Gaborone, Botswana | Xinhua | Botswana has discovered the new Omicron subvariant XBB.1.5, said a government official in a press release issued on Friday. “Only one case of the Omicron sublineage XBB.1.5 has so far been detected in Botswana,” said Malepa Dibonwa, the acting spokesperson in Botswana’s Ministry of Health. The new …
Read More »Botswana launches second national risk assessment on money laundering
Gaborone, Botswana | Xinhua | Botswana has launched its second National Risk Assessment (NRA) on money laundering, terrorism financing, and proliferation financing. At the launch in Gaborone on Monday, Emmah Peloetletse, Permanent Secretary to the President and chairperson of the National Coordinating Committee on Financial Intelligence, stated that she believes …
Read More »Sunset for Africa’s 2G and 3G networks looming
Governments and mobile operators are speeding up plans to shut down legacy networks as they navigate the high costs of transiting to faster and more efficient technologies. Nairobi, Kenya | BIRD NEWS AGENCY | African countries have begun retiring legacy networks – 2G and 3G – as the continent’s burgeoning …
Read More »Botswanan president to diversify economy, reduce reliance on diamonds
New York, US | Xinhua | Botswana should diversify its economy to reduce its heavy dependence on diamonds, President Mokgweetsi Masisi on Thursday told world leaders attending the general debate of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly. Botswana is facing “an uphill battle” to attract investors to diversify …
Read More »Botswana to stabilize trade imbalances with South Africa
Gaborone, Botswana | Xinhua | President Mokgweetsi Masisi of Botswana on Thursday said the southern African country continues to work tirelessly to improve exports to South Africa. Addressing the Botswana-South Africa Business Forum Roundtable held on the occasion of the 28th anniversary celebrations of the establishment of diplomatic relations between …
Read More »70-year British colonial rule left Botswana in a humiliating position: president
Gaborone, Botswana | Xinhua | In remembrance of Sir Seretse Khama, the founding president of Botswana, President Mokgweetsi Masisi has urged the southern African nation to cherish the values of unity, freedom and peace that he strived and stood for. Seretse Khama, born on July 1, 1921 and died at the …
Read More »Botswana president in self-quarantine
Gaborone, Botswana | AFP | Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi has gone into self-quarantine after a visit to neighbouring Namibia, which has three coronavirus cases, to attend the inauguration of the new president there, government announced Sunday. Namibian President Hage Geingob was sworn in at Windhoek on Saturday. Botswana’s director of …
Read More »Botswana to start auctions of elephant hunting licences
Gaborone, Botswana | AFP | Botswana on Friday will hold its first major auction for trophy elephant hunting quotas since controversially scrapping a hunting ban last year, a wildlife official said. President Mokgweetsi Masisi’s government in May revoked a moratorium, just a year after he succeeded Ian Khama, an avid environmentalist, …
Read More »Incumbent Masisi wins hotly contested Botswana vote
Gaborone, Botswana | AFP | Incumbent president Mokgweetsi Masisi on Friday won a five-year term in Botswana’s elections which saw his ruling party secure more than 51 percent of parliamentary votes, the chief justice said. “Dr. Mokgweetsi Eric Keabetswe Masisi is elected President of the Republic of Botswana,” …
Read More »Botswana: African bastion of stability, but struggling to control HIV
Gaborone, Botswana | AFP | Diamond-rich Botswana is hailed for its stability, but the southern African nation struggles with income inequality, unemployment and a high rate of HIV. Ahead of its general election on October 23, here is some background about the landlocked country of 2.2 million people wedged between …
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