Botswana will diversify its diamond-dependent economy by launching into the medicinal cannabis market and exploiting its abundant sunshine, President Duma Boko said Tuesday, in his first state of the nation address. Boko swept to power in elections three weeks ago that ejected the party that had ruled for nearly six decades on concerns about a slump in the economy. Diamonds make up about 80 percent of the southern African country's foreign earnings. «The decline in diamond revenues by over 60 percent in recent years is a clear signal that we can no longer afford to depend on a single commodity,» Boko said. His government aims to attract investors to high-potential sectors such as renewable energy, agriculture, tourism and technology. «Botswana receives more than 3,200 hours of sunlight annually and averages 21 megajoules per square metre which is among the highest in the world,» Boko said. «The potential of solar energy is abundant.» The arid country will also begin cultivating medicinal cannabis and industrial hemp to plug into the growing international market. «Our forecast in Botswana is to significantly increase our GDP with cannabis and hemp-related products,» said Boko. «We will create jobs in this industry.» A major gripe against the previous government under the Botswana Democratic Party (BDP), which led the country to independence from Britain in 1966, was a 27-percent unemployment rate, rising to 38 percent for young people. Boko said other plans for job creation lay in boosting manufacturing and construction, as well as encouraging youth entrepreneurship and innovation. Botswana has engaged US billionaire Elon Musk's satellite internet provider Starlink to extend affordable internet connectivity to the entire country, Boko said. Starlink has plans to invest in infrastructure that will help transform Botswana into a digital hub for the entire region, he added. Home to around 2.7 million people, Botswana won praise for a smooth change of government when the BDP was quick to concede defeat after winning just four seats in parliament on October 30, compared to 36 for Boko's Umbrella for Democratic Change. © Agence France-Presse  

The spread of a mosquito in East Africa that thrives in urban areas and is immune to insecticide is fuelling a surge in malaria that could reverse decades of progress against the disease, experts say. Africa accounted for about 95 percent of the 249 million malaria cases and 608,000 deaths worldwide in 2022, according to the most recent data from the World Health Organization (WHO), which said children under five accounted for 80 percent of deaths in the region. But the emergence of an invasive species of mosquito on the continent could massively increase those numbers. Anopheles stephensi is native to parts of South Asia and the Middle East but was spotted for the first time in the tiny Horn of Africa state of Djibouti in 2012. Djibouti had all but eradicated malaria only to see it make a slow but steady return over the following years, hitting more than 70,000 cases in 2020. Then stephensi arrived in neighbouring Ethiopia and WHO says it is key to an «unprecedented surge», from 4.1 million malaria cases and 527 deaths last year to 7.3 million cases and 1,157 deaths between January 1 and October 20, 2024. Unlike other species which are seasonal and prefer rural areas, stephensi thrives year-round in urban settings, breeding in man-made water storage tanks, roof gutters or even air conditioning units. It appears to be highly resistant to insecticides, and bites earlier in the evening than other carriers. That means bed nets -- up to now the prime weapon against malaria -- may be much less effective. «The invasion and spread of Anopheles stephensi has the potential to change the malaria landscape in Africa and reverse decades of progress we've made towards malaria control,» Meera Venkatesan, malaria division chief for USAID, told AFP. - 'More research is needed' - The fear is that stephensi will infest dense cities like Mombasa on Kenya's Indian Ocean coast and Sudan's capital Khartoum, with one 2020 study warning it could eventually reach 126 million city-dwellers across Africa. Only last month, Egypt was declared malaria-free by WHO after a century-long battle against the disease -- a status that could be threatened by stephensi's arrival. Much remains unknown, however. Stephensi was confirmed as present in Kenya in late 2022, but has so far stayed in hotter, dryer areas without reaching the high-altitude capital, Nairobi. «We don't yet fully understand the biology and behaviour of this mosquito,» Charles Mbogo, president of the Pan-African Mosquito Control Association, told AFP. «Possibly it is climate-driven and requires high temperatures, but much more research is needed.» He called for increased funding for capturing and testing mosquitos, and for educating the public on prevention measures such as covering water receptacles. - Multiplying threats - The spread of stephensi could dovetail with other worrying trends, including increased evidence of drug resistant malaria recorded in Uganda, Rwanda, Tanzania and Eritrea. «The arrival of resistance is imminent,» said Dorothy Achu, WHO's head of tropical and vector-borne diseases in Africa. WHO is working with countries to diversify treatment programmes to delay resistance, she said. A new malaria variant is also evading tests used to diagnose the disease. «The increased transmission that stephensi is driving could potentially help accelerate the spread of other threats, such as drug resistance or another mutation in the parasite that leads it to be less detectable by our most widely-used diagnostics,» said Venkatesan at USAID. Another added challenge is the lack of coordination between African governments. Achu said WHO is working on «a more continental approach». But Mbogo in Kenya said «more political will» was needed. «We share information as scientists with colleagues in neighbouring countries,» he said . «But we need to reach the higher level. We need cross-border collaborations, data-sharing.» © Agence France-Presse

