Botswana

GABORONE, May 25 (Reuters) - Botswana will not back down on demands for a bigger share of rough diamonds from its joint venture with De Beers, President Mokgweetsi Masisi said on Thursday, upping the stakes as talks for a new sales deal appear to be stalling.

Botswana and De Beers mine the precious stones through their equally owned, 54-year-old mining venture, Debswana Diamond Co. The current diamond sales deal, in place since 2011, has been extended three times since 2020 but is set to expire next month.

GABORONE, Aug. 3 (Xinhua) -- As the number of reported cases of COVID-19 has decreased in recent months, the government of Botswana announced Tuesday that wearing face masks outdoor will no longer be required.

Having reviewed the disease burden in the country and most importantly, the high numbers of people vaccinated against the global pandemic, Botswana has decided to relax some protocols in order to allow for more increased economic activity, said Christopher Nyanga, Botswana's Ministry of Health spokesperson, in a statement.

GABORONE, June 8 (Xinhua) -- Botswana is pursuing certain programs and projects in the green energy sector, as the southern African country seeks ways of transitioning from a resource-based economy to a knowledge-based one and creating jobs.

President Mokgweetsi Masisi made this revelation Wednesday when giving a keynote address during the Botswana World Economic Forum (WEF) post-analysis seminar in Gaborone, the capital city of Botswana.

GABORONE, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- Botswana has recorded its first case of the highly mutated C.1.2 COVID-19 variant first detected in South Africa, according to health officials.

Deputy Coordinator for the Presidential Task Force for COVID-19 Mosepele Mosepele made the announcement during a weekly public update on the pandemic.

He said one patient was found with the variant, adding it was difficult to know if it had already spread or was just an isolated case.

GABORONE, Aug. 5 (Xinhua) -- China and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on Thursday donated personal protective equipment to Botswana to assist the country in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The donation could not have come at a better time than now when the burden of the COVID-19 pandemic is higher, in the process stretching our healthcare facilities and resources to the limit. Our frontliners have never been this strained and overwhelmed," said Edwin Dikoloti, Botswana's minister of health and wellness, after the handover ceremony in Gaborone.

GABORONE, Dec 31 (NNN-NAMPA) – Botswana and Namibia issued a joint statement calling for citizens to remain calm and patient, after fatal shootings in Nov of three Namibian nationals and one Zambian national by the Botswana Defence Force.

In the statement by the two heads of state, the two sides underscored the deepening bilateral relations, and conveyed their commitment to resolving the matter expeditiously and amicably.

GABORONE (Botswana), Nov 29 (NNN-AFRICANEWS) — The Southern African Development Community (SADC) has agreed to respond to the insurgency ravaging areas in northern Mozambique.

Five presidents who attended an extraordinary summit in the Botswana capital Gaborone, have “finalized a comprehensive regional response” to the unrest in Mozambique, according to a SADC communiqué.

GABORONE, Feb 8 (NNN-XINHUA) — Lucara Diamond Corp, 100 percent owners of Karowe Mine in the northwestern part of Botswana, announced the recovery of an unbroken 549 carat white diamond of exceptional purity.

The 549 carat diamond was recovered from direct milling of ore following a recent recovery of a gem quality 176 carat stone from its EM/PK(S) unit.

According to the statement, this unit continues to produce large gem quality diamonds in line with expectations and forms an important economic driver for the potential underground mine at Karowe.

GABORONE, Nov 19 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Botswana’s president announced the government will by December start issuing trophy hunting licences after it controversially scrapped a five-year ban on the practice, and angered international conservationists.

President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s government in May removed the moratorium, just a year after he suceeded Ian Khama, an avid environmentalist, who had introduced a blanket hunting ban in 2014 to reverse a decline in the population of wild animals.

GABORONE, Nov 3 (NNN-AFRICANEWS) — Dr Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi was sworn in as Botswana’s fifth president.

Masisi and the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) emerged victorious in last week’s general election. The ceremony took place in the parliament in the capital Gaborone.

In his acceptance speech, the president pledged to uphold the rule of law and to relentlessly fight corruption.