<p>On April 4, Singapore announced that authorities had seized 12.9 tons of pangolin scales, which are used in traditional Chinese medicine. The scales were found in a shipping container destined for Vietnam, along with 390 pounds of elephant ivory. Pangolins are critically endangered, and the conservation group WildAid estimates that roughly 100,000 pangolins are poached from the wild each year.

<p>On April 5, the European Commission charged BMW, Daimler, and Volkswagen with colluding to limit the introduction of clean emissions technology. The Commission alleges that the carmakers colluded between 2006 and 2014 to limit, delay, or avoid the introduction of selective catalytic reduction systems to reduce harmful nitrogen oxides emissions from diesel passenger cars. The carmakers have 10 weeks to respond and could face fines of up to 10% of their global annual turnover.

<p>On April 5, the German government announced plans to approve an aid package for mining regions affected by its plans to phase out coal by 2038. The package would distribute 14 billion euros to the four German states affected by the phaseout and 26 billion euros in direct federal investments. The Bundestag lower house of parliament will vote on the package after the cabinet has given it the green light.