The president of Botswana must investigate much more closely the unexplained deaths of at least 356 elephants in the country’s Okavango region, activists and experts have demanded.
In a letter to President Mokgweetsi Masisi two conservation groups, City's Fighting for Elephants & Rhinos and Botswana for Elephants, raised concerns that the elephant death toll could be significantly higher than currently reported.
“We are as yet not aware of a comprehensive survey to estimate the total numbers of elephants that have died,” the organisations wrote.
“We are also concerned that there seems to have been a lack of dedicated effort to determine the cause of deaths of these elephants. Unless this important information is gathered and made public, more elephants could succumb.”
The letter has since been signed by an array of groups around the world focused on protecting elephants.
“Botswana has long enjoyed the reputation of a prime destination for wildlife tourists and the government has invested considerable sums in citizen empowerment schemes to promote employment in this important GDP sector,” the letter stated.
“Botswana surely has the means and the ability to determine the cause of these elephant mortalities. The Botswana National Veterinary Laboratory, located just outside Gaborone, is a leading regional research institution and has established connections across the SADC region and indeed with leading Western veterinary research institutions.
“We would therefore appeal to you, Mr President, to take a personal interest in this very important matter of world conservation concern and ensure that these elephant deaths are investigated fully, transparently and with the best scientists available in Botswana and their collaborators abroad,” it added.
Niall McCann, the director and founder of National Park Rescue, has described the death toll as “staggering” and said it needs to be investigated immediately.
He told Cape Talk Radio that normally it is easy to identify how elephants have died.
“But at the moment, we just don’t know and for a fact that this has been happening the last six weeks or so and we still have no answers, That’s very concerning to me and I really hope that, now that the samples have started to make their way into some labs, we can find out what’s happening.
“Is it a pathogen? Is it a poison? Or is it a natural toxin?”
None of the elephants had shown any signs of wounds and instead appeared to have suffered from “neuronal impairment", Mr McCann pointed out.
“Those that are dying are often dying very quickly, falling flat on their faces as if suddenly they've collapsed."
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
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3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champioons League semi-final, first leg:
Liverpool 5
Salah (35', 45 1'), Mane (56'), Firmino (61', 68')
Roma 2
Dzeko (81'), Perotti (85' pen)
Second leg: May 2, Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Malcolm & Marie
Directed by: Sam Levinson
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Three stars
Best Academy: Ajax and Benfica
Best Agent: Jorge Mendes
Best Club : Liverpool
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Best Partnership of the Year Award by SportBusiness: Manchester City and SAP
Best Referee: Stephanie Frappart
Best Revelation Player: Joao Felix (Atletico Madrid and Portugal)
Best Sporting Director: Andrea Berta (Atletico Madrid)
Best Women's Player: Lucy Bronze
Best Young Arab Player: Achraf Hakimi
Kooora – Best Arab Club: Al Hilal (Saudi Arabia)
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Player Career Award: Miralem Pjanic and Ryan Giggs
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
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Community Shield info
Where, when and at what time Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday at 5pm (UAE time)
Arsenal line up (3-4-2-1) Petr Cech; Rob Holding, Per Mertesacker, Nacho Monreal; Hector Bellerin, Mohamed Elneny, Granit Xhaka, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain; Alex Iwobi, Danny Welbeck; Alexandre Lacazette
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger
Chelsea line up (3-4-2-1) Thibaut Courtois; Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Gary Cahill; Victor Moses, Cesc Fabregas, N'Golo Kante, Marcos Alonso; Willian, Pedro; Michy Batshuayi
Chelsea manager Antonio Conte
Referee Bobby Madley
Company Profile
Company name: OneOrder
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T20 World Cup Qualifier
October 18 – November 2
Opening fixtures
Friday, October 18
ICC Academy: 10am, Scotland v Singapore, 2.10pm, Netherlands v Kenya
Zayed Cricket Stadium: 2.10pm, Hong Kong v Ireland, 7.30pm, Oman v UAE
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Rameez Shahzad, Darius D’Silva, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zawar Farid, Ghulam Shabber, Junaid Siddique, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Waheed Ahmed, Chirag Suri, Zahoor Khan
Players out: Mohammed Naveed, Shaiman Anwar, Qadeer Ahmed
Players in: Junaid Siddique, Darius D’Silva, Waheed Ahmed
RESULT
Bayern Munich 0 AC Milan 4
Milan: Kessie (14'), Cutrone (25', 43'), Calhanoglu (85')
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Try out the test yourself
Q1 Suppose you had $100 in a savings account and the interest rate was 2 per cent per year. After five years, how much do you think you would have in the account if you left the money to grow?
a) More than $102
b) Exactly $102
c) Less than $102
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
Q2 Imagine that the interest rate on your savings account was 1 per cent per year and inflation was 2 per cent per year. After one year, how much would you be able to buy with the money in this account?
a) More than today
b) Exactly the same as today
c) Less than today
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
Q4 Do you think that the following statement is true or false? “Buying a single company stock usually provides a safer return than a stock mutual fund.”
a) True
b) False
d) Do not know
e) Refuse to answer
The “Big Three” financial literacy questions were created by Professors Annamaria Lusardi of the George Washington School of Business and Olivia Mitchell, of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
Answers: Q1 More than $102 (compound interest). Q2 Less than today (inflation). Q3 False (diversification).