African Parliament MPs express satisfaction
Members of Parliament who attended the 6th Ordinary Session of the Pan African Parliament in Midrand, South Africa, have expressed some satisfaction with the progress made despite major limitations. The team consisted of MPs Gladys Kokorwe, Maitlhoko Mooka, Olebile Gaborone, Boyce Sebetela and Keletso Rakhudu.

Police free detained Kumakwane residents
Police on Wednesday released 45 Kumakwane residents who were arrested in connection with the damage of motor vehicles on Sunday evening. The residents went on rampage when a man died on the spot after he was hit by a motor vehicle. The residents blocked the Kanye-Gaborone 'Highway of Death' in protest against Government's refusal to erect speed humps along the road.

Radibe taunts MoE officials at BTU congress
The President of the Botswana Teachers Union (BTU), Japhta Radibe, has lashed out at the Ministry of Education for intimidating the unionists. Welcoming the delegates at the official opening of the ongoing BTU congress at Moeding College in Otse, Radibe used the platform to make his views known to officials from Ministry Of Education (MoE).

New HIV drug likely to ease the pain
The pain of taking multiple pills by people on anti-retroviral (ARV) therapy may soon end when a new combination drug becomes accessible in Botswana. An American pharmaceutical company, Merck Sharp and DOHME, has already applied to the Drug Regulations Unit to start distributing the drug called Atripla.

Teacher sighs with relief as court frees her
FRANCISTOWN: A secondary school teacher breathed a sigh of relief yesterday after four years of living with the stigma of killing her newly born baby boy in 2002. Morwesi Ramaloko, a 25-year-old woman from Matabi Ward in Mmadinare and currently a teacher at Moses Mengwe Community Junior Secondary School, was yesterday technically acquitted, after she was found guilty of murder with extenuating circumstances.

Speeding motorists cautioned
The Botswana Police Traffic Division has adopted in-vehicle mobile speed calculators to fight speeding in the country. Director of Traffic Division Senior Assistant Commissioner Bakae Karata has told Mmegi this week that they are waiting for delivery of the equipment, which they intend to use over the festive season.

MPs give livestock, meat Industries Bill thumbs up
Members of Parliament on Wednesday gave the Livestock and Meat Industries Bill the thumbs up. Minister of Agriculture Johnnie Swartz presented the Bill whose main objective is to enact, with amendments, the Livestock and Meat Industries Act to bring under one central authority the control and inspection of slaughter and processing of livestock. Swartz told the House that the current practice, which involves different players using different legislative instruments in the control of the meat industry, has resulted in fragmented and ineffective control of the sector.

World AIDS Day and its revolving themes
December 1 has now become synonymous with HIV/AIDS as each year thousands of people gather in various places to commemorate the day that has been set aside to remember those who have been affected and infected and to consolidate messages of prevention.

Bots ahead of SADC peers on mobile Teledensity
Botswana is among countries that have experienced a telecommunications explosion in the world, with the country moving from zero mobile phone connectivity in 1990s to close to a million subscribers by 2006.

A Monumental Tribute to a Great Man
Mike Nicol et. al. (2006) Mandela: The Authorized Portrait. Highlands North, South Africa, Wild Dog Press, 356 pages, hardcover, P308, ISBN 1-919-790-62-4, with over 250 plates. Available at Exclusive Books, Riverwalk.