Second largest diamond ever found is discovered in Botswana
The second biggest diamond ever found has been unearthed in Botswana. Canadian mining company Lucara Diamond said it discovered the gem in one of its mines in the south African country.
The massive 2,492-carat diamond was located using the mining company’s x-ray technology. The company presented it to Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi on Thursday, Aug. 22.
The colossal stone is believed to be the biggest one found since a 3,106-carat diamond was discovered in South Africa in 1905. The Cullinan Diamond was cut into smaller stones, some of which make up the British royal family’s Crown Jewels.
Botswana is the world’s top diamond producer by value.
VP Kamala Harris formally accepts Democratic presidential nomination at DNC
Vice President Kamala Harris closed out the Democratic National Convention (DNC) by accepting her party’s nomination for president. And one of the largest diamonds ever found was just unearthed in Botswana. These stories and more highlight The Morning Rundown for Friday, Aug. 23, 2024.
VP Kamala Harris formally accepts Democratic presidential nomination at DNC
Vice President Kamala Harris has officially accepted her party’s nomination for president. The Democratic National Convention came to a close Thursday night, Aug. 22, after Harris addressed the crowd, laying out more of her policy vision for the nation and going after her Republican opponent, former President Donald Trump.
“I want you to know I promise to be a president for all Americans,” Harris said. “You can always trust me to put country above party and self. In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man. But the consequences, but the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious.”
During her speech, Harris vowed to create what she called an “opportunity economy.” She also reiterated her stance that Israel has a right to defend itself but pressed for a cease-fire deal and pledged to reform the U.S. immigration system.
When Harris turned her attention to the former president, she blamed Trump for Republicans voting against a bipartisan border bill, said he sent a mob to the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and highlighted his now-criminal record.
“The biggest reaction is why didn’t she do the things she’s complaining about,” he questioned. “She could’ve done it three and a half years ago. She could do it tonight, by leaving the auditorium and going to Washington D.C. and closing the border. She doesn’t need a bill. I didn’t have a bill; I closed the border. She could still do them. She’s got four and a half to five months left.”
All eyes will be on Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the third-party candidate, on Friday, Aug. 23, as he’s set to hold a press conference. The speculation is Kennedy will be dropping out of the presidential race and potentially endorsing Trump.
They had planned to march toward the convention center but were blocked by rows of police in riot gear.
#WATCH : More videos of Massive pro-Palestine protest engulfs DNC convention
Thousands of pro-Palestinian demonstrators marched in Chicago during the Democratic National Convention, outraged over Dems' backing for Israel in the Gaza war.
The group of about 40 unconfirmed delegates and supporters spent Wednesday night, Aug. 21, outside the United Center on the sidewalk and remained there until after 8 p.m. Thursday before finally going back inside to the convention.
Supreme Court allows Arizona to enforce proof-of-citizenship law
The United States Supreme Court agreed to temporarily reinstate a portion of a 2022 Arizona law requiring proof of citizenship when people register to vote. In a 5-4 ruling, the high court gave a partial victory to Republicans who have been trying to enforce proof of citizenship as a requirement to cast a vote in November.
While the justices ruled the state can enforce the requirement of proof of citizenship to vote using the state’s registration form, the court turned down other requests that would bar voters who registered using a federal form or by mail unless they showed proof of citizenship.
This is only a temporary ruling while litigation continues. So, it’s unclear as of now if, come November, voters in the state will have to show documentation they’re a legal resident to cast a ballot.
Canadian government orders arbitration to end rail labor dispute
The Canadian government has intervened in a labor dispute involving thousands of freight train workers. The deadlock on workers’ contract negotiations could have led to a major economic disruption, impacting goods coming into the United States.
The trains are expected to resume running in a few days.
FDA approves updated COVID vaccines
The FDA has approved updated COVID vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna. This puts the new shots on track to reach most Americans within days.
Today, we approved and granted emergency use authorization for updated mRNA COVID-19 vaccines (2024-2025 formula) to include a monovalent (single) component that corresponds to the Omicron variant KP.2 strain of SARS-CoV-2. https://t.co/pul33IEnIw
These shots target a strain called KP.2, which was the dominant COVID strain in May when a summer surge of the virus began, but now only accounts for roughly 3% of all U.S. cases, according to the CDC. Still, Pfizer and Moderna said their KP.2 vaccines can produce stronger immune responses against other circulating sub-variants than last year’s shots.
Second largest diamond ever found is discovered in Botswana
The second largest diamond ever found was just unearthed in Botswana, according to the Canadian mining company that discovered the gem in one of its mines in Africa. The massive, 2,492-carat diamond is the biggest to be found in more than a century and it was located using X-ray technology.
The mining company presented Botswana’s president with the huge stone on Thursday, Aug. 22. The diamond will be evaluated over the next several weeks and will likely sell for tens of millions of dollars.
The colossal stone is believed to be the biggest one found since a 3,106-carat diamond was discovered in South Africa in 1905 and cut into smaller stones — some of which make up the British royal family’s crown jewels.
Botswana threatens to send 20K elephants to Germany
No other country in the world has more elephants than Botswana, and now the African nation is threatening to send 20,000 of the animals to Germany. This stems from a recent potential policy change proposed by the German government that would place stricter limits on trophy hunting imports due to poaching concerns.
Just a decade ago, over a third of Botswana’s population was living in poverty. However, the country experienced an economic turnaround in the subsequent years and is now listed as an upper-middle-income nation, with the experts suggesting it could reach high-income by 2036.
This transformation has occurred thanks in part to the millions of dollars that the more impoverished, rural regions of Botswana receive every year from trophy hunters.
Botswana had previously implemented a ban on this practice in 2014, but reversed that decision back in 2019 amid overpopulation concerns. The country is now home to more than 130,000 elephants, but experts say it can only ecologically support about 25,000 to 50,000.
Government officials in Botswana assert trophy hunting is bringing in much needed revenue while keeping the elephant populations that roam across 40% of the country in check. According to the nation’s president, Mokgweetsi Masisi, should Germany move ahead with tougher bans on trophy hunting, it could result in increased poverty and locals being left to deal with more elephants than they can handle.
“It is very easy to sit in Berlin and have an opinion about our affairs in Botswana. We are paying the price for preserving these animals for the world,” said Masisi, adding that the German people should try to “live together with the animals, in the way you are trying to tell us to.”
This would not be the first time Botswana has tried to offload some of its elephants to other nations, previously offering 8,000 to Angola and 500 to Mozambique. With Masisi declaring he “won’t take no for answer” in regards to his latest offer of 20,000 of the elephants to Germany, it still remains to be seen if any will actually make their way to Europe.