There was a time when the stinginess of the Scottish Rugby Union knew no bounds, when players were given one pair of socks per year and instructions to hand them back with the rest of the kit at the end of the season, writes Peter Jackson.

When you put in the type of performance David Pocock delivered against Ireland last weekend, it becomes a little difficult to comprehend the Australian back-rower believed taking his one-year sabbatical from the game was something of a career risk.

Skinks catching the sun might be mistaken for dribbles of gold escaped from a smelter. Glossy black skins peppered with gold spots, they are strange creatures, neither lizard nor snake, somewhere in between.

Concern is rising about a member of staff from an Irish human rights group, who has been detained in Burundi.

The owner of a world-class plant collection in Kerry is set to realise his greatest professional ambition by exhibiting at next May’s RHS Chelsea Flower Show.

This year is expected to be one of the hottest on record, with temperatures more than 1C above pre-industrial levels, the World Meteorological Organisation has said.

This year is expected to be one of the hottest on record, with temperatures more than 1C above pre-industrial levels, the World Meteorological Organisation has said.

Elephant poaching in Africa has declined for the fifth year in a row, experts have said.

In the 1969 western Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Paul Newman and Robert Redford are pursued by a posse of lawmen, among whom is a Native American tracker, writes Richard Collins. 

In Mozambique three lions died after eating bait infused with a crop pesticide.

The moorhens and coots, of lakes and ponds, are easy to tell apart. Waterhens have bright red bills with yellow tips, and some white on their tail feathers, writes Richard Collins. 

HAVING tried for years to work out exactly the differences between three quite similar migrant birds, I enlisted the help of BirdWatch Ireland, of late, writes Donal Hickey

Irish prospecting firm Botswana Diamonds has reported a 15.5% narrowing of first-half losses and further progress at assets it holds in southern Africa.

A surge in killing African elephants for ivory has led to the “majestic” animal’s numbers falling by more than 100,000 in a decade, conservationists warned.

A surge in killing African elephants for ivory has led to the "majestic" animal's numbers falling by more than 100,000 in a decade, conservationists have warned.

Kenmare Resources has forecast increased production for the second half of this year as conditions continue to improve at its operations in southern Africa.

CONSIDERING the political convulsions wrought by the tens of thousands of migrants arriving on Europe’s shores from war-torn countries, we could be facing an even bigger refugee crisis as a result of climate change.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny was upbeat at the 15th Young Social Innovators awards ceremony in Dublin yesterday.

ZIMBABWE: Zimbabwe’s reigning Mr Ugly faces tough competition in this year’s contest, with organisers saying they received a record number of entries.

The number of animals and plants at risk of extinction rose in 2015 despite government pledges to improve protection, with species under threat ranging from lions in West Africa to orchids in Asia, a study showed.

Queen Elizabeth and celebrities will get the first look at the Chelsea Flower Show today, as horticulturalists from all over the world exhibit their immaculately designed gardens.

The largest “perfect” diamond to ever be auctioned has touched down in London ahead of its predicted $25m (€22m) sale in New York this spring.

A tragic reality proven: elephant poaching in Africa is out of control and these beautiful beasts are at real threat of extinction.

Peter Delaney tells Richard Fitzpatrick about his prizewinning picture in the Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition.

War reporter Tim Butcher and Irish nomad Manchán Magan are among those telling their tales at the Immrama festival in Lismore, writes Orlagh Ní Arrachtáin

The Solace of Milk

Friends of the investment banker's wife suspected of murdering her three young disabled children have told of her struggle to care for her family.

DEPICTIONS of lions and cheetahs appear in centuries-old Persian carpets; the ‘Chelsea Carpet’ in London’s Victoria and Albert Museum is a fine example.

The Catholic Church’s child safety watchdog has said it may never know the number of victims of clerical sex abuse where priests could have been taken out of circulation earlier to prevent further harm.

Up to a fifth of Africa’s elephants could be killed in the next 10 years if illegal poaching continues at the current rate, according to new figures revealed at the opening of a summit on the animals’ future.

Death rates for children under five have halved in some regions since 1990, but about 6.6 million still are thought to have died last year, according to a new report issued by Unicef.

It’s a long way from Botswana to the Banner County, but one Clare hurling fan is determined to see his adopted team lift the Liam MacCarthy Cup this weekend.

A British oil engineering company has made an approach to buy Clonmel- based Kentz for up to £680m (€797m).