Botswana

Hundreds of elephants found dead in Botswana

Dr Niall McCann said colleagues in the southern African country had spotted more than 350 elephant carcasses in the Okavango Delta since the start of May.

No one knows why the animals are dying, with lab results on samples still weeks away, according to the government.

Botswana is home to a third of Africa's declining elephant population.

Dr McCann, of the UK-based charity National Park Rescue, told the BBC his colleagues first alerted the government in early May, after they undertook a flight over the delta.

Samoa seal final qualifying berth for netball's World Youth Cup

Having lost their opening two matches of the tournament, Samoa won three straight to join Fiji and the Cook Islands as the top three teams in the Pacific.

Is it too late to save the elephant?

"I don't think anybody in the world has seen the number of dead elephants that I've seen over the last two years," he says. 

From above, we spot an elephant lying on its side in the cracked river mud. From a distance it could be mistaken for a resting animal. 

But the acrid stench of death hits us before we even land. 

Up close, it is a horror. 

He was a magnificent bull right in his prime, 45 to 50 years old. To get at his prized ivory tusks, poachers hacked off his face.  

World's second-biggest diamond found in Botswana

The Type-IIa stone, just smaller than a tennis ball, is the largest diamond discovery for more than 100 years, Vancouver-based Lucara said. It was recovered by machines at the south lobe of Karowe​ mine in central Botswana, the company said in a statement.

Botswana and Bahamas express interest in hosting 2017 Commonwealth Youth Games

The two countries have been in contact with the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) about the prospect of bringing the event to their respective countries, with both now set to hold Governmental talks to decide whether to officially enter the race.

Countries have until the end of September to express an interest before formal candidacies must be declared by the end of October.

insidethegames also understands the Canadian city being proposed as their candidate is Edmonton, who withdrew from the race for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, eventually awarded to sole bidder Durban.