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Ford Castrol Team scores a double victory in the Botswana

Ford Castrol Team scores a double victory in the Botswana

THE Neil Woolridge Motorsport (NWM) Ford Castrol Team scored an emphatic one-two finish in the EcoBoost V6-powered T1+ Ford Rangers at Round 3 of the South African Rally Raid Championship (SARRC), which was held in Jwaneng, Botswana, from 23-25 June 2023. As the longest and toughest event of the year, the Toyota Gazoo Racing Kalahari Botswana 1000 Desert Race is a three-day marathon event which covers almost 1 000km of racing through semi-arid terrain, characterised by unforgiving thorn bushes and lots of soft sand. Despite the punishing conditions destroying bodywork on all the competitor cars and pushing the crews to…
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Botswana says it is still keen on De Beers partnership, confident of new deal

Botswana says it is still keen on De Beers partnership, confident of new deal

BOTSWANA wants to maintain its partnership with De Beers and is confident that ongoing negotiations for a new diamond sales agreement will succeed, a government spokesperson said. Botswana is negotiating a new sales deal with Anglo American Plc's De Beers ahead of the expiry of its current agreement, signed in 2011, later this year. President Mokgweetsi Masisi's threats to walk away from the negotiations if Botswana fails to secure a bigger share of rough diamonds produced by Debswana, their 54-year-old diamond mining joint venture, has fueled speculation that the government may end the relationship. But in a statement, government spokesperson William Sentshebeng said the negotiations…
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Botswana and Comoros latest countries to ratify the AfCTA agreement

Botswana and Comoros latest countries to ratify the AfCTA agreement

BONFACE ORUCHO, BIRD STORY AGENCY THE African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which aims to create a single market for goods and services in Africa, got another boost after two more countries handed over instruments of ratification to the African Union Commission Chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, during February's session of the African Union. Instruments of ratification are documents by which a state expresses its consent to be bound by a treaty. Botswana and Comoros became the 45th and 46th state party members of the AfCFTA after depositing their instruments of ratification on the sidelines of the 36th Ordinary Session of…
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Botswana warns of dangers in dash for African minerals

Botswana warns of dangers in dash for African minerals

AFRICAN governments must be wary of the risks created by rising global competition for the continent's minerals, Botswana's mines minister said, as world powers seek new sources of metals needed for the transition to a lower carbon economy. "When there is a rush, people come in, take whatever they want to take, and go, leaving gaping holes in Africa," Lefoko Moagi, whose remit also includes energy and "green technology", said in an interview with Reuters. "If you want to push production because there is money that is being dangled, you start compromising on how you legislate, how you do your…
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Botswana’s ex-president Khama asks court to set aside arrest warrant

Botswana’s ex-president Khama asks court to set aside arrest warrant

BOTSWANA'S former president Ian Khama has filed an urgent court application seeking to strike down an arrest warrant issued against him by a magistrate last week. Khama, whose father Seretse Khama was Botswana's founding president, is in a dispute with his successor and incumbent President Mokgweetsi Masisi which resulted in him quitting the ruling Botswana Democratic Party in 2019. The warrant was issued after Khama, who has been living in South Africa since November 2021, failed to turn up in court to answer charges laid against him in April. They include unlawful possession of a firearm, receiving stolen property and…
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Botswana wins bid to host anti-conflict diamond watchdog

Botswana wins bid to host anti-conflict diamond watchdog

BOTSWANA has won its bid to host the permanent secretariat of the Kimberley Process (KP), the grouping that certifies that diamonds are not used to fund rebel groups, but its members remain divided over Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The KP, a coalition of governments, the diamond industry and civil society representatives, said in a statement on Monday it had unanimously elected Botswana to host the secretariat, which is expected to become operational by 2024. The body defines conflict diamonds as gems used to fund rebel movements seeking to undermine legitimate governments. Five KP members initially expressed interest to host it…
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‘Diplomats brought Omicron from Europe’

‘Diplomats brought Omicron from Europe’

BOTSWANA’S President Mokgweetsi Masisi said some of the four diplomats who first tested positive for the Omicron coronavirus variant in the country had come from Europe, calling for a reversal of widespread travel bans imposed against southern African countries. Omicron dubbed a variant of concern by the World Health Organization, has prompted many governments to impose curbs on travel from southern Africa and to take other measures to contain it. While it is still not established where Omicron first emerged, on November 25 South Africa, followed by Botswana a day later, announced they had detected a new variant whose mutations…
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Moderna to supply vaccines to Botswana

Moderna to supply vaccines to Botswana

MODERNA Inc has entered a supply agreement with the Botswana government for its COVID-19 vaccine. The Botswana Medicines Regulatory Authority (BMRA) has issued an emergency use authorization for the vaccine, Moderna said. The latest agreement is separate from the 500 million vaccine doses, which Moderna has agreed to supply to the GAVI-led COVAX vaccine sharing scheme, the company said.
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Botswana president in self-quarantine

Botswana president in self-quarantine

BOTSWANA's president will miss a Southern African regional meeting he had been due to chair to discuss recent attacks on Mozambique after a staff member tested positive for COVID-19, prompting him to self-quarantine, his office has said. Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Mozambique will be attending a summit of a division of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), where they will receive a report on how they can help Mozambique's Cabo Delgado province following Islamic State-linked attacks there. Botswana is the current chair of that division, which is tasked with promoting peace and security in the region. Vice President Slumber…
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Botswana probes vaccine-related deaths

Botswana probes vaccine-related deaths

BOTSWANA is investigating the deaths of two among thousands of people who had been given doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine to see if there is any link, the health ministry said. The southern African country has so far administered about 31,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, the only vaccine it has started rolling out. India donated 30,000 doses of the vaccine that were manufactured by the Serum Institute of India (SII), and Botswana bought 33,000 doses that were made in South Korea from the global vaccine distribution scheme COVAX. The two people who died had taken the shots made in…
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