The Supreme Court in Zambia has rejected the government's demands to deport a British satirists, Roy Clarke, for reportedly insulting the Zambian President, Levy Mwanawasa in 2004. Clarke, a satirical columnist of the privately owned daily 'The Post', was pursued by the state after he had referred President Mwanawasa as "mawelewele", meaning "a foolish elephant" as well as named two of his ministers "baboons".

Zambia's mines are coming under increasing and sustained criticism for repeatedly polluting drinking water sources in the Copperbelt mining region, the country's economic heartland. Last week the country's second largest copper producer, Mopani Copper Mine, which has mining operations in Mufulira town, near the border of the Democratic Republic of Congo, accidentally discharged polluted water, after a pump malfunction failed to purify it, into the reticulated water system of a private water utility company.

A review of records from antenatal clinics in Lusaka, Zambia has found that pregnant women were screened for syphilis more commonly after prevention of mother-to-child HIV transmission (PMTCT) research and service programmes were implemented at the clinics. This increase in screening was interpreted as a marker of improved routine clinical services for pregnant women.

The high level of gender-based violence in Zambia is preventing many women from accessing HIV/AIDS services, according to a new report by global watchdog Human Rights Watch. The researchers warned that the ability of Zambian women to get HIV/AIDS counselling, testing and information has been "seriously impaired by the perceived and real control of men [particularly intimate partners] over their lives".

It was before dawn in Zambia's Kala camp when a truck began collecting refugees who had registered for voluntary repatriation. An enthusiastic Marie Kizyala Sandwe headed to the vehicle waiting outside her one-roomed thatched hut, clutching a small bag holding her personal belongings: clothes, kitchen utensils and a sleeping mat. For 32-year-old Marie, the seven years she lived in Zambia under the protection of the government and the UN refugee agency felt like an eternity.

Zambia and India signed an agreement in September that will see India fund Zambian training centres to train researchers and the public in information and communication technology (ICT) skills. Zambia needed to embrace science and technology to develop economically, said Peter Daka, the Zambian Minister of Science and Technology.

The head of Zambia's powerful drug-busting unit has been arrested and charged with stealing public funds and abuse of office for allegedly pocketing money confiscated from culprits, an official said on Thursday. Ryan Chitoba (53) was arrested on Wednesday by the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC), which has been investigating him for the past six months, ACC spokesperson Timothy Moono said in a statement.

With HIV/AIDS rates of 30.9 percent, Livingstone, one of Zambia' s main tourist areas, has the country's highest prevalence. The city borders three countries -- Zimbabwe, Botswana and Namibia - and, with a plethora of tourists, cross border traders and long-distance truck drivers, has become a hub of commercial sex. At one time, the city of 200,000, boasted more than 200 commercial sex workers.

Addressing women and men who participated in the launch of 16 days of activism against gender violence in Lusaka, Dr Mwanawasa said the Government was wary of the negative effects gender violence had on society and the economy.

Zambian first Lady Maureen Mwanawasa is encouraging women to demand safer sex from their partners, not negotiate for it. Ms Mwanawasa recently made the statement at the launch of the FC2 female condom campaign at the Lusaka City Market, handing out condoms to the public. "Negotiating for safer sex is a term that has become accepted world wide, yet, it puts a woman at the mercy of a man," Ms Mwanawasa told the Lusaka market crowd. "I do not believe that a woman should negotiate for safer sex, but demand safer sex."

Zambia and India have signed an agreement that will see India fund Zambian centres to train researchers and the public in information and communication technology (ICT) skills. Peter Daka, the Zambian minister of science and technology, and River Wallang, the Indian high commissioner to Zambia, signed the agreement in Lusaka.

Donor funding for HIV/AIDS has skyrocketed in the last decade: from US$ 300 million in 1996 to US$ 8.9 billion in 2006; yet, little is understood about how these resources are being spent. This paper analyses the policies and practices of the world’s largest AIDS donors as they are applied in Mozambique, Uganda and Zambia.

The position will be based in Lusaka, with extensive travel to 16 project sites in Lusaka and all the provinces and will be housed within the Broadcasting Programme of MISA Zambia.
For further information Email: [email][email protected]

Zambia’s Justice Minister George Kunda has accused The Post newspaper of working against the government on the Constitution-making process. In the edition of September, 17, Kunda referred to former president Frederick Chiluba as one of the main architects of the current constitutional problems, and asked, '…is it not a contradiction that [editor] Fred M’membe and the Press Freedom Committee of The Post wittingly or unwittingly should be working with Dr. Chiluba?'

Zambia's elderly population are faced with a double jeopardy: they are either shunned by communities as witchcraft practitioners; or, with little or no understanding of the disease, are burdened with caring for HIV/Aids orphans, according to a non-governmental organisation concerned with their well-being.

Zambia and India have signed an agreement that will see India fund Zambian centres to train researchers and the public in information and communication technology (ICT) skills. Peter Daka, the Zambian minister of science and technology, and River Wallang, the Indian high commissioner to Zambia, signed the agreement in Lusaka on 12 September 2007.

It is mandatory that Zambia's hotels, lodges and guest houses stock at least two Bibles in each of their rooms, but it is rare to come across condoms or even condom-vending machines, despite many of these establishments being used by commercial sex workers and their clients. About one in five sexually active people, or 1.6 million of Zambia's population of 10 million, are infected with HIV/AIDS.

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)has condemned the statements uttered by the Zambian Minister of Information, Mike Mulongoti’s that those threatening to beat up some media personnel are justified, because they have no other forum through which they could express themselves. “These statements are uncalled for and unexpected from a personality holding such a respectable position as the Minister of Information” said Gabriel Baglo, Director of the IFJ Africa office.

There is standing room only in Room 3 of the urology clinic at University Teaching Hospital (UTH) in Lusaka, Zambia's capital. About 30 young men and a handful of mothers with male children listen attentively as Sitali Mulope, clinical officer, briefs them on the benefits of surgically removing the foreskin of the penis.

Many initiatives have been undertaken, mostly by civil society organisations, towards the bridging of the digital divide between the north and the south. The pressing concerns have been on the ability of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) to improve the standards of living of the poor in societies. If harnessed and directed properly, ICTs have the potential to improve aspects of our social, economic and cultural life.