[ANGOP] Rio De Janeiro -- Angolan Maria do Rosário Lima was appointed ambassador of the G20 Social, at the proposal of South Africa, at an event held last week in Rio de Janeiro, where she spoke about sustainability and community development in Angola.

[New Times] The Music In Africa Honorary Award has long been a celebration of artists who shape the music industry in their home countries and beyond.

[New Zimbabwe] Zimbabwe's senior men's football team face an uphill task as they play against continental soccer giants Cameroon on Tuesday afternoon.

Harshita Brella, 24, was found inside the boot of a vehicle on Brisbane Road in Ilford, east London, in the early hours of Thursday.

Ania, aged 18, was last sighted at around 11pm at the Krakow John Paul II International Airport in Balice, Poland , on November 11.

Donald Trump's sentencing in his New York hush money case has taken a major turn as the court decides how to move forward.

The new document allows Putin's strategic forces to deploy their devastating weapons if Russia or Belarus is threatened by a non-nuclear nation supported by a nuclear power

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The German defense minister has said damage to two undersea cables between NATO states appears to be deliberate Read Full Article at RT.com

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Two Chinese nationals were arrested in Tamil Nadu for allegedly operating illegal digital loan applications. They are accused of scamming individuals by offering quick loans with high interest rates and using coercive methods to recover the money. The ED investigation revealed that they laundered the proceeds through cryptocurrency platforms.

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Leader of the Opposition, Mark Golding, is calling for the Government to immediately address the systemic issues in the tourism industry that have led to a series of strikes over the past weeks. On Monday line staff at Excellence Oyster Bay...

Environment Canada is warning those living on the B.C. coast to be prepared for incoming wild weather.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has posted a recall for both baby and whole organic carrot brands sold at multiple grocery stores due to E. coli contamination.

The Winnipeg Police Service (WPS) is warning the public about a male armed with a knife at the U of M campus.

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A jet carrying Amazon packages went off the runway at Vancouver International Airport Tuesday morning.

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India is gearing up for by-elections across 15 assembly constituencies in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Kerala, and Uttarakhand. The elections, scheduled for Wednesday with results expected on November 23, will be a key test for both the INDIA bloc and NDA alliances.

IIT Roorkee and Kyoto University have partnered to launch IN-CBI, a joint research laboratory in Kyoto. The lab will focus on developing solutions for global health and environmental challenges, starting with healthy aging and eye health. The collaboration brings together expertise in fields like AI, machine learning, and chemical biology to create innovative solutions.

The Assam government has decided to rename Karimganj district to Sribhumi, fulfilling a long-standing demand inspired by Rabindranath Tagore's description of the region. The state cabinet also announced plans for panchayat elections by February and an investment summit in 2025.

Maharashtra gears up for a one-day assembly election with all 288 seats in contention. Public transport will operate normally, while schools and government offices will be closed. Financial institutions and liquor shops will also remain shut on election day.