is moving into the relatively well-to-do capital.

One person is dead and rescuers were trying to extricate at least two people trapped in a building collapse in Philadelphia.  The four-story building was being demolished when a brick wall collapsed and rained debris below.  More than a dozen people were hurt. 

China has freed a US business executive in advance of Xi’s meeting this week with President Obama.  Hu Zhicheng is a US citizen and an expert on automotive catalytic converters, which China and its filthy sky desperately need.  In 2008, a Chinese business partner accused him of stealing trade secrets, and China jailed Hu for two years, cleared him, but blocked him from leaving.  That is until this week.

The World Wildlife Fund warns that elephant killings are on the rise in Indonesia.  29 critically endangered Sumatran Elephants were either shot or poisoned last year alone.  129 were similarly killed in the past decade.  The poachers hide bags of toxic detergent in the tuskers’ food sources, and when the animals drop dead, the poachers move in and take the Ivory for the international black market.

The Mali military attacked Tuareg rebels and took a village, their first success without the help of French forces.  A year ago, Mali was humiliated by separatist rebels who drove government troups from the northern half of the country the rebels call “Azawad”.  Although it’s a good victory against the Islamist rebels, Malian officials French troops will be around for a while to support the government.

Is it just me, or does has the whole “Peace Prize” thing turned into a meaningless, hazy cloud?  The United Nations awarded a Peace Prize to French President Francois Hollande for his country’s military intervention in Mali.  Apparently, the Houphouet-Boigny prize is for actions that support “peace and stability”, which includes strapping up and going to war.  Hollande was presented with a diploma, a gold medal and a cash prize of more than A$150,000 which he will reportedly donate to relief organizations in Mali.  Because the price of four Toyotas totally make up for war.

In Moscow, the underground black market really IS underground.  Police arrested about 200 people living and working in a vast, underground complex beneath an old street market.  Although it’s the furthest thing from luxurious, they had it set up with a chicken coop, workshops, a casino, and their own movie theater.  Moscow is a still a prime destination for people from the impoverished former SSRs, and even from as far away as Vietnam, looking for work and for money to send home.  Russian authorities are promising to hold human traffickers accountable.

Also beneath Moscow, a fire in the subway routed 4 thousand passengers.  Smoke filled the tunnel and the trains within after a power cable caught fire in a tunnel leading to the Okhotny Ryad station adjacent to Red Square.  Dozens of people sought medical help and seven were hospitalized. Most of them suffered from smoke inhalation.

As promised, Taro the Puppy knows there’s something good going on up on that kitchen counter, but he can’t reach it!  And he's rambunctious.