Zambian police have demolished makeshift street stalls in Lusaka, as part of what the government says is a drive to "clean up" the streets of the capital. Vendors watched as police used sledgehammers to tear down "illegal" stalls and destroy goods, in scenes reminiscent of a similar drive in Zimbabwe almost two years ago.

If you want to experience for yourself the widespread corruption that plagues Zambia, all you have to do is catch a taxi or jump onto a bus in downtown Lusaka. PANOS' Mildred Mpundu takes a taxi ride in Zambia to uncover the reasons behind corruption among traffic officers.

Throughout southern Africa customary laws governing land management are coming into conflict with modern statutory laws that aim to put land on the market. A land dispute in Zambia between a group of villagers and a big sugar company highlights some of the issue, including festering class divisions.

The Government of Zambia has called for the mainstreaming of Internet Governance in the implementation plan of the National Information and Communications technology (ICT) Policy and immediate formation of the National Internet Governance Forum (NIGF) to enable Zambia's full participation in internet governance issues.

On a typical weekday in the Zambian capital, Lusaka, a group of women sits chatting under the shade of a tree a few metres away from a long, winding queue of 20-litre plastic containers and buckets. At the head of the queue, a barefooted boy pulls a half-cut container with a rope from a handmade well and pours the water into one container after the other.

The recent state visit by Chinese president Hu Jintao has sparked renewed debates among Zambians about whether their country is receiving real benefits from its close economic relations with the Asian giant.

Aids patients in Zambia are abandoning their life-prolonging drugs in exchange for bogus cures that have hit the market in recent weeks, a leading HIV/Aids advocacy group said on Monday. The Network of Zambian People Living with HIV/Aids (NZP+) said it has received reports that some of its members were stopping the use of antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) for fake cures being promoted in the media.

Zambian President Levy Mwanawasa has sacked his junior Lands Minister, a close ally, in a corruption crackdown aimed at stopping illegal allocation of housing plots, a presidential aide said on Monday. Deputy Lands Minister Moses Muteteka, who is married to a niece of Mwanawasa's wife Maureen, was sacked over allegations of illegal allocation of housing plots, press spokesperson David Kombe said.

Zambia's parliament has unanimously passed a motion urging the Government to extend the policy of free education in Zambia to grade 12. This is in view of the high poverty levels in the country and the resultant high rate of school dropouts at grades seven and nine.

Kachabe Enterprises is a small manufacturing enterprise based and located in one of the busiest markets in Lusaka, Zambia. The company staff was trained by a local computer company, Coldreed training in computer skills, recordings and other IT skills. Kachabe used these IT skills to effectively advance its business in production and market out reach to its clients through market information.

The Zambia association for Research & Development (ZARD) has launched a new website, under its WIDNet Programme. The Women's Information for Development Network (WIDNet) is the place for information on the status of women and girls in Zambia.

A High Court in Britain has rejected the claims of a U.S.-owned debt-collection firm to $42 million of debt from Zambia, but left open the door for the firm to get as much as $10 million to $20 million for the loan, which it purchased from Romania at a discount for less than $4 million.

Angolans relocated by UNHCR to this refugee settlement are on their way to becoming self-sufficient and even producing surplus crops to help feed the local Zambian population. A total of 4,971 Angolan refugees opted to move to Mayukwayukwa refugee settlement in western Zambia rather than repatriate with other refugees to Angola when the UN refugee agency and the government of Zambia closed Nangweshi Refugee Camp three months ago.

A study by the Civil Society for Poverty Reduction (CSPR) Zambia reports on local communities' perspectives of the impact of poverty reduction programmes. Overall, it concludes that PRSP implementation in Zambia, whilst successful in some areas, has in general been weak.

Zambia's anti-corruption drive is failing because the government has been concentrating its resources on investigating the corrupt practices of the previous regime, allowing present graft in the public service to flourish, a corruption watchdog said in its latest report.

Zambia's attempts to promote paediatric antiretroviral (ARV) drug adherence are being undermined by families and communities who shield children in their care from knowing their HIV/AIDS status, health experts say. A report by IRIN revealed that it is easier to counsel adults living with the virus, but families caring for HIV-positive children often hide the truth from the child.

A shortage of paediatric testing kits and specialised medical staff in Zambia is causing delays in rolling out antiretroviral (ARV) drugs for children infected with HIV/AIDS. Despite the National AIDS Council (NAC) having enough ARV medication to treat about 19,000 children, only about 5,000 are able to access the drugs.

President Mwanawasa has extended the mandate of the Task Force on Corruption indefinitely, a move that has cheered the Law Association of Zambia (LAZ).

The poor nutrition often experienced by HIV-positive Zambians on antiretroviral [ARV] drug treatment is nullifying the benefits of the medicine, health experts are warning. "Whenever I take my ARVs without eating anything, I begin to feel dizzy and sometimes I even vomit - I generally feel very weak in my body; I have to be in bed for some time unless I took the drugs after eating," Elizabeth Mukwendi, a resident in the capital, Lusaka, one of thousands on ARVs, told IRIN.

Some Angolan refugees are fleeing from refugee camps in Zambia for fear of being repatriated to their countries of origin, the Times of Zambia has reported. The Angolan voluntary repatriation from Zambia started in 2003, one year after the 27 year civil war ended in the country. Since then a total of 64,000 refugees have been safely repatriated to their motherland while about 29,000 Angolan refugees remain in Zambia.