News on Botswana

Diamond-rich Botswana's economy loses sparkle

2010-02-21T15:15:44Z

<div><p>Botswana for years was hailed as an economic success story, but the collapse in demand for the country's diamonds has hit revenues hard and raised questions about an ambitious spending scheme.</p><p>Botswana produces 22 percent of the world's diamonds, making it the top producer and accounting for half of government revenue. The country prides itself as a model of a successful African democracy.</p><p>But...

Explaining Differences in Outcomes of Governance in Countries Rich in Mineral Resources

2010-02-22T18:49:34Z

Some observers have challenged this negative policy outlook by pointing to mineral-rich countries that have performed relatively well. Commonly singled out are Botswana, Chile, Indonesia, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates and mineral-ri...

Zimbabwe, Botswana ink power generation deal

2010-02-23T00:42:40Z

<div><p>Zimbabwe's struggling power utility has signed an eight million dollar deal with Botswana to revive a shut-down thermal power station and ease national blackouts, state media reported on Wednesday.</p><p>Under the deal, the Botswana Power Company will provide fund...

Weed threatens livelihoods in Botswana's Okavango

2010-02-23T01:39:19Z

<div><p>The unique Okavango Delta in northern Botswana is in danger from an invasive weed from Latin America which is threatening the livelihood of the local people dependent on fishing and income from tourism.</p><p>Salvinia molesta, also known as Kariba weed, is believed to have found its way to the world's only major inland delta via...

Botswana: weed intrusion threatens fish and tourism on Okavango

2010-02-23T01:58:00Z

<div><p>The Okavango Delta, a natural treasure in northern Botswana, is under threat after a large portion of the reservoir was infested with weed threatening tourism and fishing industries.</p><p>Salvinia molesta weed also known as Kariba weed, which originates from South America, is believed to have found its way to the delta through ...

South Africa's World Cup fever infects Botswana

2010-02-23T11:18:19Z

<div><p>Playing on a dusty ground with no sign of grass under Botswana's scorching desert sun, with shoes that have seen better days, young footballers dream of their heroes arriving in Africa for the World Cup.</p><p>"I think I would go mad the day I will see great football stars face to fa...

U.S. rolls back AIDS drug prevention trial in Botswana

2010-02-23T14:33:56Z

<div><p>WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. officials said on Thursday they will give up on a trial in Botswana that was trying to show whether it is possible to prevent HIV infections by taking a daily pill because too few people are being infected.</p><p>There are also problems keeping track of people enrolled in the trial, so it will...

Botswana wants $143 million a year to fight climate change

2010-02-23T18:31:51Z

<div><p>Botswana needs 143 million dollars a year in aid to fight climate change, mainly to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from its coal-powered plants, the environment minister said Wednesday.</p><p>"As a country which depends more on thermal power, we need safer technologies to reduce emissions from coal-fired power stations," Kitso Moka...

Nearly 2 tons of ivory seized in eastern Africa

2010-02-23T22:59:36Z

<div id="subtitle">African officials seize more than 3,800 pounds of ivory in 6-nation operation; scores arrested</div><div><p>African authorities raided shops, intercepted vehicles at checkpoints and used sniffer dogs to detect and seize over 3,800 pounds (1,768 kilograms) of illegal elephant ivory in a six-nation operation, Interpol and the Botswana's famed Okavango Delta, but nearby farmers watch in dismay when the animals trample their crops, leaving them little to eat.</p><p>Now those farmers have a new, safe weapon to keep elephants at bay: chilli peppers.</p><p>Planted around crops, infused into cloth, even made into chilli-dung bom...

De Beers sells its stake in a Botswana mining company

2010-02-24T06:22:25Z

<div><p>Mining giant De Beers in Botswana has sold its 70 percent stake in African Diamonds due to plummeting demand for the gems, an official said Thursday.</p><p>The shares were sold for 49 million dollars (33 million euros) to Lucara Diamond Corporation...

Detective agency series puts Botswana on tourist map

2010-02-24T08:09:45Z

<div><p>At the foot of Kgale Hill, the sudden appearance of new shops caused a bit of a buzz as bemused locals seeking to book a haircut or buy beer found themselves turned away from a film set.</p><p>This was not a new mall, but Botswana's very own "Kgalewood" where the successful No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency novels were turned into a telev...

Shakespeare's MacBeth meets Africa in Botswana's opera

2010-02-24T08:22:01Z

<div><p>Author Alexander McCall Smith has given Shakespeare's Macbeth an African twist blending wildlife and intrigue in Botswana's first ever opera, staged in a restored garage in the capital.</p><p>The "Okavango MacBeth" examines the human-like beh...

President Barack Obama welcomes President Ian Khama of Botswana to the Oval...

2009-11-06T10:17:31Z

President Barack Obama welcomes President Ian Khama of Botswana to the Oval Office The White House Washington DC 11-05-2009 photo by : Christy Bowe -U.S. President Barack Obama listens to President Ian Khama of Botswana in the Oval Office of the White House on November 5, 2009 in Washington, DC. The presidents met to discuss Botswan...

For Zimbabwe's deportees, shame at empty-handed return

2010-02-24T14:47:54Z

<div><p>Onias was 16 years old when he ran away from his home in rural Zimbabwe. Schools were shuttered and his village had run out of food. But after his mother died, leaving him an orphan, he set out on his own.</p><p>So he borrowed some money from a friend and made his way to the border with Botswana some 250 kilometres (150 miles) away, slipp...

Asia demand for ivory, sharks' fins set for scrutiny

2010-02-24T16:15:31Z

<div><p>Proposals to restrict or ban international trade in those three products are due to be studied when the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) holds its next triennial meeting in Qatar next year.</p><p>Monaco has tabled a ban for trade in tuna, while the European Union...

Botswana's Ian Khama sworn in as president

2010-02-24T16:50:05Z

<div><p>Ian Khama was sworn-in Tuesday as Botswana?s fourth democratically elected president, pledging to diversify the country's diamond-dependent economy.</p><p>"We have long recognised that the diversification of the economy, both within the minerals sector and beyond, is a key strategy for our future survival," said Khama.</p>...

Botswana mulls life after diamonds

2010-02-24T16:58:02Z

<div><p>Botswana has received a harsh wake-up call as the global economic crisis sees diamond revenues plummet, giving a stark view of what lies in store when the country's economic mainstay runs out.</p><p>The Botswanan government has long recognised the urgency of diversifying the economy, but this has proved problematic for the world's largest diamond producer, a landlocked nation overshado...

Judges withhold African leadership prize

2010-02-24T17:16:26Z

<div><p>Judges for a five-million dollar prize recognising African good governance said on Monday they had decided not to award the honour this year.</p><p>The Mo Ibrahim Prize for achievement in African leadership is described by organisers as the largest individual annual award in the world, with the winner receiving the five million dollars plus 200,000 dollars a y...