BOTSWANA

Africa is starting to appear on the radar screens of western retailers as they look for the next growth opportunity in emerging markets while having to cope with subdued consumer spending at home.

Diamond producer De Beers expects global demand growth for rough diamonds to set a new record this year on the exceptionally strong performance of its key U.S. market and robust demand in China and India, the head of the company's distribution arm said.

Diamond producer De Beers said on Friday it had signed a new 10-year contract for the sorting, vaulting and sales of the diamond production of Debswana, its joint venture with the government of Botswana.

Leila Lopes, Miss Angola 2011, beat 88 contestants Monday night to take home the Miss Universe crown.The 25-year-old beauty hopes to use her new role to help the people of Angola (which is situated in south-central Africa, on the Western coast).The pageant was held in Sao Paulo, Brazil, where the native language is Portugese. Since Angola is a former Portugese colony, Lopes was able to wow the crowd by speaking the local language.Lopes is a business student from the town of Benguela...

What Miss Universe 2011 considers as the key to her victory was, as a lesson for women across the globe, her inner beauty and principles.

Lopes a business student was born in the Benguela Province, Angola. She beat out about 21 others in her home country in order to represent Angola in São Paulo, Brazil.

The 5 ft 10 1/2 inches tall beauty is also the fourth African woman to win the title. The last African to win is Mpule Kwelagobe, Miss Universe 1999 from Botswana. Other winners came from Namibia (1992) and South Africa (1978).

Leila Lopes is the second black African woman and the fourth black woman in the world to win the Miss Universe title. Lopes is also the first ever from her home country Angola to get crowned “Miss Universe.”

Robert Mugabe, who has been in power since 1980, has prostate cancer which has spread to other organs.

The United States won the women's 4x100 meters relay title at the world championships on Sunday, Carmelita Jeter bringing the anchor leg home in a time of 41.56.

Toronto-based IAmGold Corp. said Wednesday it received $34.2 million for the sale of its Mupane Gold Mine in Botswana to Galane Gold Ltd

China's fast-growing consumerism and lax policing of ivory laws are the latest threats to wild elephant populations, said an author of a recent report on endangered species.

Tanzanian authorities have seized as many as 1,041 elephant tusks on the island of Zanzibar, in the largest ivory haul in a year, reports say.

South Africa's ruling African National Congress on Friday charged controversial youth leader Julius Malema with sowing divisions in its ranks and bringing the party into disrepute.

South Africa's ruling ANC put off discussions planned for Monday to bring its Youth League leader Julius Malema to heel after the populist politician angered the party by calling for nationalisation of mines and meddling in foreign affairs.

Healthy HIV-free people could reduce their risk of getting the infection if they take a daily dose of antiretroviral drugs used to treat it, two groundbreaking studies have found.

The two studies were conducted in Africa among heterosexual couples in Kenya, Uganda and Botswana found that daily drugs for the sexually transmitted disease reduced infection rates by an average of at least 62 percent when compared with placebo.

Two HIV studies in Africa have revealed today that taking a daily pill containing antiretroviral drugs can reduce HIV transmission by as much as 75% in heterosexual couples. The results were called so compelling that that larger study was halted, researchers said Wednesday.

AIDS drugs designed to treat HIV can also be used to reduce dramatically the risk of infection among heterosexual couples, two studies conducted in Africa showed for the first time on Wednesday.

Two studies have confirmed that a daily pill containing HIV-combating drugs can be used to prevent infection in the healthy. One of the studies was conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Botswana Ministry of Health and the other was conducted by the University of Washington and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

AIDS drugs designed to treat HIV can also be used to reduce dramatically the risk of infection among heterosexual couples, two studies conducted in Africa showed for the first time on Wednesday